Writing Process Blog Hop

Thanks to the gorgeous soul that is Steph, I’ve got another blog hop. I sort of love these, purely because I have the chance to write more about my practice but also get to learn more about others. So watch out for the tags below, you might be one of them.

Tell us a little about yourself

My name’s Amanda Kontos, but I go by Mandi, and I’m a writer, editor and writing coach. I’m originally from Adelaide but currently reside Melbourne, where I’ve fallen in love with the city’s charm, hipster nature and great cafes. I write urban fantasy and enjoy breaking the mould with mythology and modern twists. It’s always been my calling. I also run Dreaming Fully Awake, my online home that will eventually lead into my coaching business where I aim to bust internal editors and stop procrastination in it’s tracks

What are you currently working on?

Well isn’t this a loaded question! I’m currently working on the draft of my novel that I have been working on for 11 years. It’s getting closer and closer to the end game and it’s both frustrating and exciting. As well as that I’m working on an e-book that will be a link up between my coaching sessions and a how to. I’m not sure how it’s going to work but it’s going to. And it’s non-fiction, which is terrifying in itself, because I’m a fiction writer and would explain why I am working on a fiction piece that will probably never see the light of day at the same time. I am deathly allergic to non-fiction it seems.

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

Well I’ve tried to make my writing different, I have a werewolf, there is a semi love triangle in it (kind of…) and there is a mummy! I love Ancient Egyptian culture and I’ve really tried to bring that to life in my novel. I’m not really sure. To be different from a genre you have to actually understand the rules and know that you need to have them in there. That’s why they’re there and why they work so well, but it’s so fun to bend the rules. It’s hard to really figure out how my work differs from others in the genre, because I don’t write to fit the genre, I write what I want to write and for all I know I could be making a brand new genre

Why do you write what you write? (or…)

Because I love to lose myself in a world that isn’t the one I live in. Writing to me is an escape, as well as work. It’s what keeps me sane, and what makes me crazy at the same time. It’s a thin line but it’s definitely something that keeps life interesting. I want to touch that teenager or that girl (or boy) who feels something deeper for my characters, who dreams of being in between the lines and the pages of my novels, I want to save someone and make them smile. That’s why I write, because all those years ago books saved me and helped me get through my teenage years.

I also like to get reactions from people. So far I’ve had a teacher check my wrists, and made people physically ill. If I can make someone care enough that they’ll yell at me for killing a character, I’ll be a roll. I’m probably the most morbid person out there and looks forward to mean emails that will beg me to change the ending or something.

What inspires you?

Music and life. Oh and books. I know, cliché right? But seriously. I have gotten entire scenes from listening to music, even short stories. During my first degree at Flinders Uni I wrote a story because I was busy listening to Fall Out Boys song…the one with a wedding tragedy…I can’t remember the name of it.

With books, I have random things pop into my head, like I have a series that lives in my head and has a good 50k written in it, based on a concept that one of my favourite writers seems to have brought to life. I know, pretty vague hey? But if I talk about that I risk someone else stealing that from me too…I had a guy at uni do it before I completely tore his writing to shreds because he didn’t do it right, and he used mythology that I am the most familiar with (I’m Greek and my parents will be glad that Greek School didn’t go to waste).

Life has been probably the biggest wake up call to date. Grieving the loss of my dad is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do and it’s given me a new lease on life, as cliché as that sounds. Everything in life inspires me right now, the sun on my face, the slight change and warmth in the breeze, even walking to and from the gym. Life is beautiful and you should really live it the way you want it and I love to live it with my head in the clouds, nose in a book and my fingers on a keyboard.

What are your favourite scenes to write?

Oh this is hard. I can tell you the scenes I struggle with. Action scenes and I are something that we’re learning to adapt with. I have a tendency of taking the reader out of the moment; I’m working on it. I guess I should really answer the questions properly, yeah? I really love writing fast, punchy dialogue scenes that go back and forth between characters. I was editing and found a really amusing piece of drunk dialogue that actually made me laugh out loud…I was so amused.

How does your individual writing process work?

Why are all of these questions hard? Ha! I don’t really know how my writing process works. It sort of happens. I guess after doing NaNoWriMo for so many years I tend to find that all I really need is music and a writing program. If we really want to break it down, my process is actually pretty tiring. The first draft happens in a short amount of time (or well and entire draft. I wrote the end of my current novel in 8 days and that was a whopping 50k) or I try to make it happen. Then I let it stew for a little while. It’s easier to come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes. I go through the draft and point out what needs to be changed and what doesn’t make sense and then I put that aside. I was lucky to have a version of my draft printed out and ready to be used with.

Most books will tell you rewrite your second draft without looking at your first but I found that I was missing a lot of key details, so I was able to make sit down and pull out the main parts of each chapter and use it as a guide. I covered everything in my second draft and cut a good chunk of words out, which is what editing is meant to do. I’m currently working through my third draft where I’m fixing up typos and adding dates before it gets sent off to my critic partner and beta readers for feedback. I’m actually nervous about this.

If there are huge gaps in the story I’m going to have to rewrite it all over again. I’m actually hoping that I won’t have to, because I don’t think I can physically take another full rewrite. I don’t know how some authors can do that.

Here’s hoping really.

Any advice and things you’ve learnt?

Don’t wait for the right time. Stop thinking that you’ll have time and sit your butt down in that chair of yours and write. So what if it’s going to be bad? You’ll have something to work with and that is more important than anything else. People are going to critic you and you have to build yourself a thick skin to deal with it, but you have to make sure that it’s not too thick that you don’t let in those that can help you. Criticism really only helps if it’s constructive, learn the difference.

That’s a lot of damn advice, but having lived through it all and learning those lessons for myself doesn’t make them any less true.

The next bloggers:

So I’m choosing three gorgeous people.

Peta at Down to the Ground because I need to see more of her writing (and she needs to totally reply to my texts!) She is a fantasy writer who is going to be doing big things. I can see her going so far and Im lucky to be apart of her life.

Tahlia because she has me watching from over here thinking that she is awesome! (She is not on a pedestal, don’t even try and put her there! No!) But I totally want to kick up her writing too, I fully believe there are so many little nuggets in her life that she needs to get them out there and I think this will definitely give her a little push.

And lastly I’m tagging Ru, because Ru needs to finish writing her novel. Let me stalk Baltek, pleaaaseee.