Lots of Little Squiggles

Writing Process Blog Tour:

 Angela Koenig, Rebellion in Ulster & Rendezvous in the Himalaya

I was tagged for the Tour by Renee MacKenzie whose wonderful new book Nesting is now available. Renee is a fellow writer with Blue Feather Books. Please check out her blog My Writing Process at: http://reneemackenzie.wordpress.com

I’m going to shift the questions around a bit, so bear with me.

Why do I write what I do?

Because I can. I always wanted to write. I remember, before I could read, lying on my bed in front of an open window and making writing-like squiggles on a paper with a pencil. For years – decades – I never made a decision without factoring in that I wanted to write. Just how I found my voice is still a bit of a mystery to me, but at last the Muse (in her avatar as an Apple computer?) relented. Sometimes it feels like having a huge reservoir of images, words, and feelings but they just stay dammed up until the story comes that can channel them. Recently I heard someone say that you don’t just wake up and say, "Today I’m going to write like Virginia Woolf or George Eliot." Instead, you have to find how you can write. I’m an English major and I read a lot so I have no illusions that my little books will outlive me, but the little books I have are a dream come true.

How does my work differ from others in the same genre?

If that genre is Lesbian Adventure/Romance, I don’t think I do differ. I aim for a kind of Lesbian Jason Bourne who gets into hair-raising situations where the outcome is important but on a local rather than a save-the-whole-world level. It’s also important to me to put Lesbians into the history where so often we’re invisible. You know we must have been there in all those other times and places, so if necessary, imagine us there. I was profoundly moved by the true story of Aimée and Jaguar, to hear their own voices emerging from the enshrouding depths of denial that we are indeed everywhere. My heart breaks to remember their tragedy while I also rejoice to know of their love. I'm also furious at the disrespect of so many people who felt compelled, speaking of either the biography or the movie, to say that Felice and Lilly would never have stayed together had Felice lived. Please show me one instance of this said of a straight couple who were ripped apart by the Holocaust.

But back to genre. I think all stories are pieces of myth, and mythology is what makes human lives possible and meaningful. So each time one of us adds to “our genre” we confirm our potential to live fuller and richer lives, and I like being part of that.

What am I working on?

I’m editing Requiem for Vukovar, the third book in the Refraction series, of which there are four books, and also working on an entirely new novel. The new book is proving difficult, but the story and character have a hold on me so I will try to ignore my doubts. I’ll just keep going, if not one page at a time, then one paragraph at a time.

How does my process work?

I was stuck a while back with a story that just wouldn’t move and someone suggested imagining the characters climbing a hill. That worked. Before they got to the top I had at least half the book. Sometimes there is a particular scene that is like a seed and whole pages, even chapters, germinate from that. In addition, I read a lot to get background facts and color to make my stories ring true. And I always carry a notebook because you never know when you’ll get a phrase or a piece of dialog that is just right and can make the story move ahead. I also go over and over a piece of writing because it's too easy to assume that everything in your imagination has turned into words, but going back after time can show what's missing. I try to be sure that what I've said is also really true or possible. And then I read to make sure that I have the most accurate word and the best sentence rhythm.

 If all else fails, I start cleaning house as a writing avoidance because you’ll either go back to writing as a cleaning avoidance or at least you’ll get the dusting or the dishes done. Win-win.

I have enjoyed thinking "outside the book" so thank you, Renee for tagging me. 

In turn I am tagging Goldie Award winner Anne Laughlin, the amazing author of Veritas and Runaway. Anne has a new book coming out this fall, Acquittal.

I would also like to tag Kelly Sinclair, another Blue Feather writer, and author of the wonderful Tantona Trilogy. Her latest novel is In the Now.

Gemstone: Sea-dark Sapphire