by R.J.Askew

One more tweet. One more try. One more one more.

Such is the life of the indie author, living in hope.

One more one more. It’s a way of life: long hope, short luck, long dreams, and short success. Never knowing when we’re done. Never seeing how we are. Never able to face the truth.

So, mirror, mirror on the net, and show me truth is here well met.
Hi! Who am I? A man. A bag of this n that’s. The same as you in all that counts. I read. I write. I sleep and fart. I like porridge. I hate porridge. I have a small shifting hiatus hernia. And the middle nail on my right foot has a split personality. I’m writing this on a train between St. Albans and St. Pancras.

I wrote my refusing donkey of a novella Watching Swifts in 2000 or 2001. I was stuck in the orbit of a certain proud intellect (English, Jesus College, and Oxford) a super-upper-realist who steadfastly refused to follow her vibrant creative spark, which simply refused to play, having decided she was not good enough.
Such folk are black holes. All goes in, nought comes out. Most of us suffer one.

In a bit to escape said black hole’s dismal gravity, I wrote Watching Swifts as homage to the power of dreams and beauty.
Life demands we dreams because dreams inspire us to create and achieve. This is what life wants. It is how we are. A dreamless life is a poor life.

Super-upper-realists are sperm that refuse to swim, duds, inert.
We indie authors – hurrah! Hurrah! – are nature’s natural swimmers. Backstrokes, Oozy crawlers, frog-kicking butterflies, Old English sidestrokers, we soooo swim. God, how we do SWIM! Millions of us, key stroke our lives through the creative waters.

I have The Prodigy, HOT RIDE, blasting my brains out as I write. The lyrics are soooo indie author: “You’ve gotta push it, push it. You’ve gotta push it. Up, up, and ways, y’ hear me!”

Ach and now Foreigner’s URGENT’S on the radio… “I know what I need and I need it now. Urgenttttt, so urgennnntttttt! Emer-gen-ceeeeee!”

We emerging indie authors are the emergcen-cy, following our sparks for all we’re worth.

This is brilliant. We are in an exciting time. It is brilliant. I love it. I love reading new stuff. I love seeing people go for it. Old publishing is like some old skin and we, The Emergent, are sloughing it off. And it feels great.

Whoa boy!

Time for a little calming meditation: be still… join with all… feel new goodness flow throughout… give anew… be true.

One more one more. It’s how we The Emergent are, deluded dreamers, creative to a fault perfected.

So, a billion writers hit ‘upload’, and another billion stories hit the… What? What becomes of all those words, hopes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades of work, life?

Most die, are lost, fail, as if they never were. And yet, if you pause for a moment here… Listen… Can you hear it? The sound of another billion writers around this globe key stroking away. There is a beauty in this instinct to create. It is how we humans are. It is part of what defines us. To create, to try, a collective dream.

The first billion writers meanwhile are tweeting their hearts out: “36th 5* review #bestseller #freebie. The universe just isn’t big enough for all the tweets. It’s “only words”, I’m told. I don’t think so. Tis something more.

There is a joy in language, in being in it, as we writers are. We are lucky in that at least, because language… Language is at the essence of what we are, what life in us is, how life expresses itself. Imagine your life without language. Imagine your English is stripped from you. Of course this happens too many of us as we grow old. But for now, while we can, we who are creatively alive follow our destinies as best we can. For the joy of it. That is what this is all about, this writing malarkey, the joy of it, not sales figures, 100,000 downloads, but the joy of that moment when something happens within us. Joy. Joy. Joy me loves.

That said. We are also slaves to the chain of demand, readers. *bows to lick reader’s ankle – no reader knowingly unlicked*
Dearest readerkins, what do you want today? Please would you tell your Golumsy here? Please o please, won’t you tellsy-wellsy me…

Silencio.

The readers are not for saying what they want because they don’t know until they have it.

