Ask the Author: E.G. Michaels
Answered Questions (4)
E.G. Michaels
As a fiction writer, I've never had writer's block. I went the painful process of discovering writer's block years ago when I was writing marketing. The steps I found which helped me overcome and avoid writer's block then have worked great for fiction writing.
Those steps are:
1. Tons of research. I do as much research as I can before I write a single word.
2. Create a basic outline. I don't script any little detail but I do list key points for each scene like where it takes place, the key people who are there (with the mental permission to add or change them if I need to), any clues or red herrings that need to worked in.
3. Scan my outline and pick a scene that sounds interesting. Everytime I've ever tried to write from start to end -- be it a term paper, marketing piece, or work of fiction, I eventually hit a spot (and it's never the same spot) where my brain locks up. By giving myself permission during the initial writing stage to skip around, writing becomes a lot less stressful.
4. "Don't think, just write." It doesn't have to be perfect when you first write it. You can refine and perfect it at a later time when you're editing.
5. Give yourself permission to let it rip. Just write anything that pops in your head. Even it doesn't make sense. One of my "let it rip" sessions gave me the idea on a better ending for "The Countdown" and what the next book would be about.
6. Write with music. Or not. Most of the time, I write with music. But sometimes as I scan my music collection, nothing looks good so I don't force it. I write in silence then.
Those steps are:
1. Tons of research. I do as much research as I can before I write a single word.
2. Create a basic outline. I don't script any little detail but I do list key points for each scene like where it takes place, the key people who are there (with the mental permission to add or change them if I need to), any clues or red herrings that need to worked in.
3. Scan my outline and pick a scene that sounds interesting. Everytime I've ever tried to write from start to end -- be it a term paper, marketing piece, or work of fiction, I eventually hit a spot (and it's never the same spot) where my brain locks up. By giving myself permission during the initial writing stage to skip around, writing becomes a lot less stressful.
4. "Don't think, just write." It doesn't have to be perfect when you first write it. You can refine and perfect it at a later time when you're editing.
5. Give yourself permission to let it rip. Just write anything that pops in your head. Even it doesn't make sense. One of my "let it rip" sessions gave me the idea on a better ending for "The Countdown" and what the next book would be about.
6. Write with music. Or not. Most of the time, I write with music. But sometimes as I scan my music collection, nothing looks good so I don't force it. I write in silence then.
E.G. Michaels
Don't worry about word counts or the amount of time you can write in a given day. Just focus on writing something, anything each day you're going to write. With juggling family and business commitments, there has been some days where I could only get in 15 minutes of fiction writing time. The amazing part was I still got several pages written during that time.
Create a basic outline for your story. It doesn't have to be every detail. I usually just do a few key points for the scene in mine. Then just sit down... don't think, just write. The thinking and analyzing of what you wrote can happen at a later time when you're editing. But when you're creating the fiction initially, my advice is to tell your internal editor to sit quietly in the corner and wait until for its turn.
Create a basic outline for your story. It doesn't have to be every detail. I usually just do a few key points for the scene in mine. Then just sit down... don't think, just write. The thinking and analyzing of what you wrote can happen at a later time when you're editing. But when you're creating the fiction initially, my advice is to tell your internal editor to sit quietly in the corner and wait until for its turn.
E.G. Michaels
The next book in the Kyle Simmons series. I'm aiming to publish it in January 2015.
E.G. Michaels
Writing can be hard work. Some days are harder than others. The easy days are when I wake up and the creative juices are raring to go. As I answer this, I've published a novella and novel to date and I'm working on the next Kyle Simmons story. So my answer might change at some point in the future but right now, I work from an outline. The outline is just the key points I want to cover in a given scene. I'll look at my outline and the scene that gets me excited, that's the one I start writing. "Just write, don't think or edit" is my ongoing mantra. I worry about if an idea or scene makes sense later when I start to edit which is a different session. Otherwise, my internal editor takes over and kills my writing inspiration. Once I have everything written, it's onto editing and I typically do 4-5 rounds of edits before sending it off to my editor. It's during my final edits that I focus on making sure the scenes transition smoothly and tie together.
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