When I saw Kathryne Kennedy’s book, The Fire Lord’s Lover, I just had to ask her to guest blog with us. Kathryne is a multipublished, award-winning author of magical romances. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives in Arizona with her wonderful family—which includes two very tiny Chihuahuas. She welcomes readers to visit her website where she has ongoing contests at: www.KathryneKennedy.com.
ORGANIC WRITING: A Peek into my Writing Process
I might be coining a term here, but ‘organic’ is the most accurate way I can describe my writing process. I start with my characters and a general idea of the plot, and the rest just kind of grows naturally. I know where I’m going, but not exactly how I’m going to get there. And for me, that’s the magical part of writing.
I can explain better with an example, so I’ll use one from my current release, THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER.
My heroine, Lady Cassandra Brydges, is leaving a ball after she has just arrived at Firehame palace and has no idea how to find her chambers. Being Lady Cassandra, she would notice an urchin stealing a bit of supper from the tables, and so I created Gwen to guide her. Now Gwen is a slave from the elven wars, and Cass would not be able to help feeling sorry for the girl, and wouldn’t it be just like Cass to elevate a slave to a servant? So Gwen became her maid, and then I realized that this would be the perfect way for Lady Cassandra to find out more about her husband, General Dominic Raikes, who grew up as a slave in Firehame palace. So they are off to the kitchens to find May, who is a friend of Gwen’s. With elven blood in their veins, each of the slave girls has to possess some type of magical power. So I gave Gwen the gift of ‘finding things’ (I just thought this would be fun), and May the gift of weaving anything that falls within her clever fingers (a reason for Cass to hire her to do her hair).
And then the girls became a part of the plot, and their magical gifts grew useful accordingly. Gwen’s magic became useful when Cass was looking for Dominic, and Lady Cassandra realized that Gwen may be able to using her ‘finding’ magic with a map, once Gwen explained to Cass that she could see the aura of items to find them (and that grew from developing Gwen’s powers a bit more).
And then it seemed logical that Gwen could also ‘find’ dreams. And since May could weave sunlight, it followed that she could weave dreams as well. And the girls had become so fond of Cass that they would surely do anything to protect their mistress, and so toward the end of the book, they used their magic to create a cloak of dreams to protect Lady Cassandra when the elven lord threatened her.
I had no idea when I introduced Gwen that she would become so fundamental to the story. She was originally only a secondary character that would help Cass find her chambers.
And so that’s why I call my writing process organic, because one thing grows from another and half the time I don’t know how the story or characters will develop. So for those of you who also write without a rigid outline, I can only advise you to trust yourself. Learn everything about the craft that you can, but only use what makes sense to your writing process.
Water your garden with your imagination and watch it grow.
I hope you found this peek into my writing process helpful. Thank you so much, Michelle and friends, for hosting me here on your blog today! To celebrate the release of THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER, my publisher will be giving away a copy of the book to one lucky commenter today. So if you should have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to post them. I look forward to talking with you all!
My Magical Best,
Kathryne
THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER BY KATHRYNE KENNEDY—IN STORES JULY 2010
Kathryne Kennedy’s historical fantasy romances have garnered awards and a growing readership. This exciting new series, set against the lavish backdrops of Georgian and Victorian England so beloved by romance readers, is deliciously dark and exciting.
Fighting for control of a kingdom that is split into seven domains, Elven warlords use their human slaves to breed an endless supply of soldiers for their armies. Dominic Raikes, the half-blood son of the Elven Lord himself is one such warrior. Betrothed to Lady Cassandra, who has been raised in a convent to keep her pure, he little suspects that she’s been secretly trained as an assassin to murder his father. Dominic and Cassandra soon discover that each one is not what they seem, but the price of trust may be their very lives, and the destruction of the magical realm each is desperately trying to save…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathryne Kennedy is a multipublished, award-winning author of magical romances. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives in Arizona with her wonderful family—which includes two very tiny Chihuahuas. She welcomes readers to visit her website where she has ongoing contests at: www.KathryneKennedy.com.
Thank you for being our guest today. I LOVE your elven slave girls turned into servants. Just the way you talk about them makes me want to read this book.
My process is similar, and my characters do grow in ways that I never thought of when I started the book. I often feel that my subconscious knew it from the beginning — I just wish it shared a bit more with my conscious mind. It would save me a lot of angst.
Hi Edie! Thank you for the welcome! Glad to be here, today, and great to hear you enjoyed a peek into TFLL. I think all writers have angst, regardless of their process. It’s why we treasure the support of our fellow writers. :}
Hi Kathryne!
Thanks for the peek into your writing mind! I have been wondering about the term “writing organically” I used to think I was a plotter and I think I still am but every so often, I’ll find something later on in the book that helps solve a minor problem I had early on- I’ll have to e-mail you the example LOL!
Have a nice weekend!
Hi Donna! Sounds like you have an organic process as well. Thanks so much for stopping by to comment!
Hi Kathryne. Thanx for joining us here at MM. Love your organic style. I’d say you were a pantser but organic sounds so much more … effective.
I love it when a secondary character becomes a pivotal part of a story. I had a low level demon who was supposed to be a minor character and then killed off. However, Marty became very important to my story, so he gets to live.
Hi Liz! Yeppers, I think my terminology describes my process better. :}
I bet Marty is glad he became so important. ;} Don’t you just love it when characters become so real?
Kathryne,
I just love your writing! And I agree with your terminology “organic” writing better than “pantser”. I was just saying to a friend how I find my writing process to be organic in nature. Pantser, to me, implies flying from the seat of my pants, but I don’t. I listen to my characters and the story they’ve created thus far to move it onward. It’s a symbiotic relationship, writer and character. You are one perceptive lady!
Thank you for the kind compliment, Deena! And I’m glad that the term ‘organic’ describes your writing process better and helps you to visualize it in a more constructive way. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing!
Kathryne, thank you once again for being our guest today. I have TFLL on order, I was hoping to get it before I left for Orlando on Sunday, but alas, no.
I love your comment about trusting ourselves. I think that’s key, even if I sometimes wonder what the heck I’m doing
.
Hi Michelle! It’s a pleasure to be here today! I hope you enjoy TFLL, and thanks!
Sometimes I still wonder if I know what I’m doing, so I’m not sure if that feeling ever goes away. But I trust myself more and more with each book, and I totally agree with you that it’s what truly matters.
Thanks for guestblogging Kathryne. I really enjoyed the peek into your writing process.
Kathryne, wonderful having you at Magical today! I love your process, and mine is so simliar. I basically follow my characters through story, and love the exploration like you discussed. So important, since the fun for me is so wrapped up in that process.
Your novel sounds fabulous, and I must order TFLL today. Much success your way!
Hi Cherie J! So very glad to hear!
Hi LaDonna! Thank you so much for the good wishes!
Hi Kathyrne,
Your ‘organic’ writing process makes for good life philosophy, too. Letting things take its natural course is always a good thing. Your book sounds wonderful. I love magic & love stories. Will be reading this one!Best wishes.
Hi JenX! So very good to hear from another with a passion for magic in their love stories. I do so hope you enjoy!
The winning number for a copy of The Fire Lord’s Lover is:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
4 Timestamp: 2010-07-24 14:46:45 UTC
Counting down, and skipping my posts, the lucky commentor is:
Deena Remiel
Congrats Deena! Email me at kathryne@kathrynekennedy.com to claim your prize.
A big thank you for all your lovely comments. It was a pleasure to meet you all!