Hi. I have questions about your writing technique. First, do you ever have trouble with bad self esteem about your writing and how do you do to overcome it? Second, in the working progress, do you ever feel like the story is writing itself instead of you

1. Um. YES. All of the time. I’m actually about to tackle the next read of this draft and I’m dreading it because I know I’m going to hear that voice, the one that says, “You are not a writer, you are a maker of crap! Look at this crap you’ve made!” So how to deal with that? There’s no magic bullet, but simply continuing to work helps. Telling it to shut the hullabaloo up helps. Also, getting tricksy with it helps: “Why, yes, you’re right. This IS dreadful. And that’s what the revision process is for. Thank you for your input. I look forward to more soul-searing attacks later.”

2. Those are the best days, when the story flows and it feels like the characters are like, “Here, allow me.”

Best of luck with your writing! Wishing you lots of those good days