Writing about Writing

I was invited by Teri Connolly to do a blog hop with other writers. How it works is each person has to answer four questions about writing and introduce a few other writers (who then also have to answer the four questions plus introduce other writers) and on it goes. So I am participating. Thanks so much Teri for the invite! Teri has a wonderful blog, Soul Traveler * Teri. Stop by and check it out. She writes very compelling posts. (If you want to read her post on writing, go here).

Here are the questions: 1) What are you currently working on? 2) How does your work differ from others in the same genre? 3) Why do you write what you write? 4) Describe your writing process. And here are my answers:

What are you currently working on? I’m working on a book with the same name as my blog, Angels Bark. At this point it’s a memoir of my journey to becoming an Animal Chaplain/Pet Shaman and how my life with greyhounds and dealing with their subsequent deaths started it all. I’m also toying with writing a children’s or young adult’s book.

How does your work differ from others in the same genre? I don’t know that my memoir piece differs from others in the genre except in the way that all authors’ works differ: each has their own unique voice and specific style.

Why do you write what you write? Because I think others can benefit from what I’ve learned about death and how that view has helped in the grieving process. When I write on my blog, I like to write about whatever strikes me in the moment; it might be something funny that happened to me, something to ponder, or it might just be something to share, like my latest post. It’s a very spontaneous blog.

Describe your writing process: I wish I had a process to speak of! I write when it strikes. If I’m stuck, I just sit at the keyboard and start writing stream of consciousness until something juicy takes hold and then I run with it. I have writing moods that will dictate where I write. I have a writing room that I go into sometimes, where I’ll light an aromatherapy candle or burn sage and surround myself with crystals when I want to do deep soul writing. Sometimes, when the weather isn’t so bloody hot, I’ll write out on my deck to get inspiration through nature. Sometimes I write in bed. And other times I simply hang out with my dogs in the living room and write there. They are so often my muses! I don’t have a specific process because I guess I’m not as disciplined as most writers. I’m a freestyle kind of gal… And that may be why I haven’t yet finished my book!

Here are the writers I’m introducing:

Debbie D.

Debbie aka The “Doglady”. I met Debbie through the Blogging A-Z Challenge earlier this year and we, for obvious reasons, we became fast blog buddies! As she describes herself, she is a Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada and Writer/Owner of The Doglady’s Den website. She is an animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveler, history, literature and cinema buff. She is an eternal hippie/rock chick. That’s why we get along so well! She a bi-national German/Canadian (how cool is that?!) and multilingual. Debbie is currently working on a memoir of the dogs she has known during her years as a pet sitter, along with other memoirs and creative writing pieces.  Visit her blog at http://thedogladysden.com

Renata Butera:

I met Renata through Jacob Nordby’s Creative Writing Bootcamp. We found that we must be sisters separated at birth because we are so much alike! We also had a blast with the Blogging A-Z Challenge and cracked each other up on a regular basis. Renata is a writer, artist, shamanic practitoner, and yoga teacher. Using her experiences of having roles of addiction, an eating disorder, cancer, and currently that of a caregiver cross her path, she gives volume to her voice through her writing and her blog as an expression of her heart, humor, tears, revelations, joys, and frustrations at being a human soul.  You can read more about why she writes here. She is also currently working on her first novel. Visit her blog at http://lilypadheart.wordpress.com

So what are you writing? How would you answer those four questions?