MY WRITING PROCESS

The author Salvatore Buttaci (http://salbuttaci.blogspot.com), author of Flashing My Shorts and 200 Shorts, invited me to participate in this blog hop tour and answer four questions about my writing process.

ALL ABOUT MY WRITING PROCESS

1) What am I working on?

    

Much as I would like my mind to joggle comfortably with a number of projects, this has never worked for me. It's one book at a time, and while it's true that other embryos pull at my sleeve for attention as I focus on the book I'm writing, the most they get is a brief note in an ad hoc folder.

I am finishing a novel titled Men in My Mirror, my most difficult challenge so far. Why? Because although I've written and published five non-fiction books in English, this is my first attempt at fiction in my second language - my mother tongue is Spanish. The other obstacle to overcome is that I've chosen to write in the first person, a point of view that can considerably narrow the narrative scope unless handled with the utmost care. This novel is a fake memoir portraying the men in the life of a woman intent on breaking all boundaries, and will be published by Jorge Pinto Books, New York, NY, like all my previous production since 2005.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I refuse to be confined to a genre. To start with, I write novels, self-help, working biographies, and companions to literature. My novels have been called "psychological thrillers", a label that never crossed my mind as I was shaping them.

What I can say in all honesty is that I don't follow recipes and that I am all for the economy of language and for polysemy. My prose is concise, terse, and incisive at times. Aware of the so-called "rules", I break them to enhance meaning and pathos in my fiction. My aim is to pierce through the reader's consciousness and set him thinking beyond the printed word. As long as something changes in the reader's view of the world after finishing any of my books, the differences between my work and that of others matter little. 

3) Why do I write what I do? 

I do not write fiction for the same reasons as I write non-fiction.

My fiction feeds on my life experiences, background, education, observation of others, the humus of my readings and thousands of what-ifs that inhabit me. I am a story-teller, weaving true facts and imaginary developments to shock dormant minds out of their lethargy, or to lure clever readers away from their comfort zone. 

My novels deal with unsavory aspects of human nature; those that many people would rather ignore. I've been often told that the outcome proves healing. It's certainly not my intention, yet this is how the level of enunciation and the level of the enunciated interact. After all, a book is what the reader makes of it, whether or not the author agrees :)

I write non-fiction with the clear purpose of aiding comprehension of subjects that need expert guidance. The best example of this is my guide to Joyce's Ulysses for Spanish-speaking readers. The difference between mine and all others written before is that those others seem to complicate the issue rather than simplify it. Understandably, scholars wish to flaunt their erudition and shine in their own light, but if readers felt discouraged by Joyce before seeking this manner of explanation, they usually end up totally defeated by further enigmatic additions to a baffling text.

4) How does my writing process work?

My fiction may be triggered by practically anything, but only an obsessive idea, one that haunts me day and night, finds its way into realization. 

I construct the whole novel in my mind, give the characters a full biography recorded in files, and sit down to write when the last brick has been put in place. Much of the material does not go into the novel, and much changes as scene follows scene, for the wording cannot mime the thinking and demands a different type of cohesion. However, I find that a solid structure prior to writing prevents incongruity and indecisiveness. 

Other writers get inspired as they type away. I'm afraid inspiration -or the Muse, if you will- does not befriend me.

It goes without saying that all my books go through a number of drafts before I'm satisfied with the result. In order to evaluate each draft and do preliminary editing, I print. For some reason, the work reads clearer on paper. 

My non-fiction takes lots of research and fact-checking, but basically adjusts to the same process. 

A few trusted colleagues read my work as it is in progress and offer valuable comments and suggestions. Writing is indeed a solitary process but, contrary to what many may think, the community of writers is an example of solidarity, so this is as good a place as any to thank them all, beginning by Sal Buttaci, who gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts. 

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Marta Merajver-Kurlat's complete works can be found on her Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/Marta-Merajver-Kurlat/e/B009TC8C5A

Reviews and interviews on her official website http://www.martamerajver.com.ar/marta/

Announcements about her contributions to other blogs and sites on https://www.facebook.com/martamerajverkurlat

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I am inviting the following three authors to join our Blog Hop Tour next week:

Joyce (J. F.) Elferdink was born in a small, conservative community but moved to various parts of Michigan (including Detroit), to other states, and to Kazakhstan (as a Peace Corps volunteer) where she learned to look at the world and her purpose in it from a much broader perspective.

She is currently semi-retired and back in her hometown where she teaches Communications at a local university. Her first novel, completed in August of 2012, was a response to a loss that made her ask some deep questions. A sequel will be published later this year.

You can find more about Joyce’s viewpoints and writing style at her blog: http:/harmlessjoyce.wordpress.com 
Her novel, a mystical journey that will make the protagonist capable of the sacrifice love asks of him, is available through amazon.com. Its book trailer can be viewed on her author page at: http://www.amazon.com/Joyce-Elferdink/e/B008ZTCRUY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Elaine Cougler has written two books of family stories, a cookbook, her children’s book, Where Is Bear?, and The Loyalist’s Wife, her historical novel, published last June. Her lifelong love of reading historical fiction has led her down this path and she is currently writing the sequel, The Loyalist’s Luck, which will be published later this year, with The Loyalist Legacy to follow. On Becoming a Wordsmith is Elaine’s writing blog where she blogs about the journey to publication and beyond, interviews authors, gathers helpful lists and hints to do with writing, and shares the writing road she loves to travel.

@ElaineCougler   www.elainecougler.com   http://www.facebook.com/ElaineCouglerAuthor

Bryan Murphy is a man of Kent who lives in Italy. Since retiring from his most recent job, as a translator within the United Nations system, he has concentrated on his own words, publishing many poems and several e-books. "Houlihan's Wake" is Number 1 in Goodreads' "Books Set in Mexico" Listopia. Bryan is currently working on a novel set in Portugal in the 1970s. He welcomes visitors at http://www.bryanmurphy.eu . You can find his books here: http://bit.ly/19vt7Ts . His blog is here: http://bit.ly/1cq1yus .