Today I am pleased to bring you a guest post from Christine Amsden, author of The Immortality Virus. Check out her book and enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post!
"A Day in My Writing Life"
I'm always surprised by interest in my daily writing routine. The truth is, writing is a solitary and outwardly uninteresting task. Inside my head, it's a whirlwind of activity, but to the passive observer, there's just not a lot to see. This is me, sitting at my desk. Typing. I do that a lot.
As far as what I'm actually doing while typing, every day is just a little bit different. Today, I'm fixing a plot problem that involves switching the order of two scenes, and then smoothing them out so it looks like they were always written in that order. Tomorrow, I will continue writing new material. In a few weeks, this rough draft will be finished and I will move on to other projects while I await feedback. Then revisions begin. Then edits. Then the process begins again with the next novel.
I don't have a routine. Because I have young kids whose schedule constantly seems to change, I haven't managed to establish a schedule for myself. Sometimes I write in the mornings. Sometimes, in the afternoons. Sometimes, in the evenings. I do try to help ground myself by lighting a candle and doing some meditation when it's time to write. This helps me shift my mind from whatever else I was doing, and lets me focus.
But mostly, it's all in my head. I have entire worlds and multiple casts of characters in there, trying to come out through my fingertips. Drafting is my favorite part of writing, because that is when those worlds and characters fight for attention. During revisions, it's more about fine tuning. If the life isn't already there, you can't breathe it in during a revision.
In my head, I wake up thinking about my story. It's in the back of my mind all day long. And I fall asleep planning new details. Like I said, a whirlwind of activity, but it doesn't look like much to the outside observer.
Title: The Immortality Virus
Author: Christine Amsden
Date Published: 6/15/12
Synopsis:
In the mid-21st century, the human race stopped aging. Those who know why aren't talking, and the few who are brave enough to ask questions tend to disappear. To an elite few, The Change means long life and health, but to the ever-increasing masses, it means starvation, desperation, and violence.
Four centuries after The Change, Grace Harper, a blacklisted P.I., sets off on a mission to find the man responsible for it all and solicit his help to undo The Change -- if he's still alive. To complicate matters, Grace's employer is suspected of murdering his father, and when the police learn of their connection, they give her a choice -- help them find the evidence they need to convict Matthew Stanton, or die. But if they discover Grace's true mission, they won't hesitate to kill her in order to preserve their shot at immortality.
Winner of the Epic Award for Science Fiction, the Global eBook Award for Science Fiction, and a finalist in The Next Generation Indie Book Awards.
Buy links: Barnes & Noble | Kindle | Paperback
Author Bio
Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves
to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that affects the retina and causes a loss of central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in the way of her dreams.
When she's not writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing, usually at Savvy Authors. She also offers professional editing services. She maintains a book review blog on her website with occasional writing tips thrown in for the fun of it.
Christine lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and two children.
Contact
http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/
https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664
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