Ask the Author: H.L. Sudler
Answered Questions (6)
H.L. Sudler
Monday. Morning.
H.L. Sudler
I watch the news. I listen to conversations I shouldn't listen to. I pay attention to my fears. I ask 'what if?' all the time. I remember things from my childhood. I think of themes, not storylines. I listen to my characters, and let them tell me what the story is. I never force anything. I listen to lots of music. I watch lots of movies. I let my mind wander. I read so much my eyes feel like they're going to fall out of my head. I wait until the fruit of my labors are ripe before eating them.
H.L. Sudler
I'm currently working on a book of short stories. I've always loved horror, good horror anyway, and I thought I'd write a book of short tales, of light and dark, but all of them certainly offbeat, and more than a little scary.
H.L. Sudler
The best advice to give to aspiring writers is the advice that has already been given many times over. Read, read, read. Write, write, write. The writer must begin his reading process by reading titles that attract him the most. If it's romance, if it's westerns, if it's horror, if it's poetry. He should read every book in sight that interests him. It will whet his appetite and he will branch out into other genres to read. He should read classics as well as contemporary works, to see where writing has been and where it is going.
Writing requires discipline, and a writer cannot be proficient at his craft unless he has learned the process of writing, re-writing, editing, and re-editing. He must learn to be merciless with his own creation in order to turn out the best work possible.
Another bit of advice: enjoy the arts. I love music; every type of music. From rock and roll to classical, from house music to jazz vocals. Music inspires me, helps me to create scenes and assists in creating a certain tone in my writing. Enjoy art, enjoy dance, enjoy film and television. The more in tune a writer is to his surroundings and various methods of artistic expression, the better writer he shall be.
Writing requires discipline, and a writer cannot be proficient at his craft unless he has learned the process of writing, re-writing, editing, and re-editing. He must learn to be merciless with his own creation in order to turn out the best work possible.
Another bit of advice: enjoy the arts. I love music; every type of music. From rock and roll to classical, from house music to jazz vocals. Music inspires me, helps me to create scenes and assists in creating a certain tone in my writing. Enjoy art, enjoy dance, enjoy film and television. The more in tune a writer is to his surroundings and various methods of artistic expression, the better writer he shall be.
H.L. Sudler
In the beginning of my writing career, I'd not know how to deal with writer's block. It was very frustrating to me, as I'm sure it is for all writers. It's like being pregnant but unable to give birth, or having something on the tip of your tongue but no way to say it. Eventually, I learned to work with my writer's block. Now I will sit and watch movies, dramas or comedies; I will listen to music, all types of music. I will be with my family, and especially the kids in my family (who are always energetic and with something insightful to say). Pretty soon the words that have evaded me come to me like a whisper in a harsh wind, and if I am still enough and quiet enough the words come through crystal clear. I don't push it. I just let the words flow through me. No matter what time it is, day or night, I sit and begin writing.
H.L. Sudler
The best thing about being a writer is the writer's imagination, which is, given the day, time, or date, either a paradise or a prison. It is where some of our fondest friends exist. There is also the wonder of possibility. In a writer's imagination anything is possible, daydreams are like movies, feelings have so much impact, and your mind's eye sees everything. But also in a writer's imagination exists his fears, and it sometimes is the only place--in his imagination--where he can face his fears, conquer them, and then use that battle to teach or entertain.
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