Monday, May 19, 2014

Synchrony by Cindy Rae Hale

Please welcome Cindy Rae Hale to my blog today. Her book, Synchrony, is on tour right now. She's agreed to share her writing process. I think you'll find it interesting.

How does my writing process work? by Cindy Rae Hale

Back when I wrote Destiny, I used the pantser method for part of the story, and it caused me months of rewriting. Eventually, one of my editors recommended that I read a screenwriting book called Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. I highly recommend it! I was able to go back and fix a lot of the problems with Destiny because of what I learned in that book. With Synchrony, I used the method described in Save the Cat, and it left me with very little to edit developmentally. I’m much happier with the way I do things now.

At the very beginning I like to start with a pad of paper and a pencil. I sit outside where I can let nature inspire me, and I create profiles for each character. I describe the character’s appearance, favorite food, back story, hobbies, hopes and dreams, fears, friends and family, and setting. I invent weaknesses and determine how the character should grow in my story.

Once I have a good idea of who my characters are, I brainstorm story lines and form an outline. When I have my outline down on one to two sheets of paper, I pull out my bulletin board and index cards. I stack my cards on the table, label each one with a scene from the book, and then spread it across the table like a card game. I organize the scenes according to acts and take note of which part of the story it coordinates with. Then when I have it mostly figured out, I pin the cards to the bulletin board into the appropriate acts.

Before I begin writing the first draft, I take down the first few cards, and everything I need to know is already there ready to go. When those scenes are written, I repin them to the bulletin board and move on to the next few cards. This process took me only six weeks for Synchrony. Once my first draft was written, I discovered it to be fairly clean after the first read through. I sent it out to my beta readers and gave them about a month to read through the manuscript and get their feedback to me. A month after that, Synchrony was available for purchase.

So from start to finish, Destiny took me about fifteen months and Synchrony took me about four months.

That’s pretty much it. I’m still a fairly new writer, so I’m sure this process will evolve for me over time. But for now, this is what works for me.

Blog Tour Details: 

3D"synchrony
This is my stop during the blog tour for Synchrony (Destiny #2) by Cindy Ray Hale. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours . The blog tour runs from May 5 until May 25, you can view the complete tour schedule here.

  3D"Synchrony"Synchrony (Destiny #2) by Cindy Ray Hale Genre: Contemporary Romance Age category: Young Adult Release Date: April 8, 2014
Blurb: When her parents discover she’s been sneaking out with Isaac Robinson, the forbidden Baptist boy, Mormon girl Destiny Clark decides it’s time to keep their relationship quiet. As their relationship moves to shakier ground, Destiny discovers that Isaac has a terrible secret, and she is left completely shattered. The moment Destiny feels all hope is lost, Preston Nelson, her longtime church friend and Isaac's bitter rival, arrives like a beacon of light. It isn't long before two separate disasters strike for Preston and Destiny's best friend, Hannah. As Destiny helps them through their issues, she discovers that sometimes the best way to forget about your own problems is to help a friend in need. Just as her heart begins to mend and her friendship with Preston begins to heat up, Isaac walks back into her life, threatening to rekindle the feelings she’d hoped to bury forever. Will Destiny and Preston find the synchrony they so desperately need, or will she find a way to forgive Isaac and return to his outstretched arms?
You can find Synchrony on Goodreads.
You can purchase Synchrony here.

3D"Destiny"
Destiny (Destiny #1) by Cindy Ray Hale Genre: Contemporary Romance Age category: Young Adult
Blurb: Destiny Clark, a young Mormon girl living in Tennessee, is wildly infatuated with Isaac Robinson, the headmaster's son at her Baptist high school. When they're cast together in the school's production of Les Miserables, Destiny is horrified to find that she has to be publicly humiliated by acting out her true feelings of rejection onstage. As their rehearsals begin, Destiny realizes the unimaginable: Isaac has developed deep feelings for her despite their religious differences and the fact that he has a girlfriend. But will they be able to find their place amongst the backbiters of their ultra-conservative world? Weaving around Destiny and Isaac's alternating viewpoints, Destiny is the first book in a series inspired by the characters of Les Miserables and explores heartbreak, self-discovery, intolerance, and love.
You can find Destiny on Goodreads 3D"Official

About the Author: Cindy Ray Hale lives in a little slice of wooded heaven near Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and children. She spends way too much time following up-and-coming musicians on YouTube and dreams of joining their ranks one day. She's a bit of a health food nut and can't live without her daily green smoothies. She tries to stay sane as she juggles writing with four kids, staying active on social media, and keeping up her book blog at http://cinnamoncindy.blogspot.com/. In addition to writing and self-publishing two Young Adult Contemporary novels, she has also written articles for "New Era" magazine and The American Preppers Network. For more information on The Destiny Trilogy and Cindy's upcoming books visit http://destinybycindyhale.blogspot.com/ or follow @CindyRayHale on Twitter.

You can find and contact Cindy here: - Website - Website for destiny - Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Google+ - Pinterest 

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Synchrony. These are the prizes you can win: - A $25 Amazon Gift Card (INTL), and a Destiny Swag Pack which includes: a signed copy of Destiny, a signed copy of Synchrony, a Destiny bookmark, a Destiny magnet, a Destiny keychain, and a Synchrony keychain. - An ecopy of My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris and a swag pack - A Camp Boyfriend swag pack by JK Rock - An ecopy of Definitely, Maybe in Love by Ophelia London. For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below: a Rafflecopter giveaway

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