Ask the Author: Wm (William) Raff
Answered Questions (6)
Wm (William) Raff
My memoir, Go and Preach No More, was published on November 28, 2024. It’s now December 2024. I have a first draft for a novel in the wings and another memoir, or two, (or a hybrid of the two) I am considering. I also write stories and essays on Medium.com to share stories and reflections that don’t need a book cover to contain them. There, I write as Wm Raff.
Wm (William) Raff
Writer's block may or may not be real. If the tap has run dry, I sleep it off and come back to the bar the next day after it's been replenished. Sometimes though, I suppose you might get a bad casks. And when that happens, you may need to find another project. One that's had time to age a bit before tapping it.
Wm (William) Raff
There are many benefit to being a writer. Money is not one of them. When writing fiction, I enjoy going in search of the story. I often have ideas for a storyline. A dream in the night or in bright light, which presents the kernel of a setting or scenario. Sometimes I follow the dream after its delivered me to a conscious state again. Or, I just dive in writing what I see in my head and what I sense my characters would do in a scene. I generally have, at that point, a theme and possible outcomes lying about in my head. It's different with a memoir. Here, I enjoy the process of revisiting experiences, places, and people. Then finding out how my version may not be theirs. Once I've travelled back to a moment in time, it's amazing how the mind offers up adjacent information to clarify or send my off investigating. But in general, the best thing is using language to paint the pictures your mind can imagine, it's an amazing ability and brings joy because it flows naturally.
Wm (William) Raff
Just do it. Sit down and write. Something, anything. Whatever you're imagining or pondering or questioning. Have a conversation with yourself or invent a character to talk with and discuss your situation with. See if you can get them to answer any of the questions you have and share your wisdom with them if they seem to need it.
Wm (William) Raff
Inspiration to write seems to be in my blood. I ponder life often. I enjoy wandering among my memories and current affairs looking for answers about life. Reflecting on the past, imagining the future. But I need to be ready and tap those moments when an idea begins to grow. If not, the ether carries it away, I imagine to another author who's managed to build a better dream catcher than I.
Wm (William) Raff
I got the idea for Go and Preach No More when my mom sent me a package containing a thick stack of notebook paper in a brown, twine tied package.
I opened it to discover my late father's handwriting, (cursive is so impressive when done right) which indicated he had written an autobiography. This was almost a decade after he passed. I tried to contain my expectations as I made some coffee and sat down to begin reading. I got five pages in, only to discover the rest of the stack of paper was all blank. That thrill was all the inspiration I needed to leave my kids something. The idea snowballed after researching how to go about such a thing. I decided to write a memoir and not just a list of things I did. My story, the one that happened while my kids were growing up, would revisit, explain my actions and paint a picture of how my life started out and how I came to be the man I was, so very far off the course I'd expected to complete when I was young.
I opened it to discover my late father's handwriting, (cursive is so impressive when done right) which indicated he had written an autobiography. This was almost a decade after he passed. I tried to contain my expectations as I made some coffee and sat down to begin reading. I got five pages in, only to discover the rest of the stack of paper was all blank. That thrill was all the inspiration I needed to leave my kids something. The idea snowballed after researching how to go about such a thing. I decided to write a memoir and not just a list of things I did. My story, the one that happened while my kids were growing up, would revisit, explain my actions and paint a picture of how my life started out and how I came to be the man I was, so very far off the course I'd expected to complete when I was young.
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