1/31/2024 0 Comments Large obsidian mirror![]() ![]() (Authors call this “pantsing.” Some writers do it well. The first draft clearly reflected that I had written it by the seat of my pants. This time, I started with the concept of fantasy based on New World traditions and mythologies, which I hadn’t seen much of at this point. I have done that before and never gotten anywhere. I didn’t have a storyline before I started writing “The Obsidian Mirror.” Actually, I didn’t set out to write a book. This is a fantasy rendering of my villain in “The Obsidian Mirror, Necocyotl. ![]() I also researched Native American traditions and folklore, and also threw in Voudún and meso-American elements just because I find them interesting. I did revisit a few locales to refresh my memory. This was convenient, as I have lived in Northern California for more than 40 years, so I didn’t have to do much location research. My first novel, “ The Obsidian Mirror,” took place primarily in Northern California. I have not (until my current WIP) made up an entire world and the way it works like Brian Sanderson, who is a master of world-building and magical systems. First, I have placed most of my fantasy fiction in the real world (past or present). You might say that is an elaborate and expensive process for a fantasy writer. I decide where I want the story to be and I go there. Until recently, I don’t start out with a story in mind. However, I do have a process for researching before writing, and it is the most enjoyable part. My writing process is basically sitting down and writing. At least, I never would have kept a writing job. If that is what it took to inspire me to write, I would never have had a writing job. I can see me now: sitting in an open workspace in a Cisco Systems building, surrounded by my co-workers, wearing my favorite schlumpfy nightgown and fuzzy slippers, surrounded by rose-scented candles as I feverishly pound the keyboard. As someone who used to get paid to sit in an office and write all day, I find that notion hysterical. I had someone ask me once if I lit a candle before writing, or had a favorite shirt or something that I wore only to write. ![]() I don’t usually write about my “writing process.” (In point of fact, I hardly ever write things for this blog, but I’m trying to change all that.) ![]()
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