That said I am a reader, too, a great reader in that I read a great deal. So what do I want? A book like Watching Swifts of course, me loves, that’s what I wants, a novella. Why?  Because I love novellas, little big books: THE GREAT GATSBY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, A DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH, THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA.

Old publishing and its retainers tell me that novellas are just not what agents and publishers want, darling. I tweet you not, I have been told, in The Groucho Club no less, at the very core of London’s establishment. In the Mary Lou room to be exact. “Agents and publishers will not want a 44,000 wordier.” That is what I was told. In other words, “Fuck off and die, you worm.”

What do you think? Should we fuck off and die? Or should we do a creative writing course and turn ourselves into yet another bland-brand wannabe old publishing style humpty-dumpty?

So here we my bruvs and sis’s deep in the Indie Authors’ Cage Fight, deep in the raw talent reactor of creativity, slugging away for all we are worth. No rules. No referees. Milling around up to our waists in talent, beautiful talent. Trying not to have our lungs sucked out of our chests by obsessive compulsive killer winners. You know the archetype, nine-tenths determination, one-tenth essence of evil. Trying, trying, o so trying.

No one knows who runs the gig, why it is as it is where it’s going. All we know is that we are in the midst of it, loving it, living it, that we are primal parts of something big, bold and beauteously wild. Some die, some fly, some kill, some thrill, all made the more alive for being in this noshing mill of hopes and dreams emergent hot.

I tweet you not, THIS! It what it is to be an indie author bagging it up in search of eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes? Sighs.

And should we ever be lucky enough to find ourselves out in space, out on the wing, with a ball of swirling, whirling words a-hurtling towards our inky hands… With a gap up ahead and a view of the line… Should it fall to us to make the catch of our lives, to run, faster, to run, faster! Faster! Than the chasing pack… to hurl ourselves across said line… To slam our word-catch down with all our might, secure in the primal certitude that we were born to write and win… Should we ever…

Until then, one more one more, my bruvs.

And you will find my novella, and a damn fine novella it is, too, at…

Shyperbolously yours, Saturday 16th March, 2013.

http://itweetyounot.com/

*bows*

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… Emma and Leo … Watching Swifts … Kew Gardens, one summer…

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006AXFPEM

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This book of poems that have been translated will be out very soon.

Below is an extract…

Hommage a l’ecrivain

Au creux de la vallée,

Dans la villa inondée de soleil

Aux jardins immenses et fleuris,

Elle écrivait ;

Et les mots s’envolaient,

Sous la plume,

Pour se poser sur le papier

Légers, en une symphonie

Inoubliable de sentiments.

Et les mots couraient sous ses doigts,

Et la plume écrivait sans arrêt…

Tribute to a writer

At the bottom of the valley,

In the sun-drenched villa

Huge gardens and flowers,

She writes;

And the words fly by,

Under the pen,

To put onto paper

Light in a symphony

Unforgettable feelings.

The Words ran though these fingers,

The Pen wrote constantly without stopping…

(c) Kristina Howells 5/12/12

http://www.ebookmall.com/author/kristina-howells

-          I’m from Minsk, Belarus, where I was born and currently live.

2. Tell us your latest news?

-          First of all I’d like to say that last week I celebrated my Love lines (Gift edition) release. It has a new amazing cover, created by my designer Jennifer Munswami and my signature of course, as this edition was published especially for those readers who would like to get a signed copy of Love lines:) And the first chapter of Songs of the wind (Love lines #2) will bу posted on October 10^th on Amina Black’s blog. So I can’t wait to hear what do readers think about the beginning of my second book:)

3. When did you begin writing?

-          My debut fantasy novel, which was the first book of the Love lines series was written about a year ago in Russian. Later it was translated into English and published in the US. Now it has editions both in Kindle and Paperback formats that are available not only in the US, but also in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

4. What inspires you to write?

-          Everything I see around me:) My friends, my family, the events of my everyday life, good books, movies and music.

