As most of you guys probably already know, Queen of Spades and I are like 2 peas in a pod. I am the President of All Authors and she is the Vice President. For the Pleasure Prints Blog tour, I found it fitting for her to get her "real talk" on. So, here you have it ... Queen of Spades!
Hello to all,
Today I am taking a small break from being Queen of Spades the author because in order to discuss this particular topic, I must serve as Monica the Architect.
For those of you who didn’t know, I am the half-brain behind the “Concordant Vibrancy” concept and the full brain behind the birth of “Divergent Ink”. I am going to focus on Divergent Ink, but I actually apply this method to both collections.
A few weeks back, all the participants in the Pleasure Prints blog tour were discussing dates and specifics. One of the authors asked me:
How do you determine the order of writings in the collection?
To outsiders, it does seem random. I don’t go from shortest to longest or longest to shortest. I don’t go in alphabetical order via title or alphabetical order via author. Yet, there is a science to the process.
The formula I use to set the order of writings is “The Arithmetic of Life”.
“The Arithmetic of Life” mark the ups and downs of life. It’s like waves. One moment, all could be smooth sailing. The next, you are experience high tide, fighting to stay alive.
I go into the planning as a reader, absorbing each story and the way certain characters and situations make me feel. I take into account the lingering effects as well. Am I left wondering? Am I left inspired? Am I left shaking my head?
Sometimes, there’s even a type of music playing inside my head. For the more intense scenes, a bit of opera, maybe hip hop. For lighter scenes or happily ever after, some rhythm and blues or a light piano.
When I’m in “reader” mode, I’m not doing any editing or making suggestions. I stay in my role.
After reading each story, I explore the number of stories as well as how many fit one set of emotions versus another.
For Pleasure Prints, the feel is from “whimsical” to “coming full circle”.
If there is a situation where more than one story produces similar feelings or resolutions, then other factors come into play like length and the author’s names. So far, the times I’ve encountered that have been minimal.
See, there was no algebra involved. Just symmetry of psychology and the actions therein.
Hope you enjoyed this backstage pass into my process.
Peace.
