WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR

Welcome to the WRITING PROCESS BLOG TOUR. Last week my guest was Sylvie Grayson. We learned about how careers and experiences in her past led her down the road to living her dream of becoming an author.

This week, Sylvie passed the torch on to Helena Korin, a member of our local RWA chapter. Please give her a warm welcome,

Now a little about me, writing as Helena Korin,

What are you working on?

I am putting the finishing touches on my second novella. It is a time-travel story landing my heroine in Regency London. There she meets the double of a man she has just met in the twenty-first century. The sexual tension between them sizzles, but this man has the polished manners of an aristocrat. Can she get him to break through the social codes of his day and admit his feelings before she lands back in the present?

How do your romances differ from other historicals?

I think that time-travel stories bring their own set of challenges. The hero and heroine must ultimately choose which time period to remain in, consequently one of them has to make a life-altering choice. But historicals, in themselves, give the reader a time-travel experience – without the difficulties of a convincing teleport. I love the work of Amanda Quick, Jo Beverley, Nicola Cornick, Susanna Kearsley, Julia Quinn and Eloisa James. To be able to produce sparkling dialogue and sexual tension like these talented authors would be a dream come true.

Why do I write what I do?

I am fascinated by life in past centuries, the differences and similarities. I write Regencies because the elegant fashions and manners of the time appeal to me. I am aware of the contrasts between the very poor and the wealthy which existed then. But most Regencies focus on the world of the aristocracy. A ladies’ maid may turn out to be a long lost duchess. I think Regency readers like this fairy tale quality. My premise is that people two hundred years ago had the same feelings and motivations as we do nowadays. The trappings of life were different – no penicillin or electricity – but men and women still longed for love, adventure, and control over their own destiny.

How does your writing process work?

I am fascinated by historical buildings and try to imagine the people who once lived there. A sentence under the picture of a beautiful old library has me imagining the life of a dairy maid who married the lord when he was in his seventies…You can see where this is going  I try to plot because ‘pantsing’ inevitably leads me to a blank screen with the question, “Now what?” ringing in my head. But lately I’ve found that giving myself an approximate outline and then allowing some ‘pantsing’ works better for me. If I plotted every detail there would be nothing to discover as the story unfolds. I try to write daily but life does tend to intervene.

Thank you, Helena, for sharing a little of your process with us. I can’t wait to read your book, 🙂
How about you? What is your process?
Are you a pantser, or a plotter?
We’d love to hear from you.