Ask the Author: Zac Baldwin
Answered Questions (6)
Zac Baldwin
Milk Run is set in the New Mexico mountains where I grew up and spent a lot of time there. I also have been lucky to know quite a few veterans - men and women - and they inspired me to set a story with good soldiers taking on bad soldiers in those amazing mountain ranges.
Zac Baldwin
The urge to write is always on me and I love doing it. But there are some stories or characters that grab me by the hair and say write this up now!!!! So I guess the inspiration comes to me, I do not sit and say, I want to be inspired. Without inspiration, it's just a matter of getting in front of your keyboard putting words out there and the inspiration can be quiet and seep through your fingers and sometimes it's like the river rapids and it floods out. Both are fun!
Zac Baldwin
I am working on my third novel of yet another world - Wasteland Warrior - set in a post-apocalyptic future - with yet another female leading character battling injustice. Then my plan is to start filling in the trilogies of Brooke's War and Milk Run and then Wasteland. I want to fit in The Living Shields, about a team of mainly female bodyguards and Myrtle, Kung Fu Master, about a girl who shares some body time with the ancient spirit of a martial arts creator. So, obviously, nothing much going on:)
Zac Baldwin
Trust yourself. The amount of writers who have given up on writing or at least writing a specific project because other people did not like it. Other people's opinions are just that - their taste may not run to your writing but they will usually phrase it with "that sucks!" or "this is really terrible" but in reality it means they just did not like it. How many movies or books win awards and accolades or are best sellers that you did not like? Admittedly every craft can you improvement and work, so keep learning. That said, if you truly like your writing, then stick with it and others of like mind will discover you.
Zac Baldwin
The worlds and characters I get to visit with. Also addressing issues where in real life one is pretty powerless to stop and in writing you can create answers or solutions or just a satisfying end to a frustrating problem. In real life I am pretty boring, my most fun is entering a place with wild challenges and interesting people.
Zac Baldwin
For me at least, writer's block comes from the brain and actual writing comes from, you name it, the heart, the spirit, the universe, the muse, etc. But I use my brain to maybe storyboard something or get a clear idea of arcs, but when I actually write I let myself get stupid, no thinking, just words pouring out. Once the brain gets in the act, then it is easy to start criticizing and decide how terrible everything is and the blocks start showing up - making harder to get back to the typewriter/computer/quill pen. Once I put "The End" on something, then thinking is again useful for editing. But for sheer creating, the brain should be put on hold. Sometimes easier said than done.
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