TOPIC: Kylie Griffin FAQ's

After months of interviewing my friends in RWAustralia, RWNew Zealand and RWAmerica, I thought it was only fair to turn the tables on myself.

Where do you live?

Outback Australia

New South Wales, in an outback rural community (Australia). 

What sort of books do you write?
Broadly speaking - paranormal romance. Breaking it down, I love writing fantasy romance and science fiction romance, with paranormal elements. 

What time of the day do you write? Are you a morning, night-owl or anytime writer?
When I'm teaching full-time I write early in the morning. I get up anywhere between 4-5am and get a few hours in before I head off to work. I'm fresher and much more creative then, than when I get home from being on the go with a classroom full of little kids. If it's school holidays, I like to stay up late and write then. Less interruptions, quieter and I can sleep in the next morning if I've had a late one.

Hugh - sigh...

Are there any particular rituals you do to set the mood / harness your muse?
I like to get a cuppa and brekky first thing in the morning, and while I'm doing that I clear out my emails or post promo's of my upcoming blog posts.

Desktop inspiration!

I also change my desktop picture daily - usually I select a natural scene that encapsulates a setting from my WIP or one of my many hunky guys who resembles my hero.

Once I've done that then I light a scented candle, put up my DO NOT DISTURB sign on the front door and go for it. Sometimes I put on easy listening music, down low so I can't get distracted by the lyrics, but mostly I write in silence. 

Are you a plotter / planner or a pantser? Do you edit as you go or prefer to edit after completion of the ms?
I'm evolving. I started off as a pure panster when I first began writing and found I had a LOT of half written manuscripts sitting in boxes. As I learned more and improved I would have called myself a panster in the fog - you know, you can see the tops of the hills and your destination in the distance (aka some scenes and finale) but still muddle our way through to get there.

Now, thanks to entering a couple of competitions where I had to submit a synopsis with the work (and I haven't actually finished the ms) I'm seeing a need to plan. I won't say full on plot because I don't think I'll ever convert to pure plotting and structure. So, I'm a panstering scener with a final destination and the journey there remains a mystery.

As for editing, I do it as I go. Usually I writer a few chapters at a time then go back and add in detail and layering. Once I finish the whole manuscript I'll send it out to some beta readers for comment then with their comments I'll check for holes and errors and give it that final once over.

Do you have a schedule that you follow for your writing time? Are you a goal setter with your writing?
When I first start a book I set myself word goals to get into the routine of producing work. Once I meet those goals I begin lifting the targets. I'm competitive with myself once I get into that routine. I like to see if I can beat the target and if so, by how much. And once I'm immersed in the whole process those word totals tend to become redundant. I just write until the end.

I do like to write every day, no necessarily on my WIP but something writing related. Keeps the brain ticking over and the creative eye in. 

What writing tools do you favour?
Long hand, computer…I'm definitely a lap top girl. I'm a fast typist. The only time I'll go long hand is if I'm in town shopping and inspiration strikes. Then I'll write on any scrap of paper and put what I've done in my pocket for later.

I do have a notebook beside me in the lounge room and on the bedside table for jotting down ideas. They tend to come to me when my mind is switched off and in neutral watching television or just as I'm drifting off to sleep.

During an editing phase I like a hard copy of my ms sitting in front of me rather than a screen. There's something more tangible about being able to mark it with highlighters (using the Margie Lawson EDITS system) or with red pen line edits. For repetitive words/phrases I use Wordle, a natty tool that counts the number of times you've used each word in your ms. (I discovered this one via Mel Scott - thanks, Mel!)

Lastly, when I'm writing a series I use an A4 spiral bound notebook with sticky-note labels on the edges of pages and turn it into a "Series Bible" - characters & descriptions, terminology, culture, history, places & names, facts, animals & plants, possible ms title lists etc. I also stick in any maps I've created, a synopsis and back cover blurb for easy reference. Anything that pertains to the series that I might need to refer to when I create the next book. It saves me having to flip back through the first one looking for a hair colour or some other hard to find thing. 

Is your writing space messy, organized or somewhere in between? Are you prepared to show evidence of your claim with a desk photo?

