Ask the Author: B.E. Sanderson
Answered Questions (6)
B.E. Sanderson
Thanks for asking, Fatimah. Sometimes I'll see something in the news and wonder what would happen if it went another way. Sometimes ideas pop into my head while I'm trying, and failing, to fall asleep at night or for a nap. For Dying Embers, I wanted to write suspense that stood out, I asked myself how I could do that. With Accidental Death, it was a combination of 'what if' and then following the rabbit trail where it lead. For my next book, Wish in One Hand, I wanted to write an urban fantasy but using a different magical species - so I hit on genies, then I gave the heroine a mission and found a way to screw it up. In the end, the result became a paranormal suspense (because really, I can't seem to help but add suspense or mystery to any story).
B.E. Sanderson
My most recently released book - BloodFlow - came to me years ago when I was trying to come up with something to write for National Novel Writing Month. I wanted to write another suspense and I wanted something technical or medical or political. It ended up being all three woven into a thriller.
B.E. Sanderson
Right now, I've got the sequel to 'Wish in One Hand' - 'In Deep Wish' - at the editor for a march release. And while that's in her hands for the next month, I'll be editing the second book in the SCIU series - 'Fertile Ground' for a May release. Somewhere in there, I'll be finishing the second Dennis Haggarty mystery and working on the edits for the third genie book.
B.E. Sanderson
Read everything - including genres you would never think of writing. Learn as much as you can about this business, then keep the information you need and throw out the rest. Finally, there is no 'right' way to write. Each of us has our own way to do this. Do what works for you. And if it stops working, try something else.
B.E. Sanderson
Being able to get all these stories out of my head. It gets crowded up in there otherwise. ;o)
B.E. Sanderson
Writer's block is a funny thing for me. The more I think about it, the more likely I am to get it. So I try not to think about it, read about it, ponder the possibility, etc. I once got it so bad I didn't write anything for 9 months. The only answer then was to just sit down and start writing stuff - for good or ill. Also, someone somewhere gave me the following advice: "Give yourself permission to suck." That idea has done very well for me over the years. You can fix sucky writing, but you cannot fix what you haven't put down on the page.
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