Ask the Author: Nancy Schumann
Answered Questions (10)
Nancy Schumann
The Discworld would be my number 1 choice. I'd visit Granny Weatherwax to see if there's some witchiness to be had.
Nancy Schumann
She turned to see what the scratching sound from outside was. In the darkness outside her window, a face became visible.
Nancy Schumann
Mystery summer. There will be some Sherlock Holmes, some Hercule Poirot, and some Lily Bard. And I've just discovered the Witchworld books.
Nancy Schumann
My favourite fictional couple isn't a couple per se. I love the dynamic between James Bond and Miss Moneypenny. While not immune to his charms she is one of the women not taken in by him. She kind of looks out for him from her desk and I think we all know that the assistant to the head of MI5 holds the real power. She can get James into trouble or out of it depending on what information she chooses to relay. Bond knows that very well indeed. He is always nice to her because he knows that being in her good books is far more important than keeping his boss sweet. He has a respect for her he doesn't always show other women. I like them together because they both know who they are and what they're good at. They each do things the other one can't and they always appreciate each other.
Nancy Schumann
Keep writing. Keep reading. Learn as you go along. Rejection isn't personal. Everybody gets them. Some feedback may try to make you turn your story into something that's not what you wanted to write. Only you can decide if that's an option. If it isn't stick with your story and find the right place for it, rather than just write what somebody wants you to. That said, if somebody offers you feedback listen and use it to learn. Also believe in what you do.
Nancy Schumann
Absolutely everything. Inspiration lies in the smallest things I encounter in daily life. It can be an elderly lady, walking by, the sound of noisy children from behind a wall. Everything is a potential story sooner or later.
Nancy Schumann
I love writing. The actual, nitty-gritty task of tying away on a story. Where some might be intimidated by a blank page I see a world of opportunities. I see a new story, with new characters and worlds that may not even exist. I love that I don't need to speak to tell my stories. I love that the word 'scripturient' describes me.
Nancy Schumann
My latest book "Kaffeeduft in London" (only available in German at present) is a crime story. I love crime stories. I've always loved Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple. So I suppose at some point I had to write one of my own, even though that is not my usual genre to write in. So the story didn't start as a crime story. I started by writing out some thoughts about the world around me, about my experience of growing up in a communist country. At that point I had no idea where that going. Then I had a bit of an issue with a publisher that caused a lot of stress and hassle to me and a number of people helping me with that issue. At the point when we had all done about as much as we could, things were semi-under control and the stress just turned to hysterical laughter, my other half started joking that I should write a story in which a publisher gets killed. After some jokes, I put the two together and said to myself I can do something with that. Admittedly JK got there before me; I'm not that quick a writer.
Nancy Schumann
At the moment I'm trying to finish the first draft of a novel. The story is about vampires and werewolves in the Cold War era, so a bit of fantasy.
(Somebody once asked me if that was a fictional story... yes, it is.)
I have a plan for the ending but I'm struggling to write it. It's always so much harder to finish a story than to start it. That said, I better press on. Those 2-3 chapters won't write themselves. Have a great day.
(Somebody once asked me if that was a fictional story... yes, it is.)
I have a plan for the ending but I'm struggling to write it. It's always so much harder to finish a story than to start it. That said, I better press on. Those 2-3 chapters won't write themselves. Have a great day.
Nancy Schumann
The best way to tackle writer's block is to write. I know that sounds counter-intuitive but it works in the same way as gentle exercise helps to relax aching muscles.
Somebody ones said in response to this question that writer's block is the adult's version of 'the dog ate my homework' (sorry, I forgot who said that) and that is pretty much true. As a writer, you can write anything. Writer's block just means that the perfect word, the perfect phrase, isn't there yet. That doesn't matter. You know what you want to say so just write it down. You file on the details later. Maybe the perfect word will come to you when you re-read and edit your text. That's what edits are for. Don't wait for the perfect word before you write. You'll never be able to finish anything that way.
And if you don't know where a particular story is going at some point go away and write something else. Work on that essay that's not due for another three months, write a short story about the bird that sat on the balcony that morning, even write a shopping list. Just write. That's your job as a writer. That's what you do. That's what you're good at. When you do what you're good at the story will take care of itself. It'll tell you where the words need to go if you just start writing.
I do my best crime stories when I work on vampire fiction and vice versa. Yes, writing not the story you're supposed to be working on is a kind of displacement activity but it's effective displacement activity. You're still writing a story. And in the end you may have two rather than none, which may happen if you play the writer's block card and stop writing.
Somebody ones said in response to this question that writer's block is the adult's version of 'the dog ate my homework' (sorry, I forgot who said that) and that is pretty much true. As a writer, you can write anything. Writer's block just means that the perfect word, the perfect phrase, isn't there yet. That doesn't matter. You know what you want to say so just write it down. You file on the details later. Maybe the perfect word will come to you when you re-read and edit your text. That's what edits are for. Don't wait for the perfect word before you write. You'll never be able to finish anything that way.
And if you don't know where a particular story is going at some point go away and write something else. Work on that essay that's not due for another three months, write a short story about the bird that sat on the balcony that morning, even write a shopping list. Just write. That's your job as a writer. That's what you do. That's what you're good at. When you do what you're good at the story will take care of itself. It'll tell you where the words need to go if you just start writing.
I do my best crime stories when I work on vampire fiction and vice versa. Yes, writing not the story you're supposed to be working on is a kind of displacement activity but it's effective displacement activity. You're still writing a story. And in the end you may have two rather than none, which may happen if you play the writer's block card and stop writing.
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