WIP Challenge Day 30: What do you do to celebrate when you finish your WIP?

Usually when I finish a work in progress, I just relax and relish in the good feeling of having a book done. I celebrate when I get a book published.
When I first published with my former publisher I went out for dinner with my family to celebrate. It was my first book with a small publisher that wasn't well known for scamming people (at least at that time), or something I had to pay out to have done and be judged for. It was a wonderful moment.
My new release coming up in just a month will also be a major cause to celebrate. It will not only be my re-release after the debacle with my former publisher, but it will be the first time in years I've had a paperback book published that is not through a publisher looked down on in society.

I have come a long way in the last several years. I have had so many ups and downs been through depression after depression, set back after set back, and I am proud of how far I have come. I know there will still be hurdles to go through in my writing career but I couldn't stop writing for anything. It's a part of who I am and makes me happy.

WIP Challenge Day 29: Describe your editing process.

Editing is a painstaking and tedious, but necessary process. A lot of concentration goes into it, because what you are changing and writing is ultimately going to be the finished product that the reader takes in. So everything has to make sense, all the plot points need to connect, words have to sound right and be spelled right.

My history with suggested edits sent back to me has tended to be comprised of  the overuse of certain words, and word arrangement changes and in some cases, total deletions. On the odd occasion I've received awesome praise for a twist in the storyline.
All in all it has taught me more as I do my own form of rewriting and editing before submitting my work. I find myself correcting myself and remembering a former editor's suggestion as I work.

WIP Challenge Day 28:Do you have a cover? What did you originally see as your cover?

I am currently awaiting what will be the third cover for my book. It has been through three publishers so far, and with any luck as they say, three times is charm.
What I originally saw as a cover for Twisted Revenge, was my main character sitting at her laptop writing, while a mirror off to the side reveals another side of her. But as the title of the series and books has changed, I am trying to work past that and try to change it up a little.

The very first cover I received for my book was pretty decent. It showed a young woman's petrified face with a masculine hand over her mouth. I never even had the chance to tell the first publisher what I wanted for a cover, but I was pretty impressed with what they made.
Unfortunately that was as far as the process got. Once I got out of my contract with them after they continually kept backing up release dates with no progress, I began to search for another publisher. A year later I signed with No Boundaries Press only for them to close as well.
So, I am hoping October will bring me more details to share with everyone about my release scheduled for November.

WIP Challenge Day 27: Was there something you wrote about that you had to learn about?

Ah, research. I can remember doing it in school and being bored out of my mind. Of course, then it wasn't for a full length psychological suspense novel I was working on. So that kind of took the fun out of it.
The Edge of Springwood is the first book series I think I have ever done a more lengthy amount of research on. The plotline was so awesome and intriguing to me, I felt I needed to do it justice and make the points seem as realistic as possible, to a certain degree. I mean, it is fiction when all is said and done and the last chapter and epilogue is written.
So, yes. I did check out a book from the library on Dissociative Identity Disorder, and read up on a few cases online. I paid special attention to episodes of TV shows that also featured a character with the disorder. I asked a friend of mine who works in the psychological field questions when I couldn't find the answers online. Believe me, with the ideas I sometimes get, the answers are not always available online.

I took all that I learned into account as I created scenes, and put more twists into the storyline. I wanted to make The Edge of Springwood unique and stand out from every other book that had a DID patient in it. I am also anxious to see where the subject matter takes me, as the series continues.

WIP Challenge Day 26: Which comes first? The character's story or the idea for the novel?

For me, the idea of the novel comes to me first and as I begin writing it, the character begins to speak to me and tell me his/her story. Just this week I began working on a new wip, and already having the idea in place it seemed like everything else came naturally. I could even see a clear picture of what I imagined the main character looks like, and when that happens it's a good thing. It gives me hope that this book will turn out good.
A lot of good writing with me is usually based on instinct. I try to trust it most of the time, even when I cannot for the life of me figure out why the character is taking me on this path, instead of the one I originally envisioned. Most of the time it eventually makes sense, and excites me.
Sometimes, the character's story and the idea is intertwined, especially when a certain person inspires a character. Obviously you are already going to have their story down pat for the most part, the fun part is weaving it into the storyline of  the novel.

This is a t-shirt I bought at Paramount's King's Island years ago. My first writer shirt ever.