Ask the Author: Heather Nolan
Answered Questions (4)
Heather Nolan
I generally go back to walking, observing, or reading. Walking helps clear my head of any negativity that comes with writer's block, and at times something seen on the walk will bring up fresh ideas. Otherwise I will try to learn something new about the subjects I am writing about, and that will often trigger a new idea.
Heather Nolan
The most obvious advice: read widley and constantly. Write even more constantly. Don't narrow your reading scope just because you have a genre you like. Keep reading things that feel like discoveries. And write every day. Keep a notebook on you for little words or lines that might slip away if not jotted down. Write as much as you possibly can. All of this develops your voice. Ask for critical feedback when you can. Not praise. Critical feedback. It is the most helpful and generous thing anyone can give you. Learn how to give critical feedback to others - this will help you learn to edit your own work more effectively. Submit everything, but be wary of submission fees until you feel like the investment might have a return. Get over the fear of submissions early and start building a CV early.
Heather Nolan
Observation, eavesdropping, walking, reading, and true conversations. Most of my writing projects develop around a central question or idea to consider, and most of these questions come from observation of the world around me. I find reading non-fiction and learning more about the question in my mind gets me inspired to write, as well as long walks where I can consider the idea while looking for evidence of it in my surroundings.
Heather Nolan
The idea for This is Agatha Falling was largely inspired by the way memory is always just below the surface of our consciousness, showing through the cracks when invoked by our present surroundings. In this way memory continues to narrate our lives - but it is an unreliable narrator that doesn't always show the truth. There is the phenomenon of false memories that contradict actual events, then there are dreams which can feel so real that our brains trick us into remembering them as reality. There are daydreams. Illusions. Denials. Affirmations. Through all this, how are we ever to know what really happened?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more