Ask the Author: Jacki Skole
Answered Questions (3)
Jacki Skole
I didn’t set out to write a book so much as I set out to discover why the puppy I adopted from a small rescue organization seemed unusually submissive and fearful of men, and why she—a dog from North Carolina—was up for adoption in a New Jersey garden supply store.
At the time I began to dig for answers, I was in the midst of a career crisis: Should I pursue a doctoral degree in education? Could I be content as a stay-at-home mom teaching a few college classes a semester? What was my purpose?
As I uncovered little bits about Galen’s past and learned about the scope of the dog problem in the United States, I realized there was a story that needed telling—not just about all the healthy and adoptable dogs being killed in shelters (that story’s been told), but about what’s being done—and what more can be done—to save lives and stop the killing.
I had my purpose.
At the time I began to dig for answers, I was in the midst of a career crisis: Should I pursue a doctoral degree in education? Could I be content as a stay-at-home mom teaching a few college classes a semester? What was my purpose?
As I uncovered little bits about Galen’s past and learned about the scope of the dog problem in the United States, I realized there was a story that needed telling—not just about all the healthy and adoptable dogs being killed in shelters (that story’s been told), but about what’s being done—and what more can be done—to save lives and stop the killing.
I had my purpose.
Jacki Skole
My advice to aspiring writers is my advice to me, and it's very difficult to follow: Write every day. In this, I fail. But it is something that I am trying to do routinely. Every successful writer I know, no matter the field she writes in, says you write more creatively and more quickly when you write daily.
"Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it.”
-Natalie Goldberg, Writing down the Bones
"Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it.”
-Natalie Goldberg, Writing down the Bones
Jacki Skole
I deal with writer's block by walking away from the computer. Usually doing something active--taking a walk, cleaning the house, doing laundry, will get my creative juices flowing. I know I'm not unique in this. There is a book -- I wish I could remember its name or the author -- that explains why walking away is the best thing a person can do to rejuvenate the mind. (If you know the name, please let me know. I heard the author on Fresh Air several years ago -- I was in my car -- and I forgot to follow up!)
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