Ask the Author: Terrance Aldon Shaw
Answered Questions (10)
Terrance Aldon Shaw
That's for me to know, and you to read about later.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
The dictator was re-elected in 2020, and there would never be another election. All the men and women who had traveled back through time to try and stop him had been intercepted and killed, or packed off to institutions where no one would ever give credence to their warnings, for they had been driven mad in their failure, and now could only gnash their teeth in inarticulate frustration, howling in agony and horror as they banged their shaven heads repeatedly against the grim beige walls.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
Geroge R.R. Martin's Westeros. I'd take the black and keep cool at the wall.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
Tim O'Brien's 'In the Lake of the Woods', Ray Bradbury's 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', Margurite Duraud's 'The Lover', Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett's 'Good Omens,' and Margaret Atwood's 'The Testaments'.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
Partly from life-experience; partly from imagination. What many aspiring writers don't understand is that potential ideas are everywhere. Getting good story ideas has everything to do with the ability to observe the life around us; it's not so much about being "inspired" or waiting for strange and novel ideas to hit us.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
It sure as heck isn't the money.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
Sit down and write. Work at the same time every day, ignoring all distractions, and do it. Period. Don't worry about whether other people perceive you as "nice" or "normal"; stick to your writing schedule, insist that others respect your time. The only way to be a writer is to write.
Terrance Aldon Shaw
Inspiration has very little to do with writing. Hard work, a regular schedule, and the willingness to sit down and concentrate regardless of one's mood or energy-level have considerably more to do with turning out a novel or short story than "inspiration".
Terrance Aldon Shaw
"The Erotic Writer's Thesaurus". I also hope to have a small short-story collection ready by this fall (2014).
Terrance Aldon Shaw
A writer sits down to work every day, regardless of how he or she feels. The whole idea of Inspiration is highly overrated. "Inspiration" doesn't get books written, nor does it come like a divine spark from out of nowhere, nor does it "find" those who think they can sit and wait for it. The only way to write well is to work at it diligently every day, preferably maintaining a regular routine and schedule. Writing is hard work; being successful at it is even harder. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to sell you a self-help book.
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