Ask the Author: R.A. Finley
Answered Questions (5)
R.A. Finley
Nowhere yet, I’m sorry to say! It’s taking much longer than expected (and much longer than I wanted) to get it finished and available. I’m hopeful that it’ll be just a couple more months...although every time I set a date, something comes out of nowhere and gets in the way of that.
I do regret the extreme delay, and thank you for asking about it. If you follow me here on Goodreads, I think you’ll be notified if (when) I make any new posts—with the next one ideally being “It’s here!” with links to stores/websites. I’ve also got a newsletter signup on my website (www.rafinleybooks.com) so that I can let people know directly when and m where the book is available.
Thanks again for the question and interest. The Vale of Silence is taking an inordinately long time but it will publish, I promise.
I do regret the extreme delay, and thank you for asking about it. If you follow me here on Goodreads, I think you’ll be notified if (when) I make any new posts—with the next one ideally being “It’s here!” with links to stores/websites. I’ve also got a newsletter signup on my website (www.rafinleybooks.com) so that I can let people know directly when and m where the book is available.
Thanks again for the question and interest. The Vale of Silence is taking an inordinately long time but it will publish, I promise.
R.A. Finley
Read widely, for pleasure first and then with a more critical eye.
In your reading, include plays so as to better understand the importance of (and possibilities available to you) in dialogue.
Join a group, take classes, and/or work on projects where there is great discussion of Story--what is working, what isn't, and most importantly, WHY.
Learn the rules of grammar and punctuation (for your language and country). This doesn't mean that those rules must be adhered to 100% of the time, but if writing (and specifically, writing to be published) is the field you have chosen for yourself, it matters that you understand its traditions.
Be open to critique (also known as criticism). Sometimes those negative voices are right--not necessarily with whatever solutions they might offer, but in the identification of some sort of problem. Writing books, especially, means a lot of words. It's easy for the writer to get lost among them, put the wrong ones down, forget to take the wrong ones out, believe s/he has made something clear that is not yet clear to anyone outside her/his head. Stuff happens. Critics help sort out that stuff.
Be gracious.
In your reading, include plays so as to better understand the importance of (and possibilities available to you) in dialogue.
Join a group, take classes, and/or work on projects where there is great discussion of Story--what is working, what isn't, and most importantly, WHY.
Learn the rules of grammar and punctuation (for your language and country). This doesn't mean that those rules must be adhered to 100% of the time, but if writing (and specifically, writing to be published) is the field you have chosen for yourself, it matters that you understand its traditions.
Be open to critique (also known as criticism). Sometimes those negative voices are right--not necessarily with whatever solutions they might offer, but in the identification of some sort of problem. Writing books, especially, means a lot of words. It's easy for the writer to get lost among them, put the wrong ones down, forget to take the wrong ones out, believe s/he has made something clear that is not yet clear to anyone outside her/his head. Stuff happens. Critics help sort out that stuff.
Be gracious.
R.A. Finley
I love exploring the plot, finding out "what happens next" and how it affects the characters while I, in turn, learn more about them. Even when a problem presents itself or the storyline isn't coming easily, it's a lot of fun. Having to fill in all the words? That's the hard part. Still fun, but sometimes more in the way of delayed gratification: without the words, other people can't enjoy the story...and that's the best part of all: the sharing.
R.A. Finley
I don't believe that a slow day, or those hours when you rework a sentence and can't get beyond it...I don't believe that's a "block." Nor is the attempt to do anything but sit down at the computer and open the writing file. It's a chance to reevaluate--where is the story going? What might have been overlooked/left out in what is already on the page? Did I make a wrong turn somewhere? And sometimes it isn't that, sometimes it's a matter of getting an idea for something that is to come later. There is no "block." That implies a wall, something in the way. The only thing in the way is the writer. There might be a lack: of energy, of ideas, of words. There are any number of ways to get energy and ideas. The only way to get the words is to sit down with the page and ask for them.
R.A. Finley
I am currently working on the second book in the Wheel of the Year series, The Darkest Midnight. I was *really* thinking it would be done before now, but I misjudged the challenge of working a day job plus writing, and--good news to future readers, I think--parts of the story went "off outline," so to speak, and there is much more going on than I had expected. So I feel bad about the misjudged publication date, but I'm thrilled about the story itself.
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