 5. How do you come up with the title of your books?

I never start a book if I’m not sure about its title as it has to reflect the main idea of my book, the most important part of the plot. So first of all I decide which part of the story will be the brightest and then I think about the title.  And by the way, I’m still fighting with myself about the name of Love lines third book, as I don’t know how to make it sound good both in Russian and English:)

 6. In one sentence describe the synopsis of your latest book?

-          It’s a beautiful story about losing and finding love, full of magic and mysteries.  

 7. What other books would you compare this book written in the same genre with?

-Well, it’s pretty hard to compare your own works with someone else’s:) I don’t know, really. For me every my book is unique. But all of them have some common features with other fantasy and young adult paranormal romances. 

 8. How long did it take you to write the latest book?

-          It took me about two months, but the translation and the proofreading usually make it longer to get the book published.

 9. What is the hardest part of writing?

-          I would say that it’s proofreading. I have to be sure about both of my books’ translations, as every of them I publish in Russian and English. But sometimes I face the problem of describing some old curses or legends I mention in my stories, as I want them to be interesting but not very difficult to understand.

 10. Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer?

-          The devil is not so terrible as he is painted:) Even if writing seems to be something very hard and out-of-reach, it’s not true, because if you want to write than nothing should stop you. The main thing is not to give up and always hold to plan you have in your mind:)

 Links to books and author

Official page – http://diananixon.webs.com/

1. Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Nixon/203165316483322?ref=hl

   2. Twitter page: https://twitter.com/DianaNixon9

   3. Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/diananixon

Where to buy my books – http://diananixon.webs.com/buyingbooks.htm

1. Where are you from?

I was born in Glasgow, Scotland. I’ve lived my entire life here, mainly in the central belt. It doesn’t rain all the time, no one wears kilts except at weddings (and then normally only the groom and best man) and a haggis is not a wee animal with legs on one side longer than those on the other so that it can run around the steep hills of the Highlands without falling over.

2. Tell us your latest news?

At the moment I’m editing a collection of short stories entitled Making Sense which is to be published at the start of next year. The stories are all based on the senses, not the obvious ones but the other ones that we all depend on every day to make sense out of life: sense of humour, sense of justice, sense of place, etc.

3. When did you begin writing?

I have no recollections of writing when I was very young. Nor do I recall being a voracious reader either. My mum and dad never read fiction and very little nonfiction so it’s not as if I was brought up in a literary household. The same goes for music. My parents never listened to music after they got rid of their old radiogram and replaced it with a TV, whereas I own thousands of albums and hundreds of books.

I started writing poetry at secondary school purely to get something in the school magazine. I wasn’t even especially fond of poetry having been force-fed the likes of Wordsworth, de la Mere and the three Roberts—Burns, Browning and Stevenson—but once I was introduced to the War Poets and later on Philip Larkin I began to realise that there was another kind of poetry out there which didn’t have to be pretty or written in a put-on voice. I continued writing after I left school but only poetry. I started submitting my poems and, during the seventies and eighties, was regularly published in British and American small press magazines. 

When I hit thirty I fell into a depression and couldn’t write. For three years I wrote nothing and assumed that was me done. The ability to write was lost to me but the desire to write was still strong. As you can imagine, that was extremely frustrating, so one day I decided to sit down a write a ‘something’, a something that wasn’t poetry. I hadn’t written any prose since leaving school but I thought I’d give it a go. Within about six months I had written two novels. They took me another five years to clean up but the grunt work was all done.

4. What inspires you to write?

I’m not a storyteller. I cannot plot to save my life. I related very strongly to a couple of things that Kathleen Jamie said recently in an article in The Guardian. Firstly this: “It seems to me that if you know precisely what you’ve done, or are going to do, then it’s a project. Projects are not art. Art proceeds without a map.” I never know what my books are going to be about at the start and even when I have some idea they have a habit of being about something else; the true point to the book is found on the way. Jamie also writes: “[B]eginning a new work is not a matter of finding a topic to write ‘about’. First of all but you’ve to spend time – years! – frequenting the scrap yard or the sewing box, cobbling together a new self, then letting it find its way.” This is where that first novel came from. Up until then I’d produced little poems to let off steam but after three years the pressure had built up.

