Ask the Author: Duana Welch
Answered Questions (8)
Duana Welch
Actually, the mystery in my life did become the plot for a book: mine! I was mystified as to how to find and keep love, and science showed me the path.
Duana Welch
Hi there, thanks for the great question. My favorite fictional couple is Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy--for three reasons. First, nobody writes witty sarcasm and the wry observation of courtship like author Jane Austen; Pride & Prejudice cycles through my reading at least once a year, something I can say of no other work of fiction. Second, Darcy and Elizabeth are flawed but dear, with palpable chemistry. Third, their courtship follows a pattern scientists have proven to exist globally--it fascinates me to see how Austen shows that love is timeless and that we humans have a mating ritual that transcends place.
Duana Welch
From my train-wreck of a love life! Seriously, the idea came to me more than 15 years ago when I went through a break-up that even chocolate couldn't console. I was (am) a hard-core nerd, getting a doctorate in research psychology, and it struck me that a) my education was not doing a thing to save me from heartbreak, and b) I wasn't a love researcher, but maybe I should look around and see whether there were other social science nerds who were.
And there were...lots of them. Decades of excellent science existed which, had I only known and applied it, could have saved me so much heartache and led to the loving, lifelong relationship I yearned for.
It worked for me--I'm very happily wed to the love of my life, and we are celebrating seven years of marriage this month. It worked for my clients and for my college students and for my blog readers. And so the idea of the book was born, to use not only heart and soul, but evidence, to shore up other men and women as they embark on the most important task of our adult lives: finding and keeping The One.
And there were...lots of them. Decades of excellent science existed which, had I only known and applied it, could have saved me so much heartache and led to the loving, lifelong relationship I yearned for.
It worked for me--I'm very happily wed to the love of my life, and we are celebrating seven years of marriage this month. It worked for my clients and for my college students and for my blog readers. And so the idea of the book was born, to use not only heart and soul, but evidence, to shore up other men and women as they embark on the most important task of our adult lives: finding and keeping The One.
Duana Welch
Sigh. I don't. I agree with Dorothy Parker, who when asked whether she enjoyed writing, quipped that she enjoyed having written.
I've found that for me, waiting for inspiration is deadly. So instead I trick myself into writing by making a bargain: I only have to write a hundred words. Once I've written that many, I'm Into the flow of writing, and then, you can't pull me away.
I've found that for me, waiting for inspiration is deadly. So instead I trick myself into writing by making a bargain: I only have to write a hundred words. Once I've written that many, I'm Into the flow of writing, and then, you can't pull me away.
Duana Welch
Love Factually is newly released as of this writing (today is 1/10/15 and the launch date was 1/7/15), so the task of publicizing that book is tops right now. I'm also busy thanking a lot of people who made the book possible; it takes a village to raise a book, and my villagers were and are the very best.
When Love Factually is out in the world and doing well without further publicity efforts, I will resume research for my next book; like my other writing, it gives advice about finding and keeping love from a scientific basis, but this one is specifically for single parents. I was a single mom, and I've never done anything tougher than finding the man who is right for not only me, but for my daughter. It's a different ball game once you have kids. But there's no fact-based book about it, and so I'm working on that.
When Love Factually is out in the world and doing well without further publicity efforts, I will resume research for my next book; like my other writing, it gives advice about finding and keeping love from a scientific basis, but this one is specifically for single parents. I was a single mom, and I've never done anything tougher than finding the man who is right for not only me, but for my daughter. It's a different ball game once you have kids. But there's no fact-based book about it, and so I'm working on that.
Duana Welch
Possibly everyone says this, but: Start a blog before you start your book.
I did this without realizing it was a good authorship move. My daughter was little when I began writing relationship advice from a scientific angle, and I didn't want to spend time away from her (even mentally) that a book would entail. Blogs can be written in bite-size pieces; they don't have to take a ton of time. So I began LoveScience as a way to satisfy my need for this information to exist, free, for everyone, while also satisfying my need to max my time with my girl until she was old enough that she didn't need me quite so much on a moment-to-moment basis. It was a hugely satisfying move.
But. It turns out there were many other reasons starting my blog made sense, and these reasons apply to most aspiring writers, I think. Before my blog, almost all my writing was for scientific journals. I couldn't write in regular human-speak to save my life. Writing the blog let me hone my voice and find out what content did and didn't resonate; it let me build a readership that helped me on my way as I wrote and then launched my book Love Factually; it gave me a better shot at attracting all the professionals a great book relies on (such as a story editor, designer, and publicist), because a long-standing blog acts as a portfolio; it gave me much of the content to draw from as I planned, wrote, and promoted the book; and many of the blog readers became good friends who kept me motivated to persist when I'd just about had it. Then, when Love Factually launched, the blog readers were the ones who most cared about and wanted the book, and gave copies to friends and family.
As I read through this, I am freshly reminded of how much I owe to the LoveScience blog readers--or as I have always referred to them, Wise Readers. If you are reading this now, thank you! Love Factually could not exist without you, and you have enriched my life immeasurably.
So, yes: Start with a blog! It sounds like a chore, but there's so much reward in it.
I did this without realizing it was a good authorship move. My daughter was little when I began writing relationship advice from a scientific angle, and I didn't want to spend time away from her (even mentally) that a book would entail. Blogs can be written in bite-size pieces; they don't have to take a ton of time. So I began LoveScience as a way to satisfy my need for this information to exist, free, for everyone, while also satisfying my need to max my time with my girl until she was old enough that she didn't need me quite so much on a moment-to-moment basis. It was a hugely satisfying move.
But. It turns out there were many other reasons starting my blog made sense, and these reasons apply to most aspiring writers, I think. Before my blog, almost all my writing was for scientific journals. I couldn't write in regular human-speak to save my life. Writing the blog let me hone my voice and find out what content did and didn't resonate; it let me build a readership that helped me on my way as I wrote and then launched my book Love Factually; it gave me a better shot at attracting all the professionals a great book relies on (such as a story editor, designer, and publicist), because a long-standing blog acts as a portfolio; it gave me much of the content to draw from as I planned, wrote, and promoted the book; and many of the blog readers became good friends who kept me motivated to persist when I'd just about had it. Then, when Love Factually launched, the blog readers were the ones who most cared about and wanted the book, and gave copies to friends and family.
As I read through this, I am freshly reminded of how much I owe to the LoveScience blog readers--or as I have always referred to them, Wise Readers. If you are reading this now, thank you! Love Factually could not exist without you, and you have enriched my life immeasurably.
So, yes: Start with a blog! It sounds like a chore, but there's so much reward in it.
Duana Welch
If there's anything better than thinking about and doing exactly what one likes best all day, whilst in one's PJ's, I don't know what it could be.
Duana Welch
Good question. I work from outlines that I add to as ideas come to me, and that usually prevents block; but if a planned topic just doesn't speak to me on a given day, I move on to another part of the outline. That and eating cookies have stood me in good stead, although eventually I regret the cookies. More seriously, I found that after I started taking two walks a day--one in the morning, one at night--I got sharper, and writer's block is rarely an issue now. Wish I could say the same about cookies.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more