My cave...

 My writing space can be all that, but my OC side (obsessive compulsive) likes it to be mostly organised. And yes, here's my desk - I waited nearly 15years to find the "right" one - a recycled timber with imitation leather top. Sigh.

You can see my "Series Bible" for the Light Blade series (the one Berkley just recently bought) on the right hand side, it's bright pink. It goes with me where ever I take my laptop.

You can also see the ever present coffee cup, a small rock that has the word CREATE carved into it near my lamp and on the wall are inspirational sayings as well as a tiny picture of my great Grandma Griffin above the left hand corner of my laptop (I use her surname as my author surname to keep it in the family, it just happens to match my genre as well), and a photo of my agent and editor (I like to see them when I'm corresponding via emails or talking to them over the phone). 

What books are due to be released?
VENGEANCE BORN: A Novel of the Light Blade (Book1) is out in the USA in Feb.2012 with Berkley.
Book 2 & 3 in this series haven't had definite dates set yet. 

Who is your agent? Who is your editor?
I'm represented by the incredible Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency. At Berkley Publishing the wonderful Leis Pederson is my editor. 

Are you a member of any writing organisations or groups?
Yes, and I can't tell you how much I enjoy being with such supportive and encouraging people within these organisations.
Romance Writers of Australia
Romance Writers of New Zealand
Romance Writers of America®
Science Fiction Romance Brigade
Romance Writers of Australia (paranormal e-loop)
2010 RWA Golden Heart® "Unsinkables" e-loop 

Where can I find out more information about you?
I have a website, this blog and a Facebook page. 

Can readers email you?
Absolutely, I love getting emails from readers.

You can contact me on - kyliegriffin71 (at) optusnet (dot) com (dot) au - and you can expect a response within a day or a couple of weeks depending on what deadlines are coming up.

If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comments section of this post and I'll do my best to answer them.

2009 - The Year of Competitions

After the incredible fortnight of conferences I’m naming this year - 2009 - The Year of Competitions. While the boost to morale and affirmation of faith in my story-telling is great, I can’t claim all the credit. The success of 2009 has been a cumulative process of milestones and events over the last few years.
The honing of my skills as a writer is the direct result of the incredible workshops offered at the annual conferences, the feedback provided by so many judges in the competitions and the support I’ve received from friends on both sides of the Tasman.
My two most amazing “lightbulb” moments came from the wonderful Debbie Macomber and incredible Margie Lawson, both guest speakers at conferences past. Debbie spoke about setting goals - realistic or fanciful - & made us define 5 during her lecture then challenged us to achieve them over the next year. I discovered the dangling carrot scenario works for me.
The second AHA! moment was using the EDITS system and Empowering Emotion lectures presented by Margie Lawson. I’m a visual learner and so the idea of using highlighters to identify dialogue, narrative, conflict, setting and emotion was a powerful tool. It’s one I now use regularly when I edit my work. (Margie’s website offers more information on these tools and I highly recommend you check it out)
The hunger for learning the craft and absorbing the information on offer hasn’t eased and I hope it never does. I love getting my scoresheets back from competitions and the hour after I open the envelope I devour the comments, reading, analysing and assessing how best I can use them to improve my writing.
I do the same the day the Hearts Talk or Heart to Heart magazines arrive in the mail - the contents page gets a quick skim then I dive right in knowing the knowledge contained in the articles will be valuable, like gold. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone back over past issues looking for that certain bit of information or to find an article to pass on to a friend.
Another tool I found valuable in honing my skills was volunteering to be a contest judge. It’s a great way to develop your own writing and critiquing skills and you’ll be helping other writers during the process.
Without the emotional attachment associated with my own work, I found it so much easier to identify what worked well and what needed improvement as I read other people’s stories. As a judge it helped me “get my eye in” and when I edited my own work I was able to identify my own strengths and weaknesses that much easier.
So, if you want to fine tune some of your writing skills, and help our hard working competition coordinators and give back to the organisation that’s helped you then volunteer to judge.
Believe me, you won’t regret it - oh, but a word of warning, you could end up addicted!