That, of course, covers the first two books (the second is a sequel and so it’s really just one big book) and I thought I’d got that out of my system but some five years later, despite having returned to poetry and having written it regularly in the intervening years, I found I had a problem that was too big for a poem and so I started fiddling around with another book. Two more followed but essentially all five novels have proceeded in much the same fashion.

5. How do you come up with the title of your books?

A title is not a label. Many writers treat titles as such—poets, myself included, are especially guilty of this—but really we’re wasting an opportunity. I’ve never had to give much thought to my titles. They’ve come easily and been obvious, almost unavoidable.

• ·         Living with the Truth – What would you do if the Truth came to stay? Death often appears as a character in works of fiction (everything from The Seventh Seal to Family Guy) and so why not Truth? The protagonist in this book spends two day literally sharing a flat with the personification of the truth who, through the course of the novel, compels him to face up the truths he’s been living with all his life.
• ·         Stranger than Fiction – The truth is stranger than fiction. In this book our protagonist is resurrected—for want of a better word—to face more truths about himself and the nature of existence which proves to be far more outlandish than he ever could have imagined.
• ·         The More Things Change (unpublished) – This is only half of a quote. The rest goes: “…the more they stay the same.” What would happen if your dreams could come true? Would you make the same mistakes? Everyone wants to relive their pasts but with their knowledge of the future intact. That’s not quite what happens here. Rather an author gets the wife he always wanted and the success he always wanted but the cost is his memory. Is he the same man? And, if he is, will he revert to type?
• ·         Milligan and Murphy – This was the only book where I had the title right from the beginning. It is inspired by Samuel Beckett’s novel Mercier and Camier and, as my protagonists are called Milligan and Murphy, the title was obvious. The significance of the two names only became clear as the writing progressed however.
• ·         Left (unpublished) – A woman’s father dies and leaves her with his flat to clear. They were not especially close and she finds herself digging through the things he has left trying to get to know him. What he has left her is more than a few old books and videos. He has left her with a problem to solve.

6. In one sentence describe the synopsis of your latest book?

On one level Milligan and Murphy could be a farcical tale reminiscent of the work of Flann O’Brien about a pair of Irish layabouts who somehow run away from home by accident and are helped to find their way by a number of eccentric characters; on another it might be a metafiction about the nature of writing inspired by Samuel Beckett or maybe it’s just a silly book like Puckoon. Then again it could be all three.

7. What other books written in the same genre would you compare this book with?

The writer Kay Sexton had this to say about my first novel:

In all, this is one of those novels that bookshops must hate: not ‘hard’ enough to be spec fic, not ‘weird’ enough to be fantasy, too realistic for the humour section and yet too humorous to shelve easily with the lit fic. And that, I suspect is going to prove to be its charm; for those who do read it, it’s a singular take on the world, and it will either resonate with you or leave you cold.

This is the problem I have with all my books including Milligan and Murphy. It isn’t like any other book. The basic structure was taken from Beckett but stylistically it’s nothing like him.

8. How long did it take you to write the latest book?

I average a book every four years. Long periods go by when I’m not physically writing. Does that count? If it does then it’s really hard to say when a book begins and when it ends. Realistically Milligan and Murphy took about two years. It all depends on what you mean by ‘writing’. I’m with Kathleen Jamie here. You cannot discount the gestation process and should never feel guilty that you’re not engaged in the physical act of writing or typing; you’re still writing. I used to train with weights when I was in my twenties and there’s a process there: you eat, allow your food time to digest, exercise, rest and repeat. Writing is the same: you experience stuff (this could be personal experiences or reading or watching the telly), you think about what you’ve experienced, you write about what you’ve experienced and then you take a break and think about what you’ve written. The life experiences that went into my first novel covered a thirty year period.

