Ask the Author: Celeste Chaney
Answered Questions (4)
Celeste Chaney
When I was a kid I dreamt of being an actor because it would give me a window into other people’s lives. To get into character I’d have to learn how to speak differently, dress differently. I’d study a new trade and another way of living. In other words, I’d have the opportunity to live outside of myself and obtain a new perspective, if only for a short time.
As a writer, it’s the same. You can go as deep as you’d like into a specific subject, a set of characters, or a period of time. You then translate what you’ve learned into an experience that you get to share with your readers.
That is the greatest reward of writing.
As a writer, it’s the same. You can go as deep as you’d like into a specific subject, a set of characters, or a period of time. You then translate what you’ve learned into an experience that you get to share with your readers.
That is the greatest reward of writing.
Celeste Chaney
It depends on how long I've been sitting at my desk. If it's been a while and I've made progress, I'll take a break, take a walk, do something to get my mind elsewhere. That's usually when I find my way through. But, if I haven't been sitting long and the page still stares, ominously white in front of me, I force myself to stare right back at it. The breakthrough either comes, or it doesn't. But at least I know I've done what I was supposed to for the day.
Celeste Chaney
1.) Let fear be your compass.
Sometimes the things we're afraid to do are the very things we should be doing. If you live outside of fear, you'll not only become stronger, you'll also have a greater wealth of experience to draw from. The best thing about being a writer is that EVERYTHING becomes fodder for your work. So get out there and live a little!
2.) Take yourself seriously.
Even after I quit my job to write my first novel, I'd tell people that I was a marketing consultant when they asked what I did. I wasn't lying, I was consulting a bit, but what I really wanted was to be a writer (hence the fact that I quit my job to do it!).
The point is, I didn't take myself seriously enough as a writer to tell other people that's what I was.
If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
3.) Start writing NOW.
Not after you get your MFA, not once work slows down, not in a year, or after the holidays, or in two weeks, or tomorrow. Now.
I heeded this advice from Debbie Millman (look up her commencement speech) and quit my job in marketing immediately. (Literally -- I submitted my resignation letter a mere five minutes after listening to it.)
It doesn't matter if it's a novel-length project, a short story, poem or journal. Just WRITE. Do it every day.
4.) Read, a lot. Every writer says this because it's true. Diversity is key. Get out of your comfort zone and try new genres and styles. Short stories and poetry are some of my favorite things to read because they teach me, very quickly, new techniques and approaches.
5.) Join a writing group. Again, the more diverse, the better. My writing group is full of incredible, intelligent human beings with a wealth of experience between them. We have an archaeologist, a hairdresser. People in their 20s all the way up to their 70s.
And they're all far better writers than I. They push me, support me, and keep me hungry.
6.) Get Scrivener (the computer program).
I was half-finished with my novel when I found it. It saddens me to think of the time I wasted not having it.
It is simply the best program to organize your thoughts and help you stay productive.
7.) Submit your work.
I wrote my first short story after I'd finished the novel. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I wish I had done more short story writing first. It's a great way to hone your craft and get (relatively) immediate feedback on your work. Don't stop submitting something, either. Just because a literary magazine has rejected a piece doesn't mean that, with a few tweaks, it can't find a home elsewhere.
Sometimes the things we're afraid to do are the very things we should be doing. If you live outside of fear, you'll not only become stronger, you'll also have a greater wealth of experience to draw from. The best thing about being a writer is that EVERYTHING becomes fodder for your work. So get out there and live a little!
2.) Take yourself seriously.
Even after I quit my job to write my first novel, I'd tell people that I was a marketing consultant when they asked what I did. I wasn't lying, I was consulting a bit, but what I really wanted was to be a writer (hence the fact that I quit my job to do it!).
The point is, I didn't take myself seriously enough as a writer to tell other people that's what I was.
If you don't believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
3.) Start writing NOW.
Not after you get your MFA, not once work slows down, not in a year, or after the holidays, or in two weeks, or tomorrow. Now.
I heeded this advice from Debbie Millman (look up her commencement speech) and quit my job in marketing immediately. (Literally -- I submitted my resignation letter a mere five minutes after listening to it.)
It doesn't matter if it's a novel-length project, a short story, poem or journal. Just WRITE. Do it every day.
4.) Read, a lot. Every writer says this because it's true. Diversity is key. Get out of your comfort zone and try new genres and styles. Short stories and poetry are some of my favorite things to read because they teach me, very quickly, new techniques and approaches.
5.) Join a writing group. Again, the more diverse, the better. My writing group is full of incredible, intelligent human beings with a wealth of experience between them. We have an archaeologist, a hairdresser. People in their 20s all the way up to their 70s.
And they're all far better writers than I. They push me, support me, and keep me hungry.
6.) Get Scrivener (the computer program).
I was half-finished with my novel when I found it. It saddens me to think of the time I wasted not having it.
It is simply the best program to organize your thoughts and help you stay productive.
7.) Submit your work.
I wrote my first short story after I'd finished the novel. In retrospect, this was a mistake. I wish I had done more short story writing first. It's a great way to hone your craft and get (relatively) immediate feedback on your work. Don't stop submitting something, either. Just because a literary magazine has rejected a piece doesn't mean that, with a few tweaks, it can't find a home elsewhere.
Celeste Chaney
Writing is a very organic process for me. The idea for IN ABSENCE OF FEAR evolved over time as I discovered who the characters were and what kind of society they were living in.
I didn't know it would become a story about mass surveillance and technology. Though there are qualities that feel dystopian, I didn't set out to write the next dystopian thriller. IN ABSENCE OF FEAR has been called "1984 for the modern era" --which is overwhelmingly gratifying to hear-- but at its core, it's a story about what we're willing to risk to protect the ones we love.
I didn't know it would become a story about mass surveillance and technology. Though there are qualities that feel dystopian, I didn't set out to write the next dystopian thriller. IN ABSENCE OF FEAR has been called "1984 for the modern era" --which is overwhelmingly gratifying to hear-- but at its core, it's a story about what we're willing to risk to protect the ones we love.
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