Ask the Author: C.H. Cobb
Answered Questions (7)
C.H. Cobb
Several things motivated me to write A Prayer of Moses. Mainly the psalm itself has always fascinated me, particularly verses 11-12. And I love the OT anyway.
I was given a sabbatical by my church, and decided to use the time to revive my fading skills in Hebrew, and thought Psalm 90 would be a great place to do that. (Unfortunately, for me, Hebrew is one of those "use it or lose it" propositions--and since I'm rarely in the Hebrew text, those skills have faded again). The book is a product of my sabbatical.
Thanks for the question!
I was given a sabbatical by my church, and decided to use the time to revive my fading skills in Hebrew, and thought Psalm 90 would be a great place to do that. (Unfortunately, for me, Hebrew is one of those "use it or lose it" propositions--and since I'm rarely in the Hebrew text, those skills have faded again). The book is a product of my sabbatical.
Thanks for the question!
C.H. Cobb
If I'm blocked because the story has so many moving pieces and I'm not sure how to tie them together, I usually outline in bullet points where the story needs to go from here. It helps to strip it down to the essentials.
If I'm blocked because of discouragement I spend some time looking at readers comments.
Sometimes I'm just out of juice. I'll let myself put the thing down for a week or so, and use my discretionary time doing something fun. But after a week or so, I tie my butt to the chair and get to work again and just start writing. Sometimes what I write in those times is pretty bad, but I don''t worry about it, knowing that it will get washed, spun, dried, and folded during the many re-write and edit cycles.
If I'm blocked because of discouragement I spend some time looking at readers comments.
Sometimes I'm just out of juice. I'll let myself put the thing down for a week or so, and use my discretionary time doing something fun. But after a week or so, I tie my butt to the chair and get to work again and just start writing. Sometimes what I write in those times is pretty bad, but I don''t worry about it, knowing that it will get washed, spun, dried, and folded during the many re-write and edit cycles.
C.H. Cobb
I get to create my own characters, and the situations in which they live. I get to say things through their mouths and their lives. Love it. I'm sure it sounds egotistical (and perhaps is) but I love my own characters.
C.H. Cobb
Quit making excuses. Start writing. Get rid of your thin skin, so you can take correction. Spelling, grammar, syntax--it's all important, so learn it (it's okay to learn it as you go along). It's one thing to intentionally put colloquial speech into dialog, but it's another thing entirely to put it in narrative. Be willing to write, rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, edit, and rewrite some more. You'll never start writing unless you START! So, get started!
C.H. Cobb
Usually it's more discipline and work than inspiration. The inspiration comes once I have accepted the grind and am actually banging away on my laptop. I usually wind up getting excited and having to scribble (type) little notes of things I want to remember to include. For me, it's discipline first, inspiration second.
C.H. Cobb
My latest book is The Candidate. I wanted to explore the Constitutional issues of the American Government, and read the Federalist Papers while doing so. I was disgusted with the unprincipled behavior of both major parties, and so wrote a novel that serves somewhat as a rebuke to both.
C.H. Cobb
Outlander Chronicles: Icarus, the followup novel to Outlander Chronicles: Phoenix.
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