Journey Into A Writer's Life

It's been a really busy few months with the release of my new book and all the publicity events that go along with a book launch. That's in addition to my usual travel, writing and teaching schedule. So when my friend, photographer, writer and guidebook author Lily Girma, invited me to participate in a writer's blog hop, I was aghast but excited about the chance to delve into my chaotic writing process. I'm honored to join so many talented writers who all provide a snapshot into what their writing process involves and what motivates them to write what they do. Below are my answers to the questions about my writing life and in a few weeks, three writers that I respect and am inspired by and who also happen to hail from some my favorite places in the world--Italy's Angela Corrias, London and Cuba's Mario Lopez-Goicoechea and Chicago's Maureen Jenkins,will share their answers.

1. What Am I Writing Now?

After an enthralling visit to the Andalusia region of Southern Spain, I'm crafting articles, posts and photo galleries exploring aspects of the culture. The richness of the heritage and the beauty of the architecture, mountains and beaches was overwhelming. I'm writing about the significance of flamenco, which has been a favorite art form of mine for a long time, as well as the fascinating Andalusian cuisine, the historic towns of Costa Del Tropical and a perspective of Alhambra Palace, among other things. I'm also working on an essay about what I learned from my experience of living through a house fire and being displaced for eight months, as well as prompts and posts for my upcoming online Travel Blogging Class, starting July 1. Features on Chicago blues travel and Chicago blues women are also in the works.  Of course, I'm also writing theater and music reviews and outlining topics for another book.

2. How Does Your Work Differ From Others of its Genre?

Every writer's perspective is unique.  My own perspective comes from a lifetime of reading and writing and living with an introspective focus. Like any good journalist, I observe people and ask a lot of questions but what makes my writing different is that I usually connect with my subjects in some way, whether's it's the sartorial drama of Spanish culture or the easygoing pride of Hawaiian tradition. The reason that I specialize in travel and culture is because that's what I'm passionate about and you'll feel that passion in my stories. I also like lyrical voices and narratives with singular, culturally specific details, reflected in the work of some of my favorite writers: Jamaica Kincaid, Toni Morrison, Chimamanda, Ngozi Adichie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I strive to create storytelling that's as evocative as these master storytellers.

3. Why Do I Write What I Do?

My motivation stems from being a person of color whose experiences and perspectives are too rarely represented in the media. I became a writer because I wanted to tell the stories of people who are often invisible and voiceless. Misrepresentation and misunderstandings about people and cultures usually happen because there is only one dimension or perspective displayed over and over. So much of history and media reporting is presented from one, very narrow viewpoint. I like to reveal unfamiliar viewpoints and tell the other side of a popular narrative. I enjoy exposing the beauty of places and cultures but I also strongly believe that these small exchanges help open minds and expectations.

4. How Does My Writing Process Work?

I'd like to say that I follow an orderly schedule, writing a certain amount every day with reggae rhythms playing in the background and birds chirping on my windowsill. Well, sometimes it happens like that but more frequently, I'm propelled by a deadline that drives me to pore over my notes, research my topic and write my story as quickly as possible. A lot of my process stems from a tight journalist's schedule that has changed little over time. My ideas are inspired by reading, traveling and talking to people. I'm usually reading four or five books simultaneously so the syntax and narratives swirl in my mind along with the sensations of wherever I'm traveling. While drinking huge mugs of tea, I write down ideas and titles in my notebooks and sometimes I take pictures of things that grab me as great topics. From there, I write a short outline of the story idea, which serves as my pitch to editors. Sometimes, phrases and topics come to me right before I wake up so I keep a notebook by my bed. When I'm writing about music, I usually listen to whatever genre I'm writing about but if  I 'm not, I find that music distracts me way too much. As a music lover, I can never just leave the melodies and lyrics in the background, I'm always analyzing the delivery, contemplating the words or dancing. When I'm writing out the story, I look at related photos and have my notes and research by my laptop. I like to have at least a few days to let a story sit and then come back to it with fresh eyes after I've finished it but I don't always have that luxury. I'll do revisions and then send it in. I'd like to work on writing my work with enough time to really let it marinate and be able to do multiple revisions and versions.

Well, that's my basic writing process, I'd love to hear about your creative process as well.
(Travel photos are from my recent trip to one of my favorite islands, St. Lucia.)

Please meet my fellow blog hop writers:

Lebawit Lily Girma has contributed writing and photography to CNN Travel, New York Magazine, AFAR, American Way, Travel Channel, BBC Travel, and others. She’s the new author of Moon Belize for Moon Travel Guides, and is completing a second title, Moon Belize Cayes.A serial expat, Lily’s lived and studied on three continents, including Africa–from her native Ethiopia to Cote d’Ivoire––and Europe, and is fluent in four languages. A former attorney who ditched the office for the road in 2009, she favors all things culture and adventure, and escapes Washington DC’s winters every year. Lily also runs her award-winning travel and photography blog, Sunshine and Stilettos.

Angela Corrias is a freelance travel journalist and photographer. Born in Italy, she left her home country after college and since then she has lived in Dublin London and Shanghai. Now she's back in Italy and made Rome her new home and the base for her future wanderings. Among her favorite activities is updating her travel blogs, Chasing The Unexpected and RomeActually.com. 

Mario López-Goicoechea is a freelance writer and reviewer who has contributed pieces to various publications such as The Guardian, The Voice, (the now defunct) New Nation, Noticias (monthly newspaper for the Latin American community in the UK) and London’s multicultural online newspaper The Prisma. Since 2007 he has written the blog A Cuban in London whose range of subjects, popularity and quality merited its inclusion in the first anthology of the Cuban blogosphere, Buena Vista Social Blog. He is married with two children and lives in London.

Maureen Jenkins is an award-winning writer, freelance Travel and Lifestyles journalist, and global Communications professional who’s visited nearly 35 countries and territories. This citizen of the world also has lived in Florence, Italy, and spent a year living in Samois-sur-Seine, a charming village near Paris. Maureen muses about all things travel-related—whether outside the United States or near her native Chicago—in “TCW Travel Connection,” a blog she writes for Today’s Chicago Woman magazine.  A passionate believer in the ability of travel to not only transform the way we see the world, but ourselves, she encourages black women to “live globally through international travel” in her personal blog, Urban Travel Girl.During her career, Maureen’s work has appeared in publications including CNN.com, About.com Luxury Travel, EBONY and Jet Magazines, Ebony.com, Black Enterprise, Working Mother, Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain’s Chicago Business, Today’s Chicago Woman, The Oregonian, Arizona Republic, and the Charlotte Observer.