Ask the Author: S. Lynn Helton
Answered Questions (5)
S. Lynn Helton
I don't have just one tried and true source of inspiration. I find inspiration from all over: a phrase someone else has written, a memory, a scent, a walk in the mountains, the feeling a place has given me. I can find inspiration in a painting or photograph or just people-watching, in a mistyped word that sparks random thoughts, or in a science news story. I’ve found inspiration in just letting my mind wander to find random connections. The sparks of ideas I get from all of these turn into inspiration to write. I want to see where the ideas will take me.
Other times, I get inspired by just sitting down and diving into the writing. I sometimes need to remind myself that the draft is supposed to be messy and I shouldn't get caught up in editing. And then I just get the words down, even bouncing from one story to another as thoughts occur to me. I find inspiration to write by doing the work of writing. It's addictive. The more I write, the more I'm inspired to write. I love how that works!
Other times, I get inspired by just sitting down and diving into the writing. I sometimes need to remind myself that the draft is supposed to be messy and I shouldn't get caught up in editing. And then I just get the words down, even bouncing from one story to another as thoughts occur to me. I find inspiration to write by doing the work of writing. It's addictive. The more I write, the more I'm inspired to write. I love how that works!
S. Lynn Helton
I think the best thing about being a writer is that I get to discover so many fascinating tidbits of a great variety of interesting subjects to help me with my writing. Some recent topics I learned about—that otherwise I might never have encountered—include the origins of our concept of 60 minutes for an hour, what's involved in firing a flintlock gun, and words in various languages, including Akkadian. It's so much fun getting lost in researching things that I can adapt for my stories!
S. Lynn Helton
My favorite genres to read are Fantasy (magic, dragons, etc.) and Science Fiction. I discovered fantasy many years ago, after I'd finished all the horse and dog books our library had for kids, and stumbled on science fiction and fantasy shortly thereafter.
I do enjoy other genres as well, with cozy mysteries being my next favorite genre, currently. After that, I like historical fiction, alternate history, action and adventure, mystery, and the occasional thriller, suspense and satire story, and poetry.
In nonfiction, I most enjoy history, science, and biographies.
I do enjoy other genres as well, with cozy mysteries being my next favorite genre, currently. After that, I like historical fiction, alternate history, action and adventure, mystery, and the occasional thriller, suspense and satire story, and poetry.
In nonfiction, I most enjoy history, science, and biographies.
S. Lynn Helton
At first, I was inclined to say, “I don’t believe in it”. And that’s true in a way. I don’t believe in it for me in the popular sense of something that completely halts my writing, something that I then must agonize over for days, or longer. When I hear “writer’s block," I always picture a path, winding through a dense evergreen forest, with a huge stone block sitting in the middle, preventing any forward progress. That’s the block I don’t believe in.
But as something that gives me pause in just plunging ahead in my drafting... Yes, I’ve certainly encountered writer’s block.
For me, writer’s block takes the form of an uncertainty about what’s coming next. Sometimes it’s an uneasiness about something in the story. And that’s been a sign for me.
Perhaps I don’t know my characters as well as I thought. So I need to pause in writing the story to figure out more about them, what makes them tick. Other times, it’s related to continuity. I want a certain event to happen, but it’s just not fitting into the story. Maybe I haven’t done the set-up well enough for the event to make sense, or make sense at that point in the story. Or maybe it’s wrong for the characters. So I pause.
I make sure I treat it as a pause, not a dead stop. That way I know I’ll be moving forward again. I just need a little bit of time before I can do that. No need to agonize over it.
So how do I deal with writer’s block? I take a step back from the writing and figure out what’s giving me the feeling of uncertainty, what's missing that’s making the ideas slow down or feel wrong. Then I take a short break from the draft to fill in holes I’ve discovered. Sometimes I’ll make extensive notes. Other times I just ponder a bit to figure out what’s missing. Maybe I’ll return to the draft to add some details before the troublesome section. Then I’m ready to dive back in and move forward with the story.
That’s what's worked for me.
But as something that gives me pause in just plunging ahead in my drafting... Yes, I’ve certainly encountered writer’s block.
For me, writer’s block takes the form of an uncertainty about what’s coming next. Sometimes it’s an uneasiness about something in the story. And that’s been a sign for me.
Perhaps I don’t know my characters as well as I thought. So I need to pause in writing the story to figure out more about them, what makes them tick. Other times, it’s related to continuity. I want a certain event to happen, but it’s just not fitting into the story. Maybe I haven’t done the set-up well enough for the event to make sense, or make sense at that point in the story. Or maybe it’s wrong for the characters. So I pause.
I make sure I treat it as a pause, not a dead stop. That way I know I’ll be moving forward again. I just need a little bit of time before I can do that. No need to agonize over it.
So how do I deal with writer’s block? I take a step back from the writing and figure out what’s giving me the feeling of uncertainty, what's missing that’s making the ideas slow down or feel wrong. Then I take a short break from the draft to fill in holes I’ve discovered. Sometimes I’ll make extensive notes. Other times I just ponder a bit to figure out what’s missing. Maybe I’ll return to the draft to add some details before the troublesome section. Then I’m ready to dive back in and move forward with the story.
That’s what's worked for me.
S. Lynn Helton
March 2020 update:
The Wild Heritance prequel novella has been published. I'm getting Book 3 in that series pulled together for publication later this year. And I'm drafting a sequel novella to the prequel novella - possibly also to publish later this year. In the midst of all this, I'm also slowly working on revisions and edits for the first book in that other fantasy series.
December 2019 update:
This year, I published both book 2 in the Wild Heritance series and the children's picture book written in haiku-style verse. In the Wild Heritance series, a novella is almost ready for publication (coming early 2020) and I'm currently working on edits and revisions for book 3. In my other fantasy series, I'm close to having drafts for three books completed.
December 2018:
I like working on multiple projects at the same time. So I'm currently working on book 2 in the Wild Heritance series, as well as a novella, the first book in a different fantasy series, and a children's picture book written in haiku-style verse.
The Wild Heritance prequel novella has been published. I'm getting Book 3 in that series pulled together for publication later this year. And I'm drafting a sequel novella to the prequel novella - possibly also to publish later this year. In the midst of all this, I'm also slowly working on revisions and edits for the first book in that other fantasy series.
December 2019 update:
This year, I published both book 2 in the Wild Heritance series and the children's picture book written in haiku-style verse. In the Wild Heritance series, a novella is almost ready for publication (coming early 2020) and I'm currently working on edits and revisions for book 3. In my other fantasy series, I'm close to having drafts for three books completed.
December 2018:
I like working on multiple projects at the same time. So I'm currently working on book 2 in the Wild Heritance series, as well as a novella, the first book in a different fantasy series, and a children's picture book written in haiku-style verse.
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