Ask the Author: Tess Rafferty
Answered Questions (6)
Tess Rafferty
My co-workers are cats and there's no arguments about where we're going for lunch that day.
Tess Rafferty
When I set aside time to write, I type pretty much the whole time. I don't let questions I don't yet have the answer to get in my way. I type them out. Sometimes I have whole conversations with myself in the text figuring out the answer. Sometimes I bold it in red so I can come back to it later. Sometimes you get further in the text and the characters answers it for you. But I try not to stop. I know if I do, it can only lead to distraction and discouragement. But I know if I push through, I'll find something. I worked on a daily late night show for years and it was great training. You have to be sharp and quick, but also start with a blank page every day that has to be filled in a couple of hours. And there's only one way to do that: Keep going.
Tess Rafferty
You have to do it. If you don't write, you're not a writer. That doesn't mean it may not take awhile to find a method that works for you. Everyone finds discipline in different ways; people prefer different places, times, conditions to write in. But you won't find what works for you by not trying. Life is short; don't say you're going to start tomorrow. Start today with something small. And don't let perfection be the enemy of progress.
Tess Rafferty
I'm pitching a couple of TV shows and writing the script for another idea. Plus, I'm starting to work on Kat & Mike's next adventure in Italy. They're going to be in Bologna this time and it's going to be cold & rainy, because marriage is about compromise. But it can also be the death of you....
Tess Rafferty
Ideas are everywhere. I never met a writer who had a shortage of things they wanted to write. Rather, it's the getting down to actually doing it that challenges people. I really like to keep banker's hours. I decide the night before which projects I need or want to work on and write it down. I'm a To Do list junkie; if it's on the list I feel compelled to get it done & it's such a rush to cross it off. Then I sit down, turn off the phone & the wifi and set a timer for an hour at a time. That's a nice productive block, but it is also manageable; it gives you a sense of accomplishment at the end of it which inspires you to keep going. I tell people that you can do anything for an hour and if you really don't like it you don't have to continue. But usually after an hour you're into it and want to go for the next hour. And don't tell yourself you're going to write for 8 hours. Tell yourself you're going to write for 3. You can always keep going but I think putting too big an expectation on ourselves hampers creativity and sets us up to fail.
Tess Rafferty
My husband and I are obsessed with Italy and were visiting there about once a year. I'm also a huge fan of murder mysteries: I devour them like they're pie the day after Thanksgiving. Then a friend saw a picture of the both of us on one of our travels and said, "You two are one high society murder away from being Nick & Nora Charles," and I realized we were one novel away from being them. So I wrote it.
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