the writing process

Blogger's note: I am pleased to welcome Kimberly S. Lin to Change the Word as part of her blog tour to promote her debut novel Recession Proof. Today, she shares insight into her writing process.

Kimberly S. Lin

By Kimberly S. Lin
Guest blogger

I generally start out with a broad idea of the topic I want to write about then fill in the holes. With Recession Proof, I wanted to address the concept of never settling even if your current environment/society/family or your own insecurities may drive you to. With that basic skeleton, I then start introducing characters and settings that flesh out the topic and humanize the issue.

I do like to simply outline each chapter just to give myself a roadmap. I think of my outlines as storyboards and I’m like the director on a film. I’m a very visual person so I like to imagine the story happening in my head like a movie. I think that’s why a lot of my readers tell me that my book could be a film (wishful thinking?!).

But when I write, I can actually see my characters and the emotions on their faces when they deal with the situations that I’ve created. I also try and step into their headspace and tap into a memory that might trigger that emotion that the character is going through. I think writing, for me, is a lot like acting and directing a film, funnily enough.

Also I always hear other authors say this but now I know it is true- as the story progresses I get to know my characters as well. For example, I’m working on my second book and I’m on the fence about whether I like my main character for some reason. Helen, in Recession Proof, is a flawed character just like everyone else so it’s interesting figuring out why she’s driven to do the things she does and why she has those flaws. My characters are the cornerstone of my work, they drive the story.

I’m also a fan of letting my work “breathe.” I wrote the first half of Recession Proof in a year. Then let it sit for a couple months. Of course, it was because by then I started hating everything I was writing. After a few months, I picked it up and loved it again. However, it might just be a testament of my Gemini nature. In any regard, I hope my readers love it and my work resonates with them!

Introducing "Recession Proof" from Kimberly Lin on Vimeo.

Kimberly S. Lin is a California native, graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in Economics. After college, she moved to Los Angeles and worked as a financial writer and hedge fund analyst but always dreamed of becoming a women's fiction author.

Utilizing her experiences, she writes stories that are witty, heartwarming and relatable to the modern woman. 

Learn more about Kimberly by visiting her website or Facebook page. Read Laura's review of Recession Proof here. Thanks for stopping at Change the Word, Kimberly.