About Jennifer Loring:
Jennifer Loring’s short fiction has been published in numerous magazines, webzines, and anthologies. She received her MFA from Seton Hill University’s program in Writing Popular Fiction, with a concentration in horror fiction. In 2013, Jennifer won first place in Crystal Lake Publishing’s inaugural Tales from the Lake horror writing competition. She has published a dieselpunk novelette, Beautiful Things, with Fox & Raven Publishing and a psychological horror/ghost story novella, Conduits, with DarkFuse. Jennifer lives in Philadelphia, PA with her husband and their turtle.
What inspires you to write?
I get ideas from just about everything–music, movies, video games, folklore, the news, conversations, etc. I keep a journal of those ideas, but I have a lingering fear that I won’t live long enough to write them all! Those of My Kind was inspired by Chinese folklore, the fairytale “Donkeyskin”, Roma (Gypsy) culture, Nigerian “witch” children, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Diablo III.
Tell us about your writing process.
I never used to outline and have several failed novels under my belt, none of which were outlined. My grad school mentor, the horror writer Tim Waggoner, encouraged me to do a reverse outline of my novel, which really helped me pinpoint the weak areas in the plot. Since then, I’ve outlined the contemporary erotic romance I just finished, and I’ve done a vague outline for an upcoming dark fantasy. I don’t use anything special–just pen and paper!
I still write most of my first drafts longhand. I feel like I’m really connecting to the story that way. After that, it’s all on the computer. I’ve found the third draft to be where I start noticing the major issues and tearing the thing apart. This sounds weird to a lot of people, but those heavy revisions have become one of my favorite parts of the process.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I don’t talk to them, but they definitely tell me what they want to do and where the story is going. It’s kind of amazing to see how the plot changes in relation to decisions the characters make, no matter how concrete an outline I might have had.
What advice would you give other writers?
Never think there’s nothing left for you to learn. There’s always room to improve your craft. Don’t be so quick to publish everything you write. We learn as much, if not more, from our failures as we do from our successes.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I chose traditional publishing because I would rather spend time writing than on formatting, cover art, marketing, etc., not to mention that I can’t afford to foot those costs myself. Also, while I know plenty of talented people who self-publish, there are still too many people doing it who are putting out work of questionable quality simply because they can. I would remind new authors that the Big Five in New York on one end and self-publishing on the other are not the only two options. There are dozens of reputable small-press publishers–I’ve worked with a number of them, and I have had wonderful experiences. And you usually don’t need an agent to publish with them.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the eBook vs print argument will finally die, because there is room for both. And honestly, who cares what format you prefer to read as long as you’re reading?
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: horror, dark fantasy, romance
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Jennifer Loring Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
