Ask the Author: Ashe Armstrong
Answered Questions (6)
Ashe Armstrong
Once, not so long ago, Nazis were the bad guys. Now they're just a differing political opinion.
Ashe Armstrong
Gomez and Morticia Addams, full stop. Spooky folks who adore each other and communicate. We should all aspire to their level.
Ashe Armstrong
That's a good question, thanks for asking.
I think tapping and blocking personal experience comes down to what you need to do with a character. Your hero might be your best characteristics and your villain your worst but your own experiences can color things in. Your hero is stalwart and true but jumps to conclusions. Your villain is dastardly and reprehensible but treated their mother well. Maybe both characters deal with guilt, maybe the ones closest to them deal with mental illness or vice.
That said, as I answer this, I'm still growing as a writer and learning more about how much and how little to use. Sometimes it can be cathartic, sometimes alarming.
Hopefully that's a decent answer!
I think tapping and blocking personal experience comes down to what you need to do with a character. Your hero might be your best characteristics and your villain your worst but your own experiences can color things in. Your hero is stalwart and true but jumps to conclusions. Your villain is dastardly and reprehensible but treated their mother well. Maybe both characters deal with guilt, maybe the ones closest to them deal with mental illness or vice.
That said, as I answer this, I'm still growing as a writer and learning more about how much and how little to use. Sometimes it can be cathartic, sometimes alarming.
Hopefully that's a decent answer!
Ashe Armstrong
Write. Write whatever you can during your writing time. One sentence? Two? Ten words? A thousand? Just sit down and do it. Everyone says this, EVERYONE. Neil Gaiman has said it more times than anyone can keep up with. Ass in chair and do what you can. Words add up. You might do ten words one night and 500 the next, just keep going.
Ashe Armstrong
Not having a set schedule and not requiring pants. Pants are the devil's butcher block.
Ashe Armstrong
Unless my brain has gone static, I just put on music and write whatever comes out. Even if it's only two sentences, I get it out. Two sentences is still more words than you had the day before.
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