I'd like to welcome Mark J. Harris to Enchantress of Books!
How I Do What I Do
When it comes to creative writing, I always start with a
premise of some sort. For example, I
like to kick off the creative process with a “what if…” scenario. What if a
Genie appeared to someone who was both deaf and blind? What would happen? What if a vampire develops an allergy to
certain blood types resulting in temporary amnesia? What does he do when he finds himself covered
in blood with a dead body on the ground?
And as much as possible, I hope to come up with a premise that has never
been done before.
Currently, it seems like Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies,
Wizards, and Mutants stories are saturating the market. Everyone wants to write
a paranormal story using one of these standard twists. I can’t blame them; they
add an element of excitement, and fear that can really super-charge a story. My
book, BEWITCHED, for example is about…well, right, witches. But, like I tell my
kids (who also want to be authors), there are no new stories, only new ways to
tell them.
In BEWITCHED, my premise was simple enough: What if a guy
fell in love with a witch? What would happen? What if she was very
dangerous? These questions led to some
fun concepts that developed over time. It also led to an interesting wrinkle.
What if the main character also found out he is from an ancient order whose
purpose in life is to destroy witches? Ah, now the ideas are really beginning
to bounce around.
From there the writing process is one continuous series of
“what ifs.” It takes me from one scene to the next, one chapter to the next,
until finally I’ve answered all the “What ifs.” Of course there’s more to a
story than that, but this process does keep the engine of creativity moving.
What if our main character is with some friends one night
and his best friend shows up to tell them he just saw something that will freak
them out? What if they all agree to come see this strange thing and break into
their high school to see it? What if during all this the main character is
being followed by someone but we don’t know who it is or what he’s up to? What
if they get underneath the school through a trap door and see something that
defies physics? What if they then get trapped under the school by the shadowy
character? What happens next? And so it goes.
Most people would probably refer to this as a “pantser”
approach to writing. It probably is, but somewhere during this process I
develop an overarching story concept – meaning, I start to develop an idea of
where I want this story to eventually end up. At that point I begin to manipulate things so
that I arrive at the ending I intend.
Either way, it’s a fun process and it makes writing
exciting. You add to the mix some interesting and kooky characters and you end
up creating something that’s both enjoyable for you write and entertaining for
others to read.
Bewitched
by Mark J. Harris
Synopsis:
Is it love or is it witchcraft? He’ll never find out if he kills her first.
The first time Darren saw Samantha, she was floating above his high school gymnasium during a basketball game, invisible to everyone but him. Next time he sees her, she's sitting in front of him in class, wowing his friends and causing unexplainable things to happen that only he seems to notice. But things really get strange (and complicated) when his dying grandfather tells him that he is part of an ancient order, the “Pessum Ire,” whose duty is to destroy witches. What does he do now, since he’s almost positive Samantha is a witch…and he’s crushing on her pretty hard?
Available for purchase at
About the Author
Mark Harris lives in Smithfield Utah, a small town located in a beautiful valley in Northern Utah. His wife, Shaundale, and he have four terrific children, two girls and two boys and a fifth one due to arrive in November of 2012. Mark has taught English and Special Education and currently works from home teaching English to people from all over the world. Writing has always been his true passion since he was a grade schooler writing about mushrooms. "Bewitched" will be his debut novel. He has two others underway and will soon start on the sequel to "Bewitched," called "The Return of the Familiar." He hopes you enjoy his work because he is working on several series geared toward younger audiences.
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