Ask the Author: Steve Abbott
Answered Questions (6)
Steve Abbott
I became fascinated by South America and the so called war on drugs. I knew one of the characters in the current book I'm writing had some history working in country there and another character from the previous book wanted to ride a motorcycle to Tierra Del Fuego. It was just a matter of figuring out how and why they would meet. The rest is about betrayal and what motivates it.
Steve Abbott
I think inspiration is the wrong word. I have an idea and I have a timeframe in which it needs to get done. The rest is research and getting the story down. If you wait for inspiration, you're going to be staring at the blank screen for a very long time and eventually, you'll give up because it's just too hard.
But if you've had an idea and you've thought about it for a bit, the researched it and finally outlined the story you want to tell, then the rest is just application of your butt to the seat and your hands to the keyboard.
Then you're not looking for big I inspiration to move you forward, you're just looking for inspiration at a sentence or paragraph level and moving your story along.
But if you've had an idea and you've thought about it for a bit, the researched it and finally outlined the story you want to tell, then the rest is just application of your butt to the seat and your hands to the keyboard.
Then you're not looking for big I inspiration to move you forward, you're just looking for inspiration at a sentence or paragraph level and moving your story along.
Steve Abbott
My next thriller, Devil's Salary where we get to see what happened to some of the characters from my first thriller Devil's Gambit.
Steve Abbott
Learn structure. If you're a genre writer, read every book in that genre you can. Know the conventions of the genre and what scenes are expected by the reader.
Outline. It's easier for a story to fail in three pages than three hundred.
Outline. It's easier for a story to fail in three pages than three hundred.
Steve Abbott
Flexible hours and the research and people it brings you into contact with.
Steve Abbott
I take a shower or go for a long motorcycle ride. One's relaxing and the other allows you to clear your head and only concentrate on riding the bike. Which is a real vacation from yourself.
If it's a really persistent block, then I know it's not me, it's the story and I'll go back and work my way through the chapters until I find the piece that won't let me proceed. If that doesn't work, I'll work on other chapters with a note to address the issue later.
The trick is to always be moving forward in some way.
If it's a really persistent block, then I know it's not me, it's the story and I'll go back and work my way through the chapters until I find the piece that won't let me proceed. If that doesn't work, I'll work on other chapters with a note to address the issue later.
The trick is to always be moving forward in some way.
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