Ask the Author: R.C. Johansen
Answered Questions (6)
R.C. Johansen
This is something that I didn't really understand how to do until recently. It goes along with the whole "advice for aspiring writers" thing: just write. Write through it. It may be a little torturous, but seriously, just keep writing. Start up a new story or play around with a character. It will help you get through the block as well as flush out your characters a little more. It's interesting to see what you can come up with if you put your book aside and let your mind wander on a different topic. Then, write all about it until you realize what it is that was blocking you and you can overcome that and keep working on your novel!
R.C. Johansen
As a writer, I get to experience life from multiple perspectives. I get to be a professional in any career I choose. My main character, for instance, is Meredith Carlyle, an aspiring forensic anthropologist. In no other world but the writing world could I study and learn how to be an anthropologist along with my main character, while also learning how to be a cop or a lawyer or a journalist. And I can do it all on my own time without having to hang out in a classroom! Unless I want to, of course. The best part, though, is probably getting to hang out with my dog all day.
R.C. Johansen
Don't stop. My biggest obstacle when I was younger was trying to make the story perfect before moving on with the plot. Don't do this. Get the whole story out, all of it, onto paper, out of your head. Once that is done, then you can make it perfect. But, don't worry too much about the little things and instead JUST WRITE.
R.C. Johansen
I am currently working on book two of The Skeleton Friend series! It will be titled "The Skeleton Girls" and will pick up where the last book left off with Carly as well as continue the investigation Unidentified was centered around. Once The Skeleton Friend is released (end of January 2016), I will be dedicating all of my writing time to TSG. I am also working on another short story featuring Charles Francis, who is a main character in The Skeleton Friend.
R.C. Johansen
Shoot...that's not just one answer. I have been lucky lately that it doesn't take much for me to want to sit down and get writing. The thrill of it alone is inspiration enough most days, especially when I am working up to something big in the story. Otherwise, I always try to listen to music that sets the mood of the scene and usually I have to get away from my house. For some reason, writing at home is kind of a buzzkill.
R.C. Johansen
I spent a few good years working as an EMT in a fairly busy system. That gave me the jumping off point. Writing a character that was an EMT in a dire situation was something I could actually relate with, so it made developing the character that much easier. From there, it was simply compiling all of my knowledge of forensics that I've gathered over the years and all of my knowledge of a good mystery/thriller. I take very seriously the magnitude of the unarmed African American lives lost to law enforcement officers in this country, and I wanted to highlight that discrepancy as much as I wanted to write an entertaining novel. I hope I was able to do both.
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