Blog Ring of Power Presents: Tracy Lane

Welcome to another Friday! Blog Ring of Power dance.
Today I would like to welcome Tracy Lane to the ring. 

Tracy was fascinated with the paranormal when she was very young. She always felt like someone was around her even when she was alone. Those experiences inspired her to write a paranormal book where a teenager can see and hear ghosts and actually makes friends with one.

Tracy loved to write short stories in school and had always wanted to be a writer. But raising children and working jobs got in the way of indulging her passion of writing. Then she realized her children had grown up into teenagers and they didn't need her as much. She started toying with the idea of writing once again. So setting aside 5 to 10 minutes per day to write at least one page she thought she could end up with a book a year. Now Paranormal Properties is published and she still has a list of at least 8 more books to write. She doesn't think she'll be slowing down anytime soon.



Part 3 @ *waves* you are here. - Friday, July 26th

Section #3: The Creative Process
BRoP:  Where do you get your story ideas?
TL: Some come to me in dreams, others I just sit and daydream until a story idea comes to me.

BRoP: Do you have a specific writing style?
TL: Not really. I haven’t really written enough to claim a certain style.

BRoP: How do you deal with writer’s block?
TL: By only writing 5 to 10 minutes a day. I then polish the pages I wrote and quit. That gives me almost 24 hours to think about what I would like to have happen next before I go back to writing. It has kept the dreaded writer’s block away.

BRoP: How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?
TL: The plot and characters seem to develop themselves. Sometimes I think I had nothing to do with the story, it’s the characters who tell me what to write.

BRoP: Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser” (do you plan/outline the story ahead of time or write “by the seat of your pants”)?
TL: I’m a bit of both. I will outline the first half of the book and then I let the story take over and write itself the last half. And I don’t always follow the outline I start, the story may take over and go a different direction.

BRoP: Do you use critique partners or beta readers? Why or why not?
TL: I use an editor before I submit. A fresh pair of eyes is always needed. Not only does he make sure all my t’s are crossed, he may give me a pointer or two on how to make a certain part of the book much better for suspense.

BRoP: How much time do you spend on research? What type of research do you do?
TL: I try not to spend a lot of time on research.  I only research what I really need to know, like how hauntings work, how ghosts interact. But in the end I write it the way I’d like it to be. That is why Frank is such a fun character instead of being a ghost that disappears as soon as you look at him.

BRoP: Is there anything you find particularly challenging to write?
             TL: Writing itself is challenging for me. I can see what I want to happen, but at times to get it on paper so others can see it the way you do can be a challenge. 


PP cover.inddPARANORMAL PROPERTIES: The Weir family has just arrived in Dusk, North Carolina, one of the most haunted cities in America, to scope out some of the town’s 127 reported “paranormal properties,” which just happens to be the name of their own ghost hunting show: Paranormal Properties. What Jake Weir doesn’t know, and what his parents could never imagine, is that Jake can see ghosts! And hear them. And talk back to them! This talent comes in handy when he runs into Dusk’s oldest, most famous ghost: Frank Barrone, a one-time lounge singer made famous by his booze-soaked ballad, “Barroom Eyes.” Frank was gunned down by a local mobster in 1951 and has been searching for his killer ever since. When he learns that Jake can see and hear him, Frank makes young Jake a deal: if Jake will help Frank find his killer, Frank will help his parents find a ghost to film for their upcoming Halloween Special on Public Access TV. Jake enlists the only friend he’s made in Dusk, an overweight tomboy nicknamed “Tank,” to help him track down Frank’s killer. As clues emerge and old leads heat up, Frank and Jake learn they make quite a team. But will Jake find Frank’s killer? And will Frank find a real haunted house in time for the Halloween special?

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