1. How do you start your writing projects?
This is a tough one. I have so many projects going at one time, it's difficult to pin down exactly how they begin. Usually, I'm in bed, getting ready to go to sleep, and some great idea springs into my brain and I have to leap from my covers and write it down. I'm currently working on a collection of poems for my Empire series. They are inspired by one of my passions in life, ancient history. The recent discovery of two lost Mayan cities caused me to start writing new poems for the Empire collection, usually in my head while I'm driving or trying to go to sleep.
2. How do you continue your writing process?
This is harder than being inspired to write. Perseverance is something I struggle with; I'm guilty of having a ton of half finished writing projects languishing on my laptop or in abandoned notebooks. But I always come back to them, and they get finished eventually. I think that my brain is one of those described for creative people, the kind that gets scattered and easily bored doing the same thing. I can't write about the same thing for long periods of time, I have to shake it up. And I only write novels, stories, or poems when I'm inspired. When I'm not inspired, I still write every day but it's often a blog post, a letter, or some other bit of writing.
3. How do you finish your writing project?
With cheering, tears, and whiskey. Not really, but often with a big foolish grin on my face! Then I realize the real work begins. I think ending a novel is why I procrastinate writing them so much, in spite of the fact that I don't want to do anything else as long as I live but write books for a career. Ending a book is difficult, and the worst is yet to come: revising and editing...then marketing. I hate marketing so much. But it's a necessary evil, I suppose. I have to let people know I'm here so they'll read my books!
4. Include one challenge or additional tip that our collective communities could help with or benefit from.
Develop a thick hide and expect that your friends and family will tell you only the nice things. Research agents and publishers, try self-publishing, weigh all options. Avoid anyone who says they will publish your work for a fee. Find beta readers who will give it to you straight. Exchange reviews with other authors and give honest feedback, in a tactful manner. Above all else: READ. Read everything. Novels. Poems. Short stories. Cereal boxes. And write. Practice your descriptions. Make charts of characters and plots. Keep a journal or a blog. Carry a pad of paper and a pencil with you always. And grab yourself a copy of Stephen King's "On Writing" and then thank me later.
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