Interview with Author John Selby
Thanks for joining me today, John! Let’s get to know you and your writing a little bit better. How did you get interested in writing fiction?
I started writing in 7th grade. At the time, not only was I being bullied mercilessly, but I was also very bored during classes. So I started writing during classes and breaks. I was a Star Trek fan, so naturally, I created my own version. I carried around a large loose-leaf notebook with me wherever I went in school. Over the next two years, I think I wrote about 600 pages in tiny handwriting, single-spaced. It would probably be well over 1,000 pages if printed in a book. I think I still have it somewhere, but I doubt even I can read my handwriting from then.
Oh, I did something similar! But I can’t say I have 600 pages. That’s awesome! Are you an outliner or a pantser?
Normally I wear shorts, although not always… Oh, you mean do I outline or just write by the “seat of my pants.” I do both. I have an outline, but once I start writing, the flow will often take me in a completely different direction. I will follow the flow as far as it goes, then revise the outline.
Haha! That gave me a good chuckle. Which element of novel-writing do you consider most challenging? (Plot, setting, characters, dialogue, etc.)
Without question, it’s editing. When I write, I am mostly writing off the top of my head, which means I am paying less attention to sentence structure, spelling (thank goodness for spell check), or grammar. When I get to a freeze point, where the flow has stopped, then I will go back and edit. However, it is so difficult to edit your own work. Your eyes just seem to skip over the mistakes. It’s so much easier editing other people’s work!
It’s always fun to get to know other people’s writing process. Freeze point. I like that phrase 
