MG / YA Blog hop

I’ve been tagged in a MG/YA blog hop and was asked to answer the following questions by the amazing Thomas Torre. 

1.      What are you working on right now?

I have a few projects going on right now. 

• I’m querying a MG science fiction about 13y/o Gary Jones that gets abducted by aliens and gets telekinesis. He has to complete missions for the aliens in return for his ability, while trying to figure out what they are really up to. It’s Sky High meets Ender’s Game with young alien trainers reminiscent of Jedi masters.
• I’m furiously editing a YA science fiction called Tracker 220. It’s a futuristic science fiction thriller that blends technology similar to Google Glass and a fast paced thriller world like Minority Report.
• I also have a very baby WIP that’s also a YA science fiction. I can't say too much about it yet but it’s set in space.

2. How does it differ from other works in its genre? 
For the MG, there’s not tons of MG science fiction but there is a lot out there that has kids with superpowers. So I tried to set my story apart by making the origin of the powers from aliens and I made them come with a cost. I mixed in some cool advanced alien technology while putting a unique spin on how superpowers are used.

For the YA science fiction thriller, I combined advanced technology, with a fast paced thriller world. I threw in strong female characters including the protagonist and a cute nerdy boy.

For the baby WIP, well I can’t say much but I’m basically trying to take a popular space scifi tv show and spin it for YA while throwing in some other interesting and tricky elements. Do with that what you will.

3. Why do you write what you do? 
Why do I write science fiction? Two reasons. One, I’m a rocket scientist. I was brought up with scifi and I want to share it with the world. Two, I love the question what if. I love looking at things that could be even, if they are sort of out there. What if can take you anywhere.

Why do I write YA? Because it’s basically all I read. Despite never wanting to write, once I started reading a lot, I started having all these ideas of my own. One day they wouldn’t shut up so I started writing them down.

Why do I write MG? More details on that, on the fantastic MG Minded blog! Check it out.

4. How does your writing process work?

Oh there’s a loaded question. I would say several times a week I hear something or see something that makes me go what if… and I write it down. Usually that doesn’t go anywhere, but every once in a while, from that idea and plot, characters start to emerge. The more the ideas stew the more of the world and characters develop. So then I start an outline. Chapter by Chapter I usually write a handful of sentences about what should happen in that section. Every once in a while I’ll get a few paragraphs of prose and/or dialogue that I’ll include with that chapter.

When I have about a quarter to a third of an outline I usually start writing. I don’t typically know how things will end other than a general idea when I start. As I write, the back of the outline starts filling in. And I write in order until I finish. If a scene snippet comes to me, I fill it into the outline where it belongs.

Every time I sit down to write, I spend the first 10 minutes or so reading the prior section. If I find typos I fix them but mostly I just read to put me in the mindset of the story. Typically that’s enough to launch me into writing the next section. It also helps me maintain flow and pacing.

So that’s my writing process. We won’t talk about how brutal I get with my editing ;)

And that’s a little bit more about my writing. I’m going to tag a few MG/YA writers, Mandy P., Christina, and Michelle, so they can give your their answers to the questions above. :)