Romance Writers Weekly - #lovechatwrite

If you like to read romance novels of all genres, join the writers of Romance Weekly as we go behind the scenes of our books and tell all...about our writing, of course! Every week we'll answer the same questions. Once you've read my blog, the link below will direct you to another. Tell your friends and feel free to ask questions or make comments.

Our blog tour will be six months old on July 29th. To celebrate our first milestone, the authors of Romance Weekly are giving back some of the love. We have incredible prizes on offer, including a Kindle Fire and multiple romance libraries. Enter for free HERE!

If you've joined me from Dani Jace, welcome!

Now on to the questions!

When writing your novel, do you know how it’s going to end before you write, or do you write from start to finish?

I think this question is asking am I a plotter—a writer who plans out what is going to happen before she starts to write—or a panster—a writer who just starts writing and sees where the characters take her. I am definitely a plotter. I have spreadsheets that list each and every scene from the very first to the very last. This gives me an overview of the whole plot—and a false sense of confidence that I know what I'm doing, which gives me the courage to actually start to write the damn thing.

I say a false sense of confidence because I have found in the three novels where I've used my scene spreadsheet, the finished book is often much different than the original plan. Characters take over, plots twists appear, minor characters take on bigger roles, etc. Also, I often find that, when the words simply aren't flowing, it's because I've kept too strictly to my scene spreadsheet, and I need to rethink where I'm going with the whole beast. In order to have a novel that “lives” it's important to be open to new ideas, new paths, so I try to open myself to spontaneity.

How do the people you know impact your writing? Are you influenced by friends and family for your characters?

I think it is impossible for a writer to NOT be influenced by friends and family, when it comes to making living, breathing characters. Just as every character has a little bit of the author, every character will share traits and talents with people we know. The only way to create sympathetic, believable characters is to study the people around you, see how they react to certain situations, and then use that information to make your characters real.

Describe the hero in your current WIP in three words.

Physical, taciturn, loyal

I can't leave it at that, however. Nearly two decades ago, Justice Cooper survived a horrific bus crash that killed two hockey teammates, including his best friend. He now subconsciously atones for surviving the accident by taking care of others, including his paraplegic father, ex-wife and stepson. When he meets Charlotte Girardet, a vivacious, career-driven woman, his first instinct is to leave her to her goal-oriented life. However, he realizes much of her ambition rises from her own loneliness - and he recognizes her driving need to succeed is just another way of dealing with a loss similar to his own. So he sets out to fix her life—and in doing so, discovers his own healing.

Now it's time to move on to Collette Cameron, Romance Weekly's award winning, Amazon best-selling, and multi-published historical author!