Ask the Author: Steven Luna
Answered Questions (6)
Steven Luna
I was walking toward Lombard Street in San Francisco with my wife when we passed a display in a window: what looked to be a pith helmet standing on an interesting-looking table, with all sorts of tribal artifacts hanging on a wall beside it. The entire set-up looked like a museum presentation that told the life and times of a great explorer from the olden days. So I took a picture and started imagining what this guy might be like...his name came pretty quickly: Simeon Croom, and he was something of a braggart who may or may not have done all the things he claimed. In a few months I had a finished draft of the first book and an idea of his overarching story for the series. As it turns out, he's my favorite character that I've created so far. I'd say I didn't leave my heart in San Francisco so much as I brought Simeon's heart back with me, along with a grand adventure that's just beginning.
Steven Luna
I write character-driven stories mostly, so I usually get inspired when I hear about strange characteristics or personality quirks in real-world people. It's springboard from which a profile emerges, and the story suggests itself from there. If I'm ever at a loss for ideas and just can't get inspired, I'll dream up a new character and drop him or her in a dodgy situation, just to see what they'll do. Then, we're off and running, and duly inspired.
Steven Luna
About seventeen things, if the WIP board is accurate. I have a seven-book adventure series in the works, with book two halfway finished; I have a superhero trilogy in the pipe, with book one more than halfway done; I have about six stand-alones that are all in various stages of plotting and planning; and I have a ton of abandoned works I'll circle back around to at some point. Right now, the ones calling the loudest are the ones that get all the love.
Steven Luna
Most writers would probably say, "Write - every day; write!" My best advice would be define your goals VERY carefully when you first embark on your writing venture. Do you want to be a WRITER? Write something...congratulations - you're a writer! Do you want to be a PUBLISHED AUTHOR? Maybe think about publishing something yourself rather than going traditional...fantastic - you're a published author! Having milestones like this all along the way will help you maintain a realistic perspective regarding your progress and can keep you enthusiastic about moving forward during the rough patches. (Also: write - every day, write!)
Steven Luna
I find the best thing to be having the leeway to create imagined realities that I can offer to readers as a way of escaping the world for a while. I used to want to write "important" things (whatever that means), and at some point I realized ANY storytelling is important, as long as it moves your reader in some way. It doesn't have to be deeply philosophical or highly intellectual; it can be simply touching or entertaining, and that's all the magic in the world, as far as I'm concerned.
Steven Luna
To be honest, I don't get writer's block...if I come to a sticking point where the story just won't flow anymore, I pick up another section where it will. And if nothing's coming for that story in particular, I'll shift focus to another story entirely. Inevitably, one story greases the wheels for the others.
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