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Wayfarer and the Writing Process with K.M. Weiland

1st February, 2019 Share on Twitter

In this week’s blog post I am excited to share an interview with one of my writing heroes, whose latest novel Wayfarer is now available on Amazon.

K.M. Weiland’s books on the writing craft are rightly regarded as must-reads for all kinds of novelists and storytellers, so I was excited to read her latest novel and share it with you all today.

I finished reading Wayfarer last week and, needless to say, it was a great read. As a writer and someone who loves analysing stories, I was really impressed by how immersive the story was, and also the detailed accuracy of Regency period London as someone from England.

Without further ado, I’ll hand the mic over to K.M. and let her tell you more about her new novel. Enjoy!

1) So your latest novel, Wayfarer, has just been released on Amazon. Congratulations and thank you for writing it! Could you tell us what Wayfarer is about, and what inspired you to write it?

Wayfarer is a gaslamp fantasy, in which superhuman abilities bring an adventurous new dimension to 1820 London, where an outlaw speedster and a master of illusion do battle to decide who will own the city.

Its inspiration came from a moment when I was sitting on the couch, watching the closing credits of one of my favorite superhero movies—Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2—and I started idly wondering why no one had ever done a historical superhero. I learned later, of course, that they had. But it prompted an image in my mind of a man in historical clothing—long highwayman coat—leaping from rooftop to rooftop. From there, the story just slowly came together for me.

2) I have to say that gaslamp fantasy is an awesome name for a genre. Were there any unique challenges to researching a historical superhero story like this?

I don’t know that “unique” is the right word, but I did find it more challenging than other historical periods I’ve written about, just because Regency England is such a popular time period. I knew I had to get details right or most of my readers would immediately recognize the lapses.

3) I’d like to hear about your writing process for Wayfarer, and whether you tried anything different for this novel compared to your other books?

I’m always refining my process. It doesn’t change, but it always evolves. Wayfarer was the first novel I’d written that felt “up to speed” with my understanding of story theory, structure, and character arcs. It was the first book I wrote where I felt I had a complete handle on the character arc and theme, which was a blast.

4) I have to say I’ve really loved all of your writing craft books like Creating Character Arcs and Outlining Your Novel. I’ve long wanted to know what inspired you to write these books alongside your novels?

I’m passionate about the material and wanted to share it. Both arose out of information I’d already shared on my blog. The response was enthusiastic to both, so I went ahead and provided them in book form.

5) Lastly, I’d love to hear if you could suggest your three favourite pieces of writing and storytelling wisdom for my readers—particularly ones you might have picked up in the writing of Wayfarer!

1. Write every day—“every day” in this instance meaning any regular and consistent schedule that works for you. What works for me is two hours a day, five days a week.

2. Learn the rules, but don’t be afraid of the rules. The “rules” as we know them became the rules because they are techniques that have been proven to consistently work. But art, by its very nature, must be free to move, to experiment, and to grow. The best stories are those written by authors with a solid understanding of the craft, but who are willing to take a step of faith beyond the established foundation.

3. Write for the joy of it. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott said, “…publication isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But writing is.” Write because you love it. Any other reason just isn’t worth it. And if you happen to be blessed enough to find publication, that’s just icing!

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Let’s all thank our guest for her valuable time today!

Please check out K.M. Weiland’s latest novel Wayfarer this weekend, it’s available on Amazon in Kindle format and paperback.

You can find K.M. on Twitter at @KMWeiland, on her Facebook page, and you should definitely bookmark her award-winning website Helping Writers Becoming Authors.

Please check out The 24 Laws of Storytelling, my book that explores the principles that make some books and movies great and explains why others fail. By reading my book, you’ll gain the same strategies used by master storytellers such as Stephen King, Christopher Nolan, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and many more. Pick up your copy today.