Ask the Author: Sue Russell
Answered Questions (5)
Sue Russell
I am collaborating on a book with a truly fascinating investigator whose expertise dovetails perfectly with my own for a successful recipe. I imagine us blending well together. Right now, we're poised on the diving board hovering above the pool but it feels right. I'm excited. Meanwhile, I will likely write other articles or help other writers polish and edit their work. I love editing.
Sue Russell
As a freelance journalist, you often have the freedom to suggest ideas to editors that you truly want to write. Not always, but sufficiently often to make a difference. This is a huge gift. With books, the answer is the same, the process lengthier. Since so much time is involved, important to avoid missteps.
Sue Russell
Lie on the bed, eyes closed, in the dark or both, with a note book and pen beside me. I let my mind wander and scribble notes re, perhaps, progression of an article or outline or chapter. Invariably, the clouds clear by the morning I *hope* the clouds clear by the morning!
(Apologies for delay to all these questions; I've only just seen them.)
(Apologies for delay to all these questions; I've only just seen them.)
Sue Russell
Could there be a more tired piece of advice than "never give up"? I can only tell you that I was roundly discouraged from writing starting out. Yet it became my career. It's a different world out there now (another cliche) but all the more options for aspiring writers to dip their toes in the water early on. No need to wade through dozens of rejections. Self-publish! Just. Do. It.
Sue Russell
As a journalist, I've often been galvanized into action by a cocktail of curiosity and love of justice. I've written a lot about wrongful convictions -- beginning with Randall Dale Adams featured in Errol Morris' documentary "The Thin Blue Line" thirty years ago. I've seen a lot of cases since. The trick is blending the search for truth with a productive lack of bias so that you make good judgment calls and editors let your words see the light of day. Of course, no one is free of bias. It's part of us. But you do your best, you speak to the best (forensic psychologist Dr. Itiel Dror in London has given me quite the education) and learn to challenge the status quo. Ask yourself this. Do you know when someone is lying to you? Sorry, but you don't. Studies have proved that. But although I *know* better, that hasn't stopped me watching interviews and interrogations and wanting to trust my gut! Tricky, dangerous stuff in criminal justice.
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