Ask the Author: Ania Ahlborn

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Ania Ahlborn For me, the ideas sort of just appear. Sometimes, they've been lurking at the back of my mind only to come to the forefront with a "hey, it's time." I don't feel like I really choose my ideas so much as my ideas choose me.
Ania Ahlborn Write what you want to read. Read what you want to write. Put questions like "will an agent like this?" and "is this marketable?" out of your head. I asked myself those questions for years, and it was only until I surrendered myself to my own creativity that I found success.
Ania Ahlborn That moment when a just-okay idea, after lots and lots of edits, becomes a fantastic story.

The endless supply of coffee, being able to work from the couch, and occasional naps are a bonus.
Ania Ahlborn Writer's block is tough, but it can be overcome. I find that creative blocks are born of anxiety rather than of simply being "out of ideas". There's a big difference between being prepared to take on a writing project and overthinking it.

If I find myself struggling with a lack of inspiration, and writing is just a flat-out miserable experience, I take a break for a day or two. During that break, I consume as much media that relates to my topic as possible. Books, movies, TV shows, articles, Wikipedia pages...whatever it takes.

If the problem isn't inspiration as much as it is just feeling like what I'm writing is absolute crap, I crack open a book that I consider particularly bad. A few paragraphs of terrible prose is a good reality check. You think what YOU'RE writing is awful? Check out (insert terribly written book that still manages to be wildly popular here).

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