Writing Process Blog Tour | JC Morrows

Good Morning!

It is a beautiful spring day and I am sitting here trying to figure out exactly what to say that will keep you reading the long post below…

(This post also appears on my weebly blog)

Better to just jump in I suppose.

I won’t go in to all the boring “about me” type stuff. That’s on my home page here and my “about” page on my writer’s blog. But I will tell you this. I have always been a story teller. My mom will tell you that. I can not count the number of times I have woken up from some crazy dream and told my mother all about it only to hear her say, “That’s really interesting. You should write that down.”.

Almost two years ago now, I finally listened. I started writing The Andarii Chronicles. It was something I had dreamed and it was so real, I felt like I had lived it. I knew the main character wasn’t me but I knew what it felt like to be her. I was intrigued. In fact, after two years and several other projects in between, Gwyn’s story is still my favorite. It’s the one I entertain myself with at night when I can’t sleep. It’s the one I tell myself in my head when I’m bored – which is almost never. It’s the one I go back to time and time again… just to fix one more thing. And it’s the one I most want to see in print.

And one day I shall! I KNOW God has a plan for it. I just have to be patient enough.

So, onto the reason for this post. I was invited to participate by my good friend Rachel D Muller. She has faith in my work and she asked me to share my answers to four questions that authors from all over have been answering in this Writing Process Blog Tour.

So here are my answers to the four questions:

• What am I working on at the moment?

Well it was a secret but I guess I have to let you in on it now…
I am working on a new project titled: “Adrift”. It is set in space many years from now. It is a story of hope lost… and found. It’s a classic story… just set in the future. A young man signs on to do time with the military of the day, only this military operates in deep space.

An unexplained catastrophe. A tragic explosion. A young woman heartbroken.

Fast forward 5 years – Our young heroine has not given up hope of finding her lost love. He could be out there… somewhere. And if he is, she IS going to find him!

The story involves a lot of what people like to think of as coincidences – but are really just a show of how amazing God’s power can be in everyday life. HE wants to show us that power, HE wants to work in our lives and do amazing things. We just don’t let HIM very often. My hope is that “Adrift” will help to remind us all to NEVER give up on God… or love.

• How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Probably the biggest difference between my work and so many others in the sci-fi/fantasy genre is the viewpoint I write from. I am a very strong believer in God and his power. That belief shows through very clear in my writing. My characters hold tight to that faith and it helps to get them through their struggles and their battles.

The market is producing more of what we call speculative fiction. Christian readers want books they are comfortable reading and books filled with ugly language and adult relationships are not in that sphere of comfort. So they look to Christian publishers and the publishers are finally beginning to hear them and print Christian sci-fi and fantasy books!

• Why do I write what I do?

I write what I do for two reasons. I have always been fascinated by the unknown. I grew up reading whatever sci-fi books I could get my hands on but I never liked the language or the intensely inappropriate physical encounters.

So I finally gave in to God’s leading and started writing down my own story ideas. My hope is that what I’ve written finds its way into the hands of people like myself who enjoy the possibilities of fantastical adventures but do not enjoy the pointless relationships or vulgar language found between so many other covers.

Plus, the characters won’t let me stop… You other writers know just what I mean.

• How does my writing process work?

My writing style is an odd combination of what are typically referred to as “plotter” and “pantser” – though I’ve never really cared for either term.

There is always a rough idea in my head of the bulk of a story before the first words appear on my screen. And though I try to write down a rough outline, it mostly consists of what ends up as my back-cover blurb.

I like to keep in-depth character sketches but there are a lot of times that a characters doesn’t reveal things about their own personality until I’ve written a large part of the story already so I tend to write down details as they come to me.

As for the story itself, I just start writing. Sometimes it ends up being the first chapter, sometimes it’s more toward the middle and sometimes I end up yanking out a bunch of what I wrote first because I realize that it was meant for my own personal notes.

In essence, I go with the flow. The story takes me where it wants to go. The story belongs to the characters, I’m just the one doing the typing.

I want to take a moment to thank Rachel Muller for this opportunity. If not for people like Rachel believing in me, I would never have gotten to where I am today. She is truly a blessing and I am thankful for her.

And now to do my other part.

I have nominated Jennifer Beckstrand and Amy Clipston to follow in the Writing Process Blog Tour and they have graciously agreed to participate. Their names above are linked to their blogs. I know you’ll enjoy reading their posts. Look for them next Monday, May 19th.

THANK YOU for reading! This post will also appear on my author blog over on wordpress.

God Bless You!

~ JC

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