Ask the Author: Nancy Lorenz
Answered Questions (6)
Nancy Lorenz
I got the idea partly from my own experiences, my mother's teaching, and my love of the arts. I love ballet. I love tap and jazz, Broadway, regional theater, and opera as well. I had to write about one of them, and hope to write eventually about them all.
I had many obstacles to getting training in ballet, and I used this as a skeletal frame for Kendra's experiences in the book.
As for Kendra's medical condition....that came from my mother's suggestion to use Multiple Sclerosis for a school report I had to do in the fourth grade for Health class. When I wrote the book, I knew that Kendra needed more than a cross-country move as an obstacle, she needed a medical one as well, and MS was a disease that no one had ever written about in fiction. I did research on the internet, and couldn't find any fictional character who suffered from this condition, so I wanted to bring MS to the forefront and wrote about it.
I had many obstacles to getting training in ballet, and I used this as a skeletal frame for Kendra's experiences in the book.
As for Kendra's medical condition....that came from my mother's suggestion to use Multiple Sclerosis for a school report I had to do in the fourth grade for Health class. When I wrote the book, I knew that Kendra needed more than a cross-country move as an obstacle, she needed a medical one as well, and MS was a disease that no one had ever written about in fiction. I did research on the internet, and couldn't find any fictional character who suffered from this condition, so I wanted to bring MS to the forefront and wrote about it.
Nancy Lorenz
My mother was a writer. She used to type short stories on an old manual Royal typewriter, and send them out to women's magazines. I still have a large envelope of her stories, and one with a vintage rejection slip from a popular women's magazine of the 1960's. She churned the stories out!
My mother inspired me to write, and I did. When I was twelve, I got a half page article published in a tween magazine, and got paid $25 for it! I wrote two plays and cast them, and invited the neighborhood kids to seats set up in the basement of my house. I charged a nickel for the performances. One was my rendition of "Sleeping Beauty," and another was a pirate play, although that one was never quite finished and had no ending.
As an adult though, I wrote movie and TV scripts, but didn't sell any. After getting my Masters degree, I published an academic article on the arts, and then switched to fiction. The rest is history - publication!
My mother inspired me to write, and I did. When I was twelve, I got a half page article published in a tween magazine, and got paid $25 for it! I wrote two plays and cast them, and invited the neighborhood kids to seats set up in the basement of my house. I charged a nickel for the performances. One was my rendition of "Sleeping Beauty," and another was a pirate play, although that one was never quite finished and had no ending.
As an adult though, I wrote movie and TV scripts, but didn't sell any. After getting my Masters degree, I published an academic article on the arts, and then switched to fiction. The rest is history - publication!
Nancy Lorenz
I'm re-editing a YA novel on figure skating. I'm also finishing up my rough draft of a woman's upmarket/book club novel. In addition, I have two middle grade books that I'd like to publish as well.
I like to switch genres sometimes, as a writing exercise. It's like sherbet between dinner courses. It clears the palate, and brain, and it energizes my creativity
I like to switch genres sometimes, as a writing exercise. It's like sherbet between dinner courses. It clears the palate, and brain, and it energizes my creativity
Nancy Lorenz
Write! Write! Write!
And don't let anyone deter you. A writer must write everyday to practice, or he/ or she will get rusty.
Write about things you love; write about things in the world that you see, or places you have visited. There's a story there! Watch people. Everyone has a story from the rich executive to the homeless man on the corner.... from the aspiring actress to the elderly cat lady next door. (How did she get that way, anyway?) There's a story there. They all have a story.
Find it!
And don't let anyone deter you. A writer must write everyday to practice, or he/ or she will get rusty.
Write about things you love; write about things in the world that you see, or places you have visited. There's a story there! Watch people. Everyone has a story from the rich executive to the homeless man on the corner.... from the aspiring actress to the elderly cat lady next door. (How did she get that way, anyway?) There's a story there. They all have a story.
Find it!
Nancy Lorenz
Imagining worlds, and characters....Telling a great story, finding out what makes a character tick, and pulling emotion from your characters, and yourself as well. Making a personal connection to the story, and hoping that others can find a similar experience / connection somewhere within the words as well. It's what makes it worthwhile!
Nancy Lorenz
Writer's block, I find is caused by a number of things: fatigue, too many things on your mind at once, and also an unfocused plot or characterization.
I think that it is best to walk away for a few days, get rest, eat healthily, refuel, and re-energize. Then, it's easier to find new ideas, and/or gaps in continuity, better sentences or perspectives, structure etc. It is just a matter of changing gears for a while, and then returning anew.
I think that it is best to walk away for a few days, get rest, eat healthily, refuel, and re-energize. Then, it's easier to find new ideas, and/or gaps in continuity, better sentences or perspectives, structure etc. It is just a matter of changing gears for a while, and then returning anew.
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