Make-Believe Mondays With Wayne Jordan

Today on Make-believe Mondays I'd like to introduce Wayne Jordan, one of my friends from RWAonline. Wayne writes for Harlequin Kimani Romance and BET/Arabesque.

Wayne, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Wayne: I’m working on, ONE GENTLE KNIGHT, the first book of a trilogy called, THE KNIGHTS OF BARBADOS. The story features hero, Shayne Knight, who has a “No Strings Attached” liaison with a visitor to the island. Three months later, she turns up at his home, pregnant. Shayne still doesn’t want any complications in his life, but the sparks begin to fly and he starts to dream of forevers.

Debra: This story sounds intriguing and Barbados is the perfect setting for romance!

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Wayne: I don’t usually need to do anything to help my creative juices from. I just sit to write and the juice. It’s some crazy thing going on inside my head that I have no control over. Days will pass when I can’t write anything and then one day I’ll sit and turn out pages of my story.

Debra: The process is a bit mysterious, isn't it? This is one of the things that fascinates me.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Wayne: I see and hear them before I start writing my story. They start to speak to me from the time the idea comes to me in the still of the morning hours just after I wake. And they refuse to stop speaking until I write THE END.

Debra: So they are always with you waiting to tell their stories.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Wayne: Sorry, I don’t. At least not yet. Ironically, I’m a linguist by academic qualification and I’m fascinated by the way individuals speak. I believe that your speech patterns are a strong part of who you are as an individual. When my characters start to speak to me, I easily figure out how I want them to speak.

Debra: Fascinating! I wouldn't be surprised if you began to play with words in some way down the road.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Wayne: Oh, yeah. Too often to count. But yes, sometimes a scene comes as an image in my mind. Maybe, it’s because when I’m writing that story, the characters and plot are already rooted my subconscious even if I’m not sitting writing.

Debra: I'm convinced the subconscious works even as we sleep and I suspect it's key to tapping into our full creative abilities.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Wayne: I loved a series of books featuring a hero called Biggles and written by Captain W.E Johns. Biggles was a fighter pilot in World War II. I wanted to be just like him – strong, brave and heroic.

Debra: Wonderful! I'm planning to create a list of recommended books for parents to buy as Christmas gifts and post it here on my blog in Dec. So if you have other good recommendations for boys, let me know. I've had more than one parent tell me its hard to find good books for boys.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Wayne: Wow! That’s a hard one. Let me think. It’d probably be a story that includes the elements of the links of stories I enjoy right now. Romance, suspense, mystery and action. Maybe, I’ll bring Biggles into the future, give him a mystery to solve, of course there will be plenty of action and he’d fall in love and live happily every after.

Debra: Oh, Wayne, you are the man to write that story!!!

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Wayne: One of my favorite poets, Keats, believed in the power of the imagination when it related to artistic composition. I believe that any good writers must have a vivid (crazy) imagination and the ability to allow that imagination to guide them where ever it wants to go. And dream? Yeah, dreams are an essential part of the imagination. They definitely go hand in hand.

Final message – don’t put any limitations on your imagination, listen to those voices and let them tell their story. All you have to do is write it down.

Debra: Wayne, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

You can visit Wayne at http://www.WayneJordan.com/ and http://thoughtsandreflections.blogspot.com/