Ask the Author: Lisa Timpf
Answered Questions (8)
Lisa Timpf
Writing for me often starts with ideas. Sometimes these are sparked by news stories or scientific discoveries, other times they are inspired by events in daily life. Once I get the idea, it nags at me until I get it down in print.
Lisa Timpf
That's a tough one. I would either go to Narnia to chat with the animals, or travel to Andre Norton's Arzor for a sight-seeing tour by horseback.
Lisa Timpf
Since right now I'm primarily focussing on short stories, I'll answer with respect to those. Recently I had a story published in New Myths about an an-enhanced police dog. (you can find the story at this link: https://sites.google.com/a/newmyths.c...). The idea for the story, its prequel, and a handful of other pieces was an article I ran across on CBC News online, about a prediction that memory will ultimately be able to be uploaded, and that human minds will be able to link to artificial intelligence. That got me thinking about the potential to enhance the intelligence of dogs or other animals.
Lisa Timpf
When you start sending stories or poems out to magazines or anthologies, you will sometimes have pieces rejected, albeit with feedback as to why. My advice is to treat that feedback like gold. You may or may not agree, and the story or poem is yours to change or not, but I have personally found editorial suggestions very helpful in re-shaping a piece and subsequently getting it published. A lot of places will just give you a form letter rejection, so I really value those that take the time to make constructive suggestions.
Lisa Timpf
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his wife Reine-Marie, from Louise Penny's books. There's a sense of mutual respect and support between them. Both Armand and Reine-Marie are accomplished in their own right. And, they're down-to-earth, likeable characters, to boot.
Lisa Timpf
To try to keep my interest in writing fresh, I switch between genres. Sometimes after a few days of focussing on poetry, I feel rejuvenated and better able to go back to my prose work-in-progress.
Lisa Timpf
Being a writer challenges you to understand yourself, and the world around you, better.
Lisa Timpf
I'm working on a sci-fi mystery novel with a Canadian history twist, as well as some short stories for anthologies and magazines. I'm also collecting material for a sci-fi short story collection.
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