Ask the Author: Byron T.D. Smith
Answered Questions (4)
Byron T.D. Smith
I'm currently working on the sequel to Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery. Things are still at the plotting stage, but I have been playing around writing small scenes. The plan is to really begin putting pen to paper (figuratively) in May/June. Henry, of course, will return, as will a number of other cast members. (I hesitate to say exactly who, in case it's a spoiler for Windfall.)
That, and we've planted peas in the garden this year. So I have to get the trellises built pretty soon!
That, and we've planted peas in the garden this year. So I have to get the trellises built pretty soon!
Byron T.D. Smith
Read. A lot. Then read some more. Read fiction, non-fiction, in your genre, and outside of your genre. Read as a reader, and read again as a writer. Get to know not only what styles you like, but also styles you don't like.
Byron T.D. Smith
To paraphrase Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid, "Remember. Best block... no be there."
It's a frustrating thing to stare at a blank screen of potential; even worse to find yourself working on the same sentence after a half an hour.
Nothing works 100% of the time, but I can think of two practices that I use, which help to get engaged more quickly and stay there.
Firstly, I don't edit my first drafts as I go. I'm focused entirely on getting the framework onto the page. In Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery, much of the first draft made it into print, but there were lots of days of "editing bloodbath," too. Still, if it weren't for that permission to be imperfect in the beginning, I might still be working towards completing the manuscript.
Most importantly, I say, leave meat on the bone for tomorrow. If I've had a day of writing, I make it a point to leave the piece in an interesting place. Somewhere where I know with confidence what must happen next. Something juicy that I'm looking forward to writing - first draft or edits. When I show up the next day, I'm jazzed to get started.
Maybe it says something about me and avoidance. Who knows? But, like Mr. Miyagi, I try to deal with writer's block by simply not being there.
It's a frustrating thing to stare at a blank screen of potential; even worse to find yourself working on the same sentence after a half an hour.
Nothing works 100% of the time, but I can think of two practices that I use, which help to get engaged more quickly and stay there.
Firstly, I don't edit my first drafts as I go. I'm focused entirely on getting the framework onto the page. In Windfall: A Henry Lysyk Mystery, much of the first draft made it into print, but there were lots of days of "editing bloodbath," too. Still, if it weren't for that permission to be imperfect in the beginning, I might still be working towards completing the manuscript.
Most importantly, I say, leave meat on the bone for tomorrow. If I've had a day of writing, I make it a point to leave the piece in an interesting place. Somewhere where I know with confidence what must happen next. Something juicy that I'm looking forward to writing - first draft or edits. When I show up the next day, I'm jazzed to get started.
Maybe it says something about me and avoidance. Who knows? But, like Mr. Miyagi, I try to deal with writer's block by simply not being there.
Byron T.D. Smith
Hearing someone else speak about your characters as though they know them as well as you do. And you realize, "...they don't belong just to me anymore..."
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