2015-02-11

Amber L. Johnson is the author of Maybe.
Maybe-3D-Paperback-eReader


Could you describe your writing routine and your experience writing this novel? Do you think this novel changed you as a writer? If "yes", how?

Throughout the years, my writing routine has changed and evolved until it’s pretty much not a routine at all. In the beginning I wrote in the late hours of the night and early hours of the mornings before and after work - after my son would finally go down for bed. Then I started bringing my stuff to work so that I could fit in some time away from the house while on my lunch break. That quickly turned into just writing whenever there was a free opportunity, which is probably why I initially wrote so much in such a short amount of time. 

For the last year I have either been rewriting or editing books so the honest truth is that I don’t have a routine at all right now. And I really miss it. I miss being able to have my notebook with the chapters outlined sitting on the table while I concentrate on getting the story out of my head. I miss blocking out the world for a couple hours with my headphones in and just losing myself in something I find so much joy in. 

With Maybe, the original draft was written in the span of 3 months. All 200,000 words. When it went into the publication process it was decided that it not only needed to be shortened, but it needed to literally be rewritten from scratch. I had about 3 weeks to rip the book apart by the seams and put it back together. And I’m not talking about deleting a scene. I mean fully redoing the plot, killing off 20 characters and changing the entire POV.

In the long run I know that experience affected and changed me as a writer for the better because I proved that I could do it. I know this story and these characters so well that I could tell their story any way I needed to.

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Thank you, Amber L. Johnson!

Fellow writers, do you have a writing routine?

Your comments are welcome!




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2 comments:

  1. Thank you for hosting me and being part of my blog tour!

    xoxox

    Amber

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're welcome! Congrats on your book!

    - Raum

    ReplyDelete

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