Ask the Author: Abigail R. Shaffer
Answered Questions (9)
Abigail R. Shaffer
Anything by Ann Cleeves, for starters!
Abigail R. Shaffer
Maybe not the plot, but the thread leading to the plot:
electrical items and things like watch batteries go haywire / stop working in my presence
electrical items and things like watch batteries go haywire / stop working in my presence
Abigail R. Shaffer
What a great question! I've been giving this a great deal of thought (hence the response time). I'd say I have two. The first is the archetype of the warrior queen and her consort, co-heroes, if you will, fighting a grand fight together with enormous stakes (kingdoms rise and fall). I'm thinking of female protagonists like Maeve or Rhiannon (of Celtic origin) and their partners (often warrior bards). Their is something of high stakes and courage and loyalty, of equality and strength of partnership.
Totally switching tracks, and to cite a specific fictional couple, it would be Ruby and Teodoro in the Silver Cloud Cafe by Alfredo Vea Jr. There is a purity in their connection, an absolute joy in their experience of each other, and each character is made more "themselves" when they are together. They create a haven for themselves and their circle of friends/soul mates that offers a respite from the outer world.
If there are commonalities between these two, I'd say it's a sense of loyalty and purity of connection. High stakes and courage -- but also joy in the experience of each other, too.
Totally switching tracks, and to cite a specific fictional couple, it would be Ruby and Teodoro in the Silver Cloud Cafe by Alfredo Vea Jr. There is a purity in their connection, an absolute joy in their experience of each other, and each character is made more "themselves" when they are together. They create a haven for themselves and their circle of friends/soul mates that offers a respite from the outer world.
If there are commonalities between these two, I'd say it's a sense of loyalty and purity of connection. High stakes and courage -- but also joy in the experience of each other, too.
Abigail R. Shaffer
Write anyway. Don't get stressed. Overthinking about writer's block distracts you and negatively redirects your creative energy. Figure out what's hanging you up, if you can. Then take a break and come back to it when you're ready to focus on the story.
Abigail R. Shaffer
Writing. Sounds trite but it can be difficult, particularly in the beginning, to justify writing in terms of our worlds beyond the page. Getting past this hurdle and being able to write anyway is a joy and a freedom.
Abigail R. Shaffer
Read and write as much as you can. That sounds simple, but that's how you'll discover what drives you and inspires you. Reading and writing voraciously will help you begin to understand yourself. Read different genres, push your boundaries, explore different modes. Be fearless. Be whatever. Just be.
Abigail R. Shaffer
For as long as I remember, I have been inspired by the world around me: people, places, experiences, the sensory, what lies beyond, what dreams and desires compel us. I've been called by a need to share and connect through storytelling.
Abigail R. Shaffer
First, as with much in my writing life, the inspiration grew from nature and the sensory. I was living in Little Rock, and it was a classic, early summer gully washer: rain coming down in buckets, humid and close, vegetal. I sat on my screened-in porch and watched rivulets of water sluice off the eaves and onto the bricks of the porch floor. Slowly, I began to see this sluicing rain from the eyes of a character, to experience the endless rain through her, and the story was born.
Abigail R. Shaffer
I am at work on my second novel
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more