Abby
asked
Gayle Forman:
Do you have times when you just stray away from writing, like not just having the energy/creativity/even the courage to write? What do you do? Let it go for a while, or work on it because you believe something will sprout from any attempt to?
Gayle Forman
Of course. There are times when the story just isn't coming. Some days I'll write through it, and other days I'll just take a break. I'm pretty diligent and fastidious so when I need a bit of a breather, I allow that for myself.
That said, when I'm in between books, I find I have to work on something, even if it's the wrong thing, for the right thing to come to me. I have what I call nurse-log novels. A nurse log is a dead tree from which new saplings can take root in all that rich decomposing soil. A nurse-log novel is a dead novel, one that I'll never publish, but that gives life to sapling books.
When it comes to writing I'm a big believer that momentum breeds momentum and inertia breeds inertia.
That said, when I'm in between books, I find I have to work on something, even if it's the wrong thing, for the right thing to come to me. I have what I call nurse-log novels. A nurse log is a dead tree from which new saplings can take root in all that rich decomposing soil. A nurse-log novel is a dead novel, one that I'll never publish, but that gives life to sapling books.
When it comes to writing I'm a big believer that momentum breeds momentum and inertia breeds inertia.
More Answered Questions
Seasielle ...
asked
Gayle Forman:
Hello. If I Stay is not only intended for Mia right? Is it also intended for Adam? Or is it just my theory? Because honestly, before I start reading If I Stay, I have this feeling that it was intended for Adam. Anyway, to make a choice is the hardest decision in our life. From your own experience, what's the hardest choice you ever made and why? Thank you. #AllTheFeels
Joan
asked
Gayle Forman:
I noticed that the one common thing between Adam & Willem (besides both being ridiculously hot) is that they're stage performers: Adam being a musician while Willem's a theater actor. Was this something that you've planned from the beginning when you wrote them, or was it influenced by the fact that you are married to a musician, thus you have already an insight on what goes on in the lives of such characters?
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