What is your biggest stumbling block in the writing process and how do you overcome it?
"Self doubt, I often get ideas that I feel are beyond my abilities, and the challenge of trying to bring those ideas to life is often what keeps me writing, but then in the bad moments I tend to question whether I'm up to the challenge." - Bethany Griffin, author of Masque of the Read Death.
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Until recently, I just forced myself to close other programs on my computer, but with my last couple drafts of Incarnate2, I actually printed the manuscript and did edits on paper where there were no blinky lights to distract me." - Jodi Meadows, author of Incarnate.
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"Staying with the hard problems. When I hit a wall, I let myself walk around the house, get more coffee, pet the dogs, but I then always make myself come back to the problem, face the page, and find a way through the plot hole, the character rewrite, or whatever it is that’s mucking up the story." - Sarah Wilson Etienne, author of Harbinger.
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"Sometimes it can be too easy to ignore a plot hole or glance over a needed bit of information, in hopes that readers won’t notice—even though, deep down, you know they will! So whenever one of my beta readers or editor has a question, no matter how minor, I attempt to answer it as thoroughly as I can, first for myself, and then within the context of the story. It can cause a lot of headache upfront when you realize you have no idea what the answer is, but it’ll save a lot more headache down the line when readers and reviewers start bringing it up." - Marissa Meyer, author of Cinder.
"Life these days is so full of distractions that for a highly distractible person, it can be tough! Luckily, I’ve got a great group of friends (many of whom are also writers) and I think we inspire each other to keep at it. One day at a time. One page at a time. One book at a time." - Jess Rothenberg, author of The Catastrophic History of You and Me.
"The biggest stumbling block is hanging onto the excitement that a new project brings. It’s really easy to get tired of a project after a few months, but you have to find a way to rekindle the spark that made you love it in the first place." - David Macinnis Gill, author of Invisible Sun.
"My biggest stumbling block is finding time to work. I have three young kids, and they demand a lot of attention. Sometimes I have to remind myself that my job is 'real,' like any 9-5 position, and make sure I sit down and type." - Beth Fantaskey, author of Jessica Rules the Dark Side.
"Time management. I have three teenagers at home (one with autism), so not getting sucked into time-consuming activities or distractions is almost impossible. Balancing my duties as mother and author is a circus act for me." - Mary Lindsey, author of Shattered Souls.
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"There’s nothing worse than having a classic Bad Writing Day, when you feel like you can’t string together any decent sentences and you want to throw your laptop out a window. The best thing to do is to get outta the house, clear your head. I usually go to the movies, preferably to see something sufficiently fluffy. Last time this happened I saw Prom." - Aimee Agresti, author of Illuminate.
"I have a hard time coming up with new books. I just read, draw, collage, brainstorm, and watch movies until I come up with something, but I’m really hard to live with during that period." - Jennifer Echols, author of The One That I Want.
"Having faith in myself and my ability as a writer was a huge roadblock. I wasn't sure I could write YA steampunk, which slowed down the process. Then I realized that yeah, I could do this, I will do this, and then I did it." - Suzanne Lazear, author of Innocent Darkness.
Find out Tuesday what characters the authors wish they'd written!
Fab post - very insightful to see the kind of stumbling blocks authors experience!
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