Ask the Author: James Cardona
Answered Questions (6)
James Cardona
This is an easy one. It's the fans.
I love the creative process, and I am talking about creating anything, really. Anytime I can make something out of nothing, creation ex nihilo, I am exhilarated. So that would be a close second.
But for me it is the fans and their feedback. When I write, many times I pour my heart and soul into the work. Often times, my books are interspersed with little vignettes, anecdotes and true personal stories from my life or the lives of others that I know. In a way, I am putting myself down on paper.
And it has often been said that by reading a writer's work, the reader can learn more about the author than about the topic that the text is about because the writer's style illustrates, at some level, who he or she is and how he or she thinks.
So for both of these reasons, when a person tells me that they found something I have written to be enjoyable, touching or moving in some way, it makes me really glad that I put in the hours to bring the book to reality because what they read was not just an enjoyable tale but a little glimpse of what I look like inside.
I love the creative process, and I am talking about creating anything, really. Anytime I can make something out of nothing, creation ex nihilo, I am exhilarated. So that would be a close second.
But for me it is the fans and their feedback. When I write, many times I pour my heart and soul into the work. Often times, my books are interspersed with little vignettes, anecdotes and true personal stories from my life or the lives of others that I know. In a way, I am putting myself down on paper.
And it has often been said that by reading a writer's work, the reader can learn more about the author than about the topic that the text is about because the writer's style illustrates, at some level, who he or she is and how he or she thinks.
So for both of these reasons, when a person tells me that they found something I have written to be enjoyable, touching or moving in some way, it makes me really glad that I put in the hours to bring the book to reality because what they read was not just an enjoyable tale but a little glimpse of what I look like inside.
James Cardona
My writing occurs in a several step process and each of these steps requires a different setting. So I guess it kind of depends on if we are talking about idea formulation, putting the first words to paper or editing.
But in general I like to write alone and in a distraction free environment. I also do not like to write unless I have a several-hour block of time so that I can really start flowing. If I only have a few minutes or tens of minutes, I will edit though.
As to the ritual part of the question, I think I am a bit of an oddball because I like to set the atmosphere of the room to the scene that I am working on. So for example, if I am writing a romantic scene, I will put on soft music, dim the light and recline with my laptop on my belly. For intense action scenes I will put on pulse-pounding music, put the computer on the table and stand in front of it. My wife thinks it's hilarious because I sometimes bounce around and wave my hands during the creation of those intense scenes.
For the book I am working on now, The Dark Castle: Book 2 of The Apprentice Series, I am trying something new which is dictation software. It feels really weird to me so far, but it is an experiment so I am going with it for at least a little while. I am hoping that it will decrease the time it takes me to complete a book by a sizable percentage. We'll see.
But in general I like to write alone and in a distraction free environment. I also do not like to write unless I have a several-hour block of time so that I can really start flowing. If I only have a few minutes or tens of minutes, I will edit though.
As to the ritual part of the question, I think I am a bit of an oddball because I like to set the atmosphere of the room to the scene that I am working on. So for example, if I am writing a romantic scene, I will put on soft music, dim the light and recline with my laptop on my belly. For intense action scenes I will put on pulse-pounding music, put the computer on the table and stand in front of it. My wife thinks it's hilarious because I sometimes bounce around and wave my hands during the creation of those intense scenes.
For the book I am working on now, The Dark Castle: Book 2 of The Apprentice Series, I am trying something new which is dictation software. It feels really weird to me so far, but it is an experiment so I am going with it for at least a little while. I am hoping that it will decrease the time it takes me to complete a book by a sizable percentage. We'll see.
James Cardona
I don't write linearly so I rarely have writer's block. When I feel blocked on a chapter that I am writing on, I skip to another chapter or scene that I am feeling passionate about at the moment and write that. Later, I can return to the more difficult passage and it is usually not a problem. But I rarely need to do this.
Another tool I use to avoid blocks is to diagram and outline the plot(s) and storyline(s) out before I start writing the book. I am fairly analytical, being an engineer by day, so I tend to plan out the book well before I actually write it.
Another tool I use to avoid blocks is to diagram and outline the plot(s) and storyline(s) out before I start writing the book. I am fairly analytical, being an engineer by day, so I tend to plan out the book well before I actually write it.
James Cardona
I am currently in the last throws of Gabriella and the Curse of the Black Spot. The second book in the NuGen series. I've tried to bring the story full circle and answer all of the many readers' questions that arose in the first book. Depending upon reader interest, I may or may not write a third installment to that series.
I also am working on the plot outline for the The Dark Castle, Book 2 in the Apprentice series.That is one I am very excited about as it is going to greatly broaden the world that the series exists in and shape the master-apprentice relationship.
I have very rough sketches that I work on here and there for three more books. More to follow on those at a latter date.
I also am working on the plot outline for the The Dark Castle, Book 2 in the Apprentice series.That is one I am very excited about as it is going to greatly broaden the world that the series exists in and shape the master-apprentice relationship.
I have very rough sketches that I work on here and there for three more books. More to follow on those at a latter date.
James Cardona
Advice #1 Write everyday, even if it is only in a journal or not for public consumption. To improve your writing, you have to practice.
Advice #2 Most writers are avid readers but as a writer who is trying to improve, you need to read with a more critical eye. When you read something that sends chills down your spin, reread it, try to dissect the passage, try to determine how the author built the suspense, set the scene, or lured you in. Sometimes this takes the magic out of the experience but this is a very good way to learn the craft.
Advice #2 Most writers are avid readers but as a writer who is trying to improve, you need to read with a more critical eye. When you read something that sends chills down your spin, reread it, try to dissect the passage, try to determine how the author built the suspense, set the scene, or lured you in. Sometimes this takes the magic out of the experience but this is a very good way to learn the craft.
James Cardona
Novel and original book ideas are so hard to come by. When I come up with one I usually share it with my focus group (my wife and kids, that is) and typically they have heard of something similar before in one fashion or another. I have one right now that so far appears to be completely original so I am holding it real close to my chest.
My ideas usually appear spontaneously due to conversations or situations arising in daily life. I like to take concepts, ideas, opinions and conversations and extrapolate them or sometimes apply a Copernican shift such that it is dramatized, yet leaves room for dialogue and discussion.
My ideas usually appear spontaneously due to conversations or situations arising in daily life. I like to take concepts, ideas, opinions and conversations and extrapolate them or sometimes apply a Copernican shift such that it is dramatized, yet leaves room for dialogue and discussion.
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