Ask the Author: Travis Kerr
Answered Questions (6)
Travis Kerr
While I rarely suffer from it, so far at least, when I have my general move is to skip ahead slightly in the story and write out the next scene. Often I've found that the things that happen in that scene are reflected by what happened in the scene before it. If the scene before it hasn't been written yet, it can give you access to some of the details that you haven't thought of yet, opening up the scene you were stuck on before. I don't know it that will work for everyone, but it's certainly helped me so far.
Travis Kerr
The freedom of thought that comes with it. In most other aspects of life people are constrained, by their jobs, by family concerns, or by any of the other little things that we have no control over. As a writer, the worlds I create are subject to my whim, and the only restraints are those given within the environment I create.
Travis Kerr
Always pay attention to your surroundings, wherever you go. Sometimes it's the smallest of details that stick in our minds, even more then the situation itself. All around you is beauty, ugliness, and everything in between. Each of those things can become a piece of your next environment, and it's often those little details that make the story come to life. I always carry a small notebook with me wherever I go. I never know when something might draw my attention, and often it's those little things, barely noticed, that breath life into a setting.
Travis Kerr
currently I'm working on the sequel to "Death Comes to All", which will continue to follow Drom and his companions into the next part of their adventure.
Travis Kerr
I am inspired to write by everything I see around me. A story is comprised of its characters, and all around us, the people we see and the places we visit, give us a glimpse into the characters of those we meet. Once I have a character, I treat that character almost as a real person, one for whom I can read their innermost thoughts. Once you know a person, you can understand what they are likely to do in a given situation. I simply start a situation and the characters decide what they will do in it. Places and events are often the same way.
Travis Kerr
my most recent book was started with the idea of a different type of hero/ companion relationship. Generally the hero is the focus of the story, while his companions are following his lead. In this case, Drom, the hero of the series, starts by following his companion, Raiste, and much of the events that guide the beginning of this tale revolve around Raiste's past.
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