Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Being Discussed Now!

Hey guys, just thought I'd let you know what's up on the Facebook fan page.  I'm having a great time on the discussion boards, answering all kinds of questions, talking about my writing process (such as it is!) and the happenings in the Legacy Series.  Here's one response to give you an idea (I think I'm going to start posting some of these over here...):

Hi Ana,

I'm happy to be able to answer your questions! :)

The part I had the most fun writing in Legacy was probably the chapter at Semari's birthday party, where Alera and Steldor are dancing while they argue. It was such a fun dynamic, to have them be absolutely furious with each other while trying to appear happy for the onlookers. I also really enjoyed some of the reveal chapters about Narian, like when I finally got to write about his past at the tournament, or when he showed off his secret arsenal of weapons. I loved the mystery of his character so exploring it was amazing.

The part I found most boring to write was actually the picnic, where Alera and Miranna go out with Steldor and Temerson and Tadark. At the time I wrote it, all I wanted to write about was Narian, and the picnic is about 20 pages worth of Steldor. Now the picnic is my favorite part of Legacy. It was just a pain to write at the time because I wasn't in the correct mindset!

For me, writing is a real give-and-take process. Whenever I start a new project, I'm determined to write all the way through without fumbling. But I have to cut myself slack at a certain point and remember that a rough draft is supposed to be rough. I try to skip as little as possible, but there are times when filling in between the big plot points is really tedious, and I need to hurry along to a more motivating point or I'm going to lose it altogether. A rough draft means you can always go back and fix it!

I'm so honored to have inspired you to keep writing -- you inspire me!

Thanks so much,

Cayla

Pop over to ask your own questions!  Legacy will be coming out in paperback (all crisp and clean and newly edited) very very soon, and I'm beyond excited to share it with you. :)

Best!

Cayla

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Can't wait to see the second in the series!!

Dottie :)

Anonymous said...

I'll probably be in a old folks home by the time the 2nd comes out :D