Ask the Author: Kevin S. Giles
Answered Questions (8)
Kevin S. Giles
Hi Pat -- I have five books in print. Two of them are set in Deer Lodge. The two latest novels are set in Butte. Here's a short rundown:
https://kevinsgiles.com/
Hard to give up books! Good luck.
https://kevinsgiles.com/
Hard to give up books! Good luck.
Kevin S. Giles
Good to "see" you here ... that moon is high enough to warrant continuing looks from lovers, reminding us that some things never change. How is that?
Kevin S. Giles
The idea for "One Woman Against War: The Jeannette Rankin Story," came when I interviewed the suffragist who knew her well for a newspaper story. I eventually wrote "Flight of the Dove: The Story of Jeannette Rankin," but recently wrote a deeper, expanded biography of Rankin that I published as "One Woman Against War." That suffragist, Belle Winestine, was the spark that lit my fire to get after this book.
Kevin S. Giles
It's not so much what I do as how writing brings the inspiration. Many times I feel an impulse to write, because I've got something to say, and I sit down right then and do it.
But here are some practical tips: Be rested, avoid distractions (close that Facebook page, for example), have a plan, stay sober.
But here are some practical tips: Be rested, avoid distractions (close that Facebook page, for example), have a plan, stay sober.
Kevin S. Giles
Right now I'm working on getting the word out about my two newest books.
The latest is "One Woman Against War: The Jeannette Rankin Story," a biography of the nation's first woman elected to Congress.
Just before that one, I published "Summer of the Black Chevy," a novel set in my hometown of Deer Lodge, Montana.
Note to aspiring writers: Promoting books might be harder than writing them.
The latest is "One Woman Against War: The Jeannette Rankin Story," a biography of the nation's first woman elected to Congress.
Just before that one, I published "Summer of the Black Chevy," a novel set in my hometown of Deer Lodge, Montana.
Note to aspiring writers: Promoting books might be harder than writing them.
Kevin S. Giles
1. Log some mileage. Too many aspiring writers spend their time talking about wanting to write instead of doing it. There's no substitute for putting words together, day after day. Experience gives a writer a deeper perspective.
2. Avoid becoming paralyzed over perfection. The first mission of writing is to write. An aspiring writer who works the first few paragraphs to death over matters like grammar will never write the subsequent thousand paragraphs. Writing is step 1. Rewriting is step 2. Copy editing is step 3.
3. Find joy in writing. If it seems like a hard, unfulfilling job, it's probably not for you. Writers spend untold hours in solitude on the bet that someday they'll have a finished book, or article, for a reading audience.
2. Avoid becoming paralyzed over perfection. The first mission of writing is to write. An aspiring writer who works the first few paragraphs to death over matters like grammar will never write the subsequent thousand paragraphs. Writing is step 1. Rewriting is step 2. Copy editing is step 3.
3. Find joy in writing. If it seems like a hard, unfulfilling job, it's probably not for you. Writers spend untold hours in solitude on the bet that someday they'll have a finished book, or article, for a reading audience.
Kevin S. Giles
The best thing is that writing takes me on a journey to the soul. Writing is an exploration of hopes and dreams and regrets and losses. It's an inner safari.
Kevin S. Giles
I don't have much of a problem with it. The mission of any writer is to write. Right? I do admit to having good days and bad days. On the good days, I roar ahead. On the bad days, I do the best I can, knowing I can always improve on my day's work. I think "writer's block" is more of a consequence of failing to know what to write, and how to do it. If the story is fiction, have a clear idea of the story you're wanting to tell. If it's nonfiction, do your reporting first.
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