9. What is the hardest part of writing?

With Milligan and Murphy it was the lingo. The book is set in Ireland in the Thirties. I mention neither of these facts and they’re not that important really but the big question when writing in any kind of dialect is: How much? I’m Scottish—Glaswegian to be precise (that makes a real difference)—and even in a small country like this there are a surprising number of accents and dialects. Within Glasgow alone there are several. I have written a few pieces in Glaswegian and they can be almost unintelligible to non Scots. Irvine Welsh’s novel Trainspotting is a good case in point. Even as a Scot I find it a hard read. Some Scottish writers like James Kelman and William McIlvanney try to find a middle ground so that the flavour comes through without trying to be word perfect. That’s what I was aiming for here, to include sufficient Irishisms without risking making a fool of myself and getting it wrong, so no clichés like ‘tap o’ the morning’ or ‘begorrah’; that’s the equivalent of a shortbread-tin-Scotsman saying ‘hoots mon’; I’ve lived in Scotland for fifty-three years and never heard anyone say that. I am friends with an Irish playwright who proofread my text but even he missed some things because he’s a twenty-first century Irishman. A simple example is the words ‘no’ and ‘yes’ which do not exist in Irish—affirmation of a yes/no question is expressed through repetition of the relevant verb with obligatory ellipsis of the rest of the clause. My wife caught that one.

In general it’s believing that what I have to say is worth saying. It’s the twenty-first century. What hasn’t been said? I know the adoption of the word ‘novel’ to describe a book length work of prose was a fairly arbitrary one—the same goes for ‘symphony’—but I still like to think that when someone reads one of my novels they’re reading something new. It’s important to me that what I write is meaningful. I’m not especially bothered about entertaining people—that’s a by-product—I’m more interested in making them think about something they’ve not thought about in ways they’ve not thought before. This means that I often reject perfectly viable ideas as unworthy that other authors would run with. This may come across as a trifle snobbish but I think it’s my job to write the books, etc. that only I could have written. Perhaps I’m making a rod for my own back here, but that’s me.

10. Do you have any suggestions to help others become better writers?

The standard answer here is to read, read and then read some more. There is an assumption that all writers are avid readers but that’s certainly not the case with me. I’m not widely read but I am well read. The distinction is important. There is a case for reading everything and it’s true that you can learn much from bad writing but once you’ve realised what doesn’t work why keep hammering the point home?

I’m also not convinced that writing courses are always the best choices. Yes, there is technique to writing—and poets especially would do well to remember that—but I’m always wary of anyone who tells you there’s a right way to write. Take, for example, the Australian writer Gerald Murnane who writes for one hour a day and that is it. In that day he writes about a hundred words on average and I love his logic when he says (and I’m paraphrasing): A hundred words a day over a year is about 36,000 words and that’s enough for anyone to write.

There is not a right way to write. But there will be a right way for you. The hardest thing for any writer is finding that way and trusting it once he or she has found it. It’s like writer’s block or inspiration. These words get chucked about and yet I don’t think either exists. Inspiration is a good idea and nothing more. Sometimes we have good ideas and sometimes we simply have ideas; the romantic view of inspiration and muses and all that crap is outdated and frankly detrimental. As far as writer’s block goes, either you have something to say or you don’t. When you’re young you usually have too much to say about stuff you know nothing about but in later years you find that you’ve mostly said what you had to say a dozen times over and there’s not that much that needs to get written about. So don’t write. Do something else. Trust that the words will return when they’re needed.

And, lastly, believe in and respect your readers. They’re not idiots. They don’t need to be spoon-fed or mollycoddled. Remember what Samuel Johnson said: “A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.” Let them do their job.

Author links

Website: http://www.jimmurdoch.co.uk/

Blog: http://jim-murdoch.blogspot.co.uk/

FV Books: http://www.fvbooks.com/jmurdoch/jmurdoch5.htm

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/jmurdoch

I’m from the very small town of Sylvania, Georgia and I now live in Atlanta, Georgia. Although I enjoy living in Atlanta, I loved growing up in a small town. The best thing about growing up in a small town is that everybody knows you and the worst thing about growing up in a small town is that everybody knows you.

