Guest Blog: Alisa Anderson: The Writing Process of a Mad, Mad, Mind

Hey folks!

My name is Alisa Anderson, and I’m a Maryland native who loves singing, writing music, poetry and I’m always up for a good romance. I enjoy writing in all the different sub genres including paranormal, contemporary, new adult and erotic romance. I even love mystery and horror and main stream fiction. As you can see, I’m a bit of a mixed bag. Kinda nutty. Like a cashew. Yep. That’s me.

I’m here today, talking about my writing process, the how’s and the what’s of why I do what I do. It’s a work in progress, in my opinion. A strange, eclectic, frenetic, chaotic work in progress, and often has me questioning my own sanity, but…what the hell. I gotta be me, eh? *grins*

I come up with such weird, quirky characters that I’m often asked how I create them and further, if I have a specific method. A lot of times I base characters on people I've met. Sometimes they are people I want to meet someday. I use my instinct to determine each story's characters. I also want characters I can relate to. It's all about what feels right to me, and who I think might resonate with the audience. Characters are important to me, and have to come before the plot. A good plot is great, but if I can’t root for the characters, everything else is a bust, am I right?

I choose a combination of settings I know, and research and incorporate locations I have never been to and maybe hope to visit one day. I love research, so it's a great way to do something I love, and an awesome fantasy element for me.

I’m a draft writer, however I will at times revise as I go along. I have a general plot summary that at times will see many revisions. My characters often talk to me however, and in the end, they are the ones who dictate where the story goes. I have tried to go around them and trust me. It doesn't work. Since I want to sleep at night, it's just easier to do what they say. *grins*

It usually takes between six to eight weeks for the first draft. I am definitely a pantser, not a plotter. I need a lot of freedom in how I write. I might know the end before the beginning. I might have a few lines into the next book and not know how I’m getting there. A song may pop up on the TV and it may help me plot out a scene in the book that was never there until that point. Sometimes when I hear that song, it makes me think of a particular character and/or a scene and I have to immediately drop everything and write. The song has to stay on repeat until that scene is finished. I find this especially happens during love scenes, isn’t that odd? That’s how my crazy mind works, I suppose.

So that’s a little slice of my weird, madcap little world…the safe parts I’m able to legally mention, that is. The rest…yeah. Two words. Plausible deniability. Trust me. It’s really for the best. *glances around suspiciously and resumes post*

How does your writing process compare? I’d love to hear fellow authors and find out what makes ya tick. So come. Share with me. You know you want to.

Thanks again for having me here today!

BIO written without capital letters (and transposed to the third person to appear more mature *grins cheerfully*)

well...alisa did stuff and is still doing stuff. only now she has two boys crazy enuff to want her as their mommy. hey, at least she tried to warn them, so her job is done. she doesn’t like to capitalize, partially because she likes how lower case letters look visually, but mostly out of laziness. please don't judge. it could be you. and she would say, hey. you're alright, buddy. you're ok in my book. now c'mere for a hug. the hug might be pushing it. air kiss? you are strangers, after all, with only a mutual love of poor grammar.

she lives for a world full of controllable anatomically correct, android men programmed to meet her specific feminine needs (wink, wink, nudge, nudge with a big waggle of the eyebrows). who look like the rock. and ian somerhalder. and idris elba. and that's it she promises. variety. gotta have variety, right?

but alas...apparently that exists only in johanna lindsey's genius mind. so until then, she enjoys her incredibly warped sense of humor. she reads tons of erotica and romantic, drippy goo that makes her heart go pitter patter. then she thought, hey. what, she said to herself. (softly, of course, so no one finds out she is indeed, 2 nuts short of a fruitcake) maybe you should write this stuff too. maybe someone will like it and maybe buy it. so she said, huh, you think? then she said, well...yeah, i wouldn't have suggested it...(inserts sarcastic tone) and then she was like lose the attitude, ok? then she was all, would you just shut up and write, already? sheesh! and she did. :)

BLURB:
What Is Right If You Decide There Is No Wrong...

For Ty, Lena and Danny, they're about to find out as they cross the boundaries from all things safe to an arena that will test love, friendship and loyalty. An arena that's forbidden, taboo...but oh so tempting. In their world sex, money and excess are all a game of give, receive, where any wish can be granted if you just ask...

Lena Roman: Life was supposed to have gone back to normal. After all…It’s been months since that night at Sadist. Months of reliving, remembering, experiencing…each moment. Over and over again. Oh yeah, she remembered. Every. Vivid. Illicit. Detail. Like it was yesterday. What she did. Who she did it with. Her best friend. And Danny…the one who had carved out her heart years ago. There to witness it all. An act so public, so voyeuristic, so forbidden, she was still feeling the intensity between them all. The lines were crossed now. There was no going back. Not even if she wanted to.

If she were honest she would admit she didn’t…

Tyler Malone: I knew I risked a lot doing what I did. I risked my friendship, with the one person I trusted and loved most of all, even if she can’t…or won’t see it. I played a dangerous game with Blake, too, but he either needs to step up...or step back. I put everything on the line for just one night. And hell yeah, it was worth it. She’s worth everything. I love her just as much as he does, maybe more, since I accept everything about her, even her love for him. Life is all about the chances you take. To succeed you have to gamble. Play big…or go home. And I play to win. At all costs…

Danny Blake: Seeing her that night with Ty, watching her come undone, made me realize for the first time the life I could have. I saw her. Really saw her, body and soul, and I know now, the ache for her never truly went away. It only intensified over the years, with a need bordering on obsession. My one addiction I could never get clean of. I need her like air.

In the high stakes game of give take, you have to risk everything.

Winner takes all…and to the victor go the spoils.