Participating in a Blog Hop is something you can’t turn down. I guess you can, but when . . .

 Jenna Willett of Jen’s Pen Den

@JensPenDen

. . . asked if I would participate, how could I say no? I doubt she hears no very often. She’s a great source of a lot of writing advice. She finds the articles and then posts them with her own comments from writing experience and links back to the articles she’s found. She’s not just a sharer, she’s a liver of it, and a doer of it. She’s living in our world of writing. Definitely click the Link above the top photo for her answer to the questions I’m about to answer. I mean, she’s sold a book to a studio?

Now to me. I know . . . but it’s part of the deal. Over time answers change to the same questions of life. It all depends on where you are in whatever aspect of life is being asked about. The longer I write and blog the more the answers change and mature.

1)      What am I working on?

I am a varied book of writing ideas. I continue to try and work on a YA novel revise and edit. That SHOULD be at the forefront of my priorities, followed by my New Adult/Adult Romance, then my Blog. However, with the thoughts that keep rushing to my head, my absence of impulse control and lack of filter due to a concussion the Blog tends to lead the way and is quite enjoyable.

The YA book is about siblings that find themselves in predicaments. I really can’t say much more than that. I believe it to be a fairly original idea. Perhaps it is no overly original but I like to think it is a good idea.

The Romance is actually the second in a series of a Romance trilogy I was working on. The first I began revising to put more of my voice into it, but recently realized the second is actually the better overall and that I could really throw myself into it. The main character is a man with heart and great love for the love of his life and I think I can put myself into that character and connect with him more.

2)      How does my work differ from other genres?

I’ll take this by threes again. My Blog is more than a hodgepodge. If it comes into my mind it comes out of my fingertips. I’ve learned that no matter what we share on a blog that someone will find it and connect with it. It may not be a hit with everyone, but one connection is all the satisfaction one needs sometimes. My site is called RonovanWrites and that’s exactly what I do. I write . . . anything and everything . . . tastefully so or at least I hope so.

In my YA writing I try to give the young characters more depth than perhaps people realize is there. There are more layers to young people than we think. Having been a teacher and then especially having been involved in Youth Ministry I really paid attention to and WANTED to understand what those layers were. I never assumed that ‘what you see is what you get’ with a student. You can say the same about a reader.

My Romance writing is, well . . . in this second book which I want to become the main book, I do more than just give you the man’s view I give you his everything. It’s a very different sort of love story, I believe in how I handle it. It is very much how I feel about love.

3)      Why do I write what I do?

On the Blog it’s a creative outlet that actually helps me with my novel writing. I’ve discovered that through all of the articles I’ve written that I have a certain voice and style that I have had trouble finding as a writer of novels. Also it allows me to release a lot of internal things that occur due to pain from illnesses and other emotional experiences.

I love young people so the YA is something I truly enjoy. I connect with young people and I really love them. There needs to be books that are better for them to read than a lot that are out there right now.

Romance and New Adult or Adult focused material is obviously something I can really get into, and this particular novel is just truly something I can become a part of because it’s already a part of me.

4)      How does my writing process work?

For the Blog I’ll be having a conversation and it starts me to thinking about an article, or just a word will lead me to a poem. Even the mistreatment of my friends begins a creation. Normally whatever comes out the fingertips is what ends up being put out there. I edit very little. I give my Friends, as I call those who read my blog, my honesty.

For YA I get a general idea of what I want and then start free writing. If it’s going well then I know I have something. Sometimes I’ll end up a sketch outline over future chapters, more like quick ‘To Remember’ things. I actually keep a word document up called ‘(Title of WIP) To Remember) and quickly make note of an idea or even of something that I am writing that might change something that happened previously, and also any research that I want to do.

Romance is a bit similar to YA but I let the heart lead the way. Outlining isn’t as much on the plate. I know you might be able to do some type of rough sketch outline of a general place you want to go, but I just think that, for me using the heart in this one, I can’t outline or tell it where to go. You can’t tell your heart what to feel and you can’t tell it where to go . . . it just goes where it wants to.

After I write a manuscript I then try to walk away for a bit. Recently I even had the YA novel read by a mother and teen daughter to get their thoughts. The daughter is the target audience and the mother of course is someone who might approve the purchase or even make it on her own.

The first draft went fairly well but as I said there are a few areas I need to work on and some of those areas I discovered in conversations with the woman and her daughter. They didn’t even realize they were telling me what I needed to know at this point but it was even better than the notes that I had been given, because the book just came up in conversation and wasn’t a main thought. I was able to get what they remembered and enjoyed.

I think going back and talking to readers a deal of time after they’ve read a book is actually a great way to determine if you wrote a great story, or at least what were the great parts.

Now I am taking what I learned and revising. It’s been a few months since I’ve touched the book. It’s time.

Again I want to thank Jenna for asking me to be a part of this Writing Blog Hop. Everyone, really go check out Jen’s Pen Den and you’ll find articles with great info with links to great information as well.

Now for the next ones for you to be on the look out for their answers to the questions are:

Cyril Bussiere-You’ll recognize the name as some of you already follow his blog. This will be an opportunity to see how he writes and answers to the other questions above. The questions I SHOULD have asked. His book The WorldMight is at Amazon, click here to see it. @cyrilbussiere.

Eloise De Sousa-You might know her better as Thoughts by Mello-Elo. Her books are available from amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, kindle, kobo, and lulu.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mello_elo.

Luccia Gray-Many of us know her already through her blog Rereading Jane Eyre.  Her book All Hallows At Eyre Hall is available at Amazon. Click here to see.  Follower her on Twitter at @LucciaGray .

As the three come out I will also Reblog them here on RonovanWrites so no one misses them.

Much Respect

Ronovan

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