2. Tell us your latest news?

My debut novel, Prelude To An Empire, is wrapping up the publishing process and I’m preparing to launch in October. At the moment, I’m releasing exclusive, and most importantly, FREE promotional content on my website: http://www.tjbenton.com up until the official book launch. Right now we’re smack dab in the middle of what I’m calling the “Back Story Series,” which is a campaign where I’m releasing six short stories, one new short story each week, about the six main characters from the book. The stories explore a small window of the lives of the characters before the events of Prelude To An Empire take place.

3. When did you begin writing?

I’ve been writing most of my life. I wrote my first book in middle school. It was a joint project between me and my best friend for our English class. It was a Thriller titled, The Underground Killer and I had a great time working on it. I even did the cover illustrations myself – with crayons and color pencils.

4. What inspires you to write?

I’m inspired to write because I love reading. I’ve been captivated with books for as long as I can remember. I write because I want to create the same experience for my readers that my favorite authors have created for me; I want to write stories that entertain and touch the lives of my readers, so much that it stays with them long after they’ve read the last word. Writing is a very magical and powerful gift.

5. How do you come up with the title of your books?

Sometimes coming up with a good title is almost as hard as writing the book. The title of my debut novel, Prelude To An Empire, literally just leaped into my head one day while I was planning the series. I’m also hard at work on a children’s fantasy novel right now and I’m still playing around with titles for the books.

6. In one sentence describe the synopsis of your latest book?

Prelude To An Empire opens with Russell N. Wright sitting in his car on the brink of committing suicide and chronicles his lifelong struggles with family, friendships, relationships, bullying, and sexuality versus spirituality; eventually coming full circle in the end to answer the questions of how did he get here and will he end it all today?

7. What other books would you compare this book written in the same genre with?

Honestly, I don’t think that Prelude To An Empire is like any book that I’ve read in this genre. I wanted to be different and create a unique story with unforgettable characters that will go places you never thought possible throughout the potential 3-part series.

8. How long did it take you to write the latest book?

It took 2 years to write Prelude To An Empire, including about 9 months of sporadic writer’s block.

9. What is the hardest part of writing?

The hardest part of writing is writer’s block. It’s one of the most frustrating things that I’ve experienced as a writer – when you are on a roll and all of a sudden it’s like someone shuts off the lights in your brain. The best way to deal with it for me has been to take a break, get a latte, relax and do something else for a while – maybe even for a couple days. Sometimes taking a break is a good thing because when you remove yourself from a project for a moment, you give your brain a chance to recharge and I promise you’ll come back better than ever.

10. Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer?

My top suggestion for others to become a better writer is to research and study. Shortly after I started my first writing project, I read several reference books on writing techniques and I saw a tremendous improvement in my ability as a result. I suggest Writing Fiction For Dummies & Techniques Of The Selling Writer.

My second suggestion is to surround yourself with positive people with whom you can share your accomplishments. Positive energy is contagious and if you have people around you that can share and nurture your excitement it can only catalyze your success!

Lastly, believe in yourself and your ideas. Never give up and stay true to who you are. Not everyone is going to like you, your work, or ideas but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have merit. Keep at it and good luck!

Links to books and author

For the latest news and updates regarding my current and future writing projects:
Website: http://www.tjbenton.com
Twitter: @TJBentonBooks
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TJBentonBooks
Prelude To An Empire TBA October 2012 via Amazon & CreateSpace!

1. Name of your character
2. Where does your character live?
3. How old is your character?
4. What is your characters job?
5. Explain his or her average day.
6. What things do your character like and dislike?
7. What is the life like for your character?
8. Anything else you can think of about your character.

I do hope many of you as possible will reply to this post. It will be interesting to see different characters people choose to be. It could be a zombie or a vampire, or a ghost…

1. Where are you from?

Halifax in the UK. Not to be confused with Halifax in Nova Scotia.

