Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 110

Coaxing the butterfly out of the chrysalis... by Cathy Ace

Q: Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? 

Interesting question, which I shall try to answer briefly: I’m an ambivert.

Short enough?

What does that mean? It’s a term that’s been around since the 1920s and denotes what the majority of humans are – a mixture of introverted and extroverted behavioral patterns, depending upon circumstances. It’s not a word Jung used (the chap who originally came up with the terms introvert and extrovert) but was coined, I believe, by Conklin. (C...

Intro or Extro?

Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? What strengths and/or weaknesses come with this personality type in regards to book publicity and marketing, and how do you mine your strengths?

From Frank

For years, I actually thought I was an extrovert. I thought this because I liked being around people. I enjoyed the camaraderie that comes with it, especially in smaller groups where you really make a strong connection. But I was also happy and comfortable spending long stretches alone. ...

Typical Gemini: I'm Both

 Q: Would you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? What strengths and/or weaknesses come with this personality type in regards to book publicity and marketing, and how do you mine your strengths?

-from Susan

 

I once fantasized about buying a Cape Cod saltbox set deep in the woods around Chatham, of living a solo life surrounded by nature in four seasons, sitting by myself in front of a cozy fire, reading and…what? Knitting? Hardly. Eating crusty home-baked bread? Maybe. But that was whe...

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

by Abir

Do you alter your personal reading based on what you are currently working on?

 Morning!

 

Friday again! I don’t know where you are, but where I am, it was raining for a month but finally stopped yesterday, so I’m feeling positive. The weather here has been abysmal. There was one point last week when I considered building a boat and collecting up all the animals, two by two.

 

Life seems to be returning to normal round here though. I went and sat inside a pub the other day for the first time i...

Sprinting to the Finish Line from James W. Ziskin

 Do you alter your personal reading based on what you are currently working on?

No, other than reading research materials I need for the book I’m writing, I don’t really change my habits. I realize that research might not qualify as personal reading, but I’m going with it all the same. I try to keep reading to a minimum anyway when I’m in the “sprinting” stage of a project. That’s when I’m fully focused on getting the first draft done, and I have little time for anything else. Typically, my sprin...

Feeling bookish

Image: MysticartdesignDo you alter your personal reading based on what you are currently working on?

by Dietrich

Mostly, I read for entertainment and I read for inspiration. A book can be any genre, fiction or non-fiction as long as it lights me up. If it doesn’t do that, what would be the point of reading it? It’s about story, and it’s about rhythm and style. And if it’s good, then I want to read it, and if it’s great, I’ll likely feel inspired by that author’s voice and words.

"You cannot hope to...

Psst. Want to Buy a Story?

 

Terry Shames here: 
This week we have an intriguing question for authors: Do you alter your personal reading based on what you are currently working on? 
Right now I'm working on a thriller…or maybe it’s not a thriller….but it has thrills in it. Who knows? So if I altered my reading based on I’m working on, I couldn’t read thrillers. But I am reading them, along with just about any other type of crime fiction.
I just read One Mile Under, by Andrew Gross (a true thriller in the traditional style).


 ...

Reading and Writing (but not 'Rithmatic)

Do you alter your personal reading based on what you are currently working on?

Brenda Chapman here.

Like most writers, I'm an avid reader and usually have a book on the go. In fact, if I don't have a book on the go, I feel at loose ends.

My reading list normally defaults to crime fiction, but the selections by my bookclub are seriously broadening my horizons whether I like it or not (and I've grown to like it). I'm not precious about what I'm reading when I'm writing, finding someone else's work do...

Ebb and flow or tidal wave and creek, by Josh Stallings

Q: Balancing work and home life, do you work set hours, or do you find the writing work flow demands different time from you depending on where in the process you are?

A: I have been writing around the clock for the last month. BALANCE, nope.

But if I widen the lens out to a year, it looks much more balanced. Every creative project has its ebbs and flows.

In the beginning of a new novel, I need gentle time to dream. I find gardening, walking the terrier beast, chopping wood for the winter, digging ...

Exit velocity looks a lot like a breakdown.

Q: Balancing work and home life, do you work set hours, or do you find the writing work flow demands different time from you depending on where in the process you are?

BSP upfront. Next Tuesday (UK). Buy and pre-order links here

Ha! This is a timely question, because I am at the dot-eyed and gibbering stage of getting a book finished. Which is to say, a first draft. By a week on Friday I want to have this story chipped out of the ground without breaking bits off (as Stephen King puts it). I want t...