Ask the Author: Michael C. Cordell
Answered Questions (8)
Michael C. Cordell
I've been reading everything by Edgar Rice Burroughs with the exception of his Tarzan series. Today I'll be starting "Tarzan of the Apes" and will read the entire series in order of publication. That should keep me busy this summer!
Michael C. Cordell
I've been reading a lot of Edgar Rice Burroughs lately and after a trip to Kauai this past summer, I came up with an idea of incorporating that break into my trilogy.
Michael C. Cordell
I wake up every morning with a writing plan and stick to it, despite many other demands on my time and attention. I don't have a particular time when I do write, which allows me a lot of flexibility. On a typical day, I write in the early to midafternoon. However, I've been away from home all day and still found time to write on my smartphone or finish my daily word count later in the evening.
Michael C. Cordell
As of this writing, I'm 2/3rds of the way through book 2 of my sci-fi / fantasy trilogy. At the same time, I'm writing a sci-fi novel that's completely different than my trilogy and a screenplay, which I would call a time travel thriller.
Michael C. Cordell
Read anything and everything so you can learn different styles, which can help you find your own voice as you're writing. Focus on the Western canon, as well as works from more current authors and don't limit what genres you explore. Be a sponge and then wring out what you've absorbed in your own work.
Michael C. Cordell
Like anyone else who's self-employed, there's a lot of satisfaction being your own boss. Of course, that causes a lot of fear, too, especially in new writers -- especially if they decide to quit their day jobs and write full-time.
Besides that, I'd say the best thing is just being able to express my creativity as I think it would hurt my brain if I didn't have an outlet. I appreciate other forms of that expression and practice them regularly, but writing is something I HAVE to do.
Besides that, I'd say the best thing is just being able to express my creativity as I think it would hurt my brain if I didn't have an outlet. I appreciate other forms of that expression and practice them regularly, but writing is something I HAVE to do.
Michael C. Cordell
I can say that in all the years I've been writing, I've never experienced writer's block, at least in the commonly understood sense.
I think that a lot of planning ahead before writing is one way to avoid it. If you outline, even at a high level, your work, you are most likely able to see "story cliffs" that prematurely ends your project.
As for fear of sitting before a blank page -- physical or digital -- I can say that I have the opposite problem. There are so many things I'm dying to write that I have to force myself to be disciplined and focus on no more than three projects at the same time. That doesn't mean I dismiss new ideas, but rather capture the essence of them to be revisited (perhaps) later.
I think that a lot of planning ahead before writing is one way to avoid it. If you outline, even at a high level, your work, you are most likely able to see "story cliffs" that prematurely ends your project.
As for fear of sitting before a blank page -- physical or digital -- I can say that I have the opposite problem. There are so many things I'm dying to write that I have to force myself to be disciplined and focus on no more than three projects at the same time. That doesn't mean I dismiss new ideas, but rather capture the essence of them to be revisited (perhaps) later.
Michael C. Cordell
Harry Morgan & Marie "Slim" Browning from Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not." Despite my love of all things Hemingway, this is one of the few examples of the movie being so much better than the book / story on which it's based.
Why are they my favorite? This was the first time Bogie & Bacall appeared on screen together and the chemistry between them is palpable. I often use their onscreen (and offscreen) relationship as a "couple template" in my own writing.
Why are they my favorite? This was the first time Bogie & Bacall appeared on screen together and the chemistry between them is palpable. I often use their onscreen (and offscreen) relationship as a "couple template" in my own writing.
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