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| Laura Breck |
When I
start plotting a book, I usually begin with something I've dreamt about, or a situation
from real life. Reading other author's work has never triggered ideas for my
own books. Of course, what I dream about may be the byproduct of what I read
the night before, but that's the tiny miracle of my subconscious at work.
If I'm
writing a long book, I will plot it on the computer. I write plot points,
sometimes dialogue, and will often write a whole scene that is in my head, just
so I don't forget it. The plot for one of my first books ended up at 30,000
words, so you can imagine how long the book was.
With
Dancing in a Hurricane, the plotting was fun because of the setting and the
multicultural aspect of the book. Sixto is a Cuban-American, and he and his
friends use Cubonics - slang words that capture their culture.
It was
important to me to have a very accurate view of Miami. I did extensive research
online, and spoke to people who live there, asking them dozens of questions,
some of which I'm sure they thought were very strange.
Reading
the Miami papers online helped me develop the conflict for the story; a
controversy which is still a hot topic for the city. After I wrote the first
draft, I contacted the local Romance Writers of America chapter and asked for a
reader to critique the story from the cultural point of view. I was lucky to
find a woman who was married to a Cuban-Amercian man and she gave me some
wonderful input.
While
each story is different, the process is usually the same. 1) dream up a story,
2) plot it out, 3) research like crazy, 4) rewrite, rewrite, rewrite until it's
as close to perfect and I can make it.
What is your favorite part about your job? Do
you like the creative process, or does the logical side of your work appeal to
you more? Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Dancing in a Hurricane.
Laura
~Smart Women ~Sexy Men ~Seductive Romance
LauraBreck.com
Dancing in a Hurricane is available in digital and paperback formats at Amazon and in paperback at Createspace
5 comments:
What a great idea you had of contacting an RWA chapter in Miami to seek a reader. I'm sure that extra bit of effort added a rich layer of cultural accuracy to the story. Awesome idea.
Wow,a 30,000 word plot outline. That's a novella! My plot outlines tend to be 1 or 2 sentences per chapter. You're the queen of organization, Laura. Oh, my favorite part of writing is dialogue.
That's an easy question. The smile on a customer's face when they are satisfied & happy with the work you have done for them.
Dialogue would be my favorite part of writing. Second only to description. It sounds like you put tons and tons of work into your, well, work. Sixto is a keeper.
Congratulations booksbysteph! You won an ecopy of Dancing in a Hurricane! Please contact me at Laura AT LauraBreck DOT com to claim your prize.
Thanks to everyone for commenting!
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