Ask the Author: C.L. Currie
Answered Questions (6)
C.L. Currie
Reading. That's the long and short of it. It can be any blog, article, short story, fiction, non-fiction--doesn't matter to me. Other inspirations come from movies and conversations as well as writing exercises, but nothing is quite as inspiring as reading.
C.L. Currie
Tough question for me...the "best" thing about being a writer...um, let's separate the categories: fiction and non-fiction. Fiction: Creating a world is extremely therapeutic in my opinion. Authors laugh about being schizophrenic, switching from one personality to another, writing dialogue for multiple personalities. I believe the ability to see things from multiple viewpoints is a gift that some writers are born with and others work their #!! off to get. I like the actual writing the best. Non-Fiction: Communicating something in an interesting way so that it brings a person to a new level of understanding on a particular subject--if an author can do that for another, it's the best.
C.L. Currie
I have two novels written in first draft. The one I am working on now has the working title "Major Mara Jensen: Betrayed." It's a strong female lead and when I first wrote it over a decade ago, readers felt a strong connection to the lead character, Mara Jensen. This is another stage for me, deciding to tackle a new novel in a time when book series are most popular. I have to balance marketing the first book with writing time. It reminds me of when I learned to juggle.
C.L. Currie
Great question! There are particular books, movies, and TV shows that I like and will watch over and over. I decided I should write in the genre I love in order to keep me going to the end of the story. During an exercise in a course I was taking, I came up with an opening...a man trapped in a metallic room. I passed around the idea to a few people and found it stimulated their imaginations. Had he been abducted by aliens? Was he imprisoned by the evil bad guy? I was determined to write a mystery so I continued that procedure, taking the story where no one expected it to go, incorporating what I loved from my favorite books and movies.
C.L. Currie
Subscribe to successful author blogs and you tube channels where the articles, videos and podcasts are informative, honest, and apply to you. Use critique services such as Critique Circle to get a reader's point of view on your material. Critiquing helped me realize my genre and audience for that particular story. And finally, don't spend money you can't afford. You need it for the editor/proofreader. Most importantly, never stop reading and writing. I have more detailed advice at my website.
C.L. Currie
My writer's block lasts anywhere from one minute to two days and is easily handled by rest and extroversion. I took a course on how the brain sorts information; it can get overloaded. Through experience I learned I should never write at night. This may not be the case for everyone, but it is for me. Another way is to get ideas out of my head and into the computer immediately. Jotting down ideas that often come at the most inopportune time helps also. Sometimes I'll step out back for fresh air and an entire chapter will come to me. I have to get to that computer and type fast! A popular way is to do a writing exercise or read another book. That doesn't work for me because I have too many ideas already. Finally, and maybe the best way to conquer the blank page is to keep the question "What if?" ever prominent in your mind. Stimulate the right brain. Let the left brain take a vacation (until you get to editing).
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