I am participating in a themed blog hop with my publisher
Helping Hands Press (myhelpinghandspress.com). The theme this month is, as the title suggests, my writing
process. That is a very open-ended topic on which I probably have too much to say.
I am thinking where to start, doing the usual – stare out
the window until the right word pops into my scattered brain. That’s it. That’s
my writing process. I randomly wait until some thought stumbles through the
blank slate of my mind and I hurriedly write it before it escapes.
Oh wait. That’s only a fraction of how I write.
Sometimes, I actually have solid ideas, well-plotted with themes and even a
little style. Maybe that’s my writing process? I compose a sturdy outline.
There are plot points along the way, like the map of a family road trip with
all the tourist traps circled in red. I know where the story starts and know
where it ends. Along the journey, I make sure to visit the World’s Largest Ball
of Twine or the live mermaids of Weeki Wachee. I do, of course, allow extra
drive time for any serendipitous side trips.
The thing that occurs to me is that we writers all have
our own process. We each have things that work best, our own traditions and
superstitions even. We all have our own style. That is a good thing because
every reader has their own style too. We will never run out of stories as long
as we never run out of readers.
Now, if I can only add something of substance to this
post. Some of the best advice I ever received on writing was to develop my
Point of View. That doesn’t mean readers want to know my opinion on anything
(probably more the opposite). What it means is that I had to decide who is
telling the story and make that connection with the reader. It does not mean to write in the first person
tense. Even in third person, you have to have POV. You have to choose one
character to tell the story. Show the world through that character’s eyes and
reveal that character’s inner thoughts and desires. Then the reader only knows
what the character knows, which can help build tension or create surprises. The
reader can rise and fall with a character that way.
I could go on for a while about this, list countless
examples of good and bad. I could cite specifics in my own books. I don’t want
to bore anybody, so I’ll bring it to a close.
In summary, writing, for me, is a passion. We each live
out that passion in our own way. I happen to love every minute of it.
Mark currently resides in Florida with his wife and four
children. He has achieved some success as a Kindle Best Seller and having one
of his short stories selected as a winner in the Florida Writer’s Association
Short Story Collection.
Growing up in Kansas, Mark graduated from Sumner Academy
of Arts and Sciences and received his Bachelor’s in Film from the University of
Kansas.
Mark has written numerous novels, screenplays, short
stories and digital series. He has geared his young adult fantasy series, The Empyrical Tales, for the classroom
and explored his spirituality, writing both with his father and daughter. Inspirational
stories with positive messages are his goal with everything he writes.
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