 

2. Tell us your latest news?

 

Part 1 of the Sci Fi epic ’59 has finished its run on Kindle Select so I’m free to publish it wherever I like. I’m putting the audio of it back on my site www.anthonysunderland.com for people to listen to free.

 

3. When did you begin writing?

About 12 years ago. I wrote four screenplays on spec. My goal has always been to write big budget Sci Fi films, but Speilberg’s not been round with the cheque yet

 

4. What inspires you to write?

Asking the question, What if?

 

5. How do you come up with the title of your books?

Usually by relating them to the subject matter, or the protaganist so that people can quickly grasp what the story is about from the title and blurb.

 

’59 is slightly different because the story has come together from several different ideas. Also I imagined in my naivety that I could have the Queen song ’39 slightly reworked as the film theme tune.

 

Still, you never know.

 

6. In one sentence describe the synopsis of your latest book?

 

Is this the end of Janine’s quest to discover her father’s fate?

 

7. What other books would you compare this book written in the same genre with?
 

I’ve not read much lately, especially in Sci Fi, with the pressures of getting the first four titles published, organising the covers, narration, and all the promo work. In some ways it’s like Verne or Wells – not saying I’m in the same league as the great men – in that it explores the possibilities in front of us.

 

I want to inspire people to ask questions, to wonder, What if?

 

 

8. How long did it take you to write the latest book?
 

Around three months at four hours a week. This though was adapting the screenplay into prose rather than starting from scratch.

 

9. What is the hardest part of writing?

 

Getting the ideas in your head down onto paper or onto the screen. It often feels like they get jumbled between your brain and fingers.

 
10. Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer? 
 

That old chestnut – practise! Write lots. Join a writers group, one that does speed writing exercises. You’ll be amazed what you can come up with from random objects, and given 10 minutes to do it in.

 

Turn off the damned TV. There’s a good reason it’s called the Idiot Box.

 

Links to books and author

My site: www.anthonysunderland.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/anthonysunderlandscifiwriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASunderlandsf

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AnthonySunderland

 

 

1. Where are you from? Kentucky

2. Tell us your latest news? I just finished my new novella and I’m working on getting it ready for publication.

3. When did you begin writing? A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away

4. What inspires you to write? Mostly my love of fantasy worlds and stories. I wanted to make characters like Wonder Woman and Xena. MMORPGs help too as well as characters I make in my art.

5. How do you come up with the title of your books? Nothing hard, kind of straightforward. Used terms from my books LOL.

6. In one sentence describe the synopsis of your latest book? An epic tale of several characters trying to figure out where they belong in the world.

7. What other books would you compare this book written in the same genre with? I would not dare compare my stuff to someone else’s b/c I wouldn’t want to offend anyone. My stuff focuses around mythology of all kinds, but mostly Greek. I personally don’t read in this genre because I am usually writing something and I don’t want to take a chance on being influenced by something. You could probably say it was somewhat like Xena. Kind of along those lines.

8. How long did it take you to write the latest book? Well my newest book is actually the first two in the series along with a new one. It took me probably a year to finish it all and then print and edit. I do everything myself in between being a mother and working full time.

9. What is the hardest part of writing? Finding the time to pound out your ideas. I think much faster when typing, but there isn’t a lot of time for that.

10. Do you have any suggestions to help others become a better writer? Don’t listen to those jealous famous authors that try to say self publishing is no good or lazy. If you want total control, self publishing is a good route. I mean look at how many “best sellers” there are. Ok. But did you read them? Did you think some of them sucked big time? I know I have. I don’t believe we should be subjected to only “liking” what the “big publishers” say we should like. Indie publishing books are far better IMHO than some of the top 10 books.

Links to books and author

http://www.shannonmcroberts.com

http://www.obsidianpoet.blogspot.com/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Daughter-Ares-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008HJO5X4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1343783393&sr=8-5&keywords=daughter+of+ares+chronicles