By Nora Vasconcelos
I should say that I’ve written all my life, even before I knew how to write. I remember myself creating all sort of stories that I used to share with other little kids. Some years later, pen and paper came in handy to see what my stories would look like when expressed with written words.
It was from my teenager years that my first children’s book, Pequeñas Fantasías (Spanish for Small Fantasies) came to live. Of course, it took some time to put it together, and by then I had already become a journalist.
Writing the news became my everyday work, while creative writing remained as my ever faithful companion. Taking advantage of every spare moment, I kept on writing all sort of stories.
And it’s now that my writing brings me here, to this Blog Tour, a very interesting and dynamic way to interact with writers and bloggers from around the world. For this honor I want to thank Trish Nicholson, who invited me to be part of it.
Trish likes to share her traveling, reading and writing experiences in her blog:
http://trishnicholsonswordsinthetreehouse.com/blog/
Last week she answered these questions about her writing process, now it’s my turn:
1) What am I working on?
As a journalist, I’m always writing news related stories, which I find really interesting because it keeps me up to date with what’s happening around the world.
As a writer, I keep on creating short stories, some for children, some others closer to adventure and science fiction, this last one a genre I love both writing and reading. Mystery, on the other hand, keeps escaping from my pen (computer, I should say), although I truly love reading suspense and I keep juggling some mystery / suspense ideas for a couple of fictional stories.
Also, a long project has kept my attention for several years now, as my first romance novel is still “in the oven”, now much closer to be ready than some time ago. About this, I’d like to say that even though it’s taken a long time, I’ve enjoyed deeply the writing process, coming up with all sort of ideas and situations for my characters has been really enjoyable.
Writing about my traveling expiriences is also something I keep on doing, with the idea that one day it’ll become a book.
2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
It never ceases to amaze me the magic that comes from words used in creative writing, this allows writers to create new worlds, lives and destinations, ideas that they share with their readers, who, have also the liberty of recreating such imaginary realms in their own minds.
What I admire about journalism is the immense reach that words can have, it’s thanks to them that both, difficult and fantastic true stories are discovered and shown to the world.
3) Why do I write what I do?
Because I don’t picture my life without it. Writing just comes naturally to me, either if it’s a feature piece or a short story or if it’s in Spanish or in English, I just love doing it and I’m really happy when I’m doing it.
4) How does my writing process work?
This is quite an interesting question. Research and traveling are key parts of it. Either if it’s a feature piece or a short story, I like to create writing pieces that relate to my readers. To do it so, I like to capture moments that feel real.
Whether it’s fiction or non fiction, I keep working on the story even when I’m not physically writing. Of course, long hours in front of the computer are required, but taking breaks is also essential for me to go over the story in my head and see if the focus is the one I want to present and if I’m truly communicating what I want with my writing.
Exchanging points of view with family, friends and other writers, even if they are far away, is always something I enjoy deeply, as I’m always looking forward to learning from other people.
And, as part of this wonderful experience of exchanging ideas with people around the world, let me introduce you to these very talented writers:
Nancy and John Petralia retired to the New Jersey shore and took Italian lessons. And they dreamed…of living in Italy. When they decided to make that dream a reality it was the start of the best year of their lives–and a story they wanted to share in a book the they titled Not in a Tuscan Villa.
Nancy Petralia grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and will forever be a Steelers fan. Always moving eastward, she landed in Philadelphia where she met John. Born on Broad Street not far from where the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and Sixers play their trades, a graduate of three local schools, it’s hard to imagine anyone more Philadelphian than John. He taught her about good olives, opera, tennis and Italian cooking. She taught him about Irish stew and having a dog. Together they started a book club that’s met every month for 20 years.
Their blog: www.notinatuscanvilla.com/blog
Janet Webb: I grew up reading and loving to write, although I could never have imagined being a blogger, as computers were the size of a room and Al Gore had yet to invent the internet. I enjoy the social part of blogging, too, and love meeting blogging friends in person. Travel is a favorite pastime and a book about the trip to New Zealand my husband and I are planning in late 2015 sounds as though it might be a good project.
My blog is “This, That and The Other Thing” at http://sustainabilitea.wordpress.com/
William Rasoanaivo has spent most of his life expressing himself in Malagasy, French and English, always through cartoons, a means of communication that “Pov” (his pen name) has mastered to tell stories through drawings and just a few words.
He illustrated the book The Story of Mauritius as told to my grandchildren, as well as my own book Pequeñas Fantasías. He also has been awarded with several international prices such as the third place in the World Press cartoon 2010 Award, and an honorable mention granted by the United Nations Correspondents Association Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Award 2005.
His blog: http://povonline.wordpress.com/
