Ask the Author: T.R. Stevens
Answered Questions (5)
T.R. Stevens
For me, it is important to separate the business of writing from the act of writing. Once a work is essentially "first-drafted", then the editing takes the place of the act of writing.
During the writing phase, I let music or the chaos of my environment inspire me.
During the writing phase, I let music or the chaos of my environment inspire me.
T.R. Stevens
2016: The timing of this answer is key. I have just decided to redirect the current project, which means that I am setting aside about half of a novel's worth of writing. The moment is ripe for choices.
5/2022: I did that. That story remains on the back burner. I went on to begin the sequel to Parallel Extinction, working title: Rise to Extinction. Halfway through that I changed its entire format, and in the process, I lost half of what I had written due to the shift in perspectives. I worked on that new format for a long time before I realized that I liked the original draft better. Going back to that, I had to merge a great deal of the scripts, since I had moved the story forward.
This was a task that took a lot of focus and time, and there was yet another story that had been begun, more than a decade earlier, by myself, my father, and my brother. This story became the focus so that I could step back from the sequel project. In another year and a half, I finished the multi-author story, bring together all of what had been written, tying pieces and divergent styles together, writing the unwritten, excising portions that would go into a sequel for that story, and then really cutting my teeth on some deep learning about style and craft through the end of this process. (That will be published under my TR Stevens pen name, "with contributions...")
Not having my writing group because of Covid, I sought online resources, and found a gold standard method for learning (ask if you want to know), and with the new knowledge, put into practice, I realized I had a finished work that was worthy of an effort to obtain and agent. I wanted beta readers and that is where things stalled out. Choosing an impartial reader who was also known to me to be trustworthy (they would have possession of the entire story on which I had spent so much time and energy- this has not been easy.
For the moment, I have recently discovered Kindle Vella, which is what inspired me to veer from the common aphorism of "Keep Writing."
I wish to establish a platform, a clear following of readers who enjoy the nature of my style, as it is now, rather than the over-written first publishing. For those who have read Parallel Extinction, I would say, read it again. While the story is the same, the tone will be 160 degrees shifted.
The sex scenes are still there, though less eroticized but no less erotic, with a couple placed further into the readers mind, rather than in script. Emotional depth of characters is naturally revealed and more relatable.
That is what I am currently re-working :-)
5/2022: I did that. That story remains on the back burner. I went on to begin the sequel to Parallel Extinction, working title: Rise to Extinction. Halfway through that I changed its entire format, and in the process, I lost half of what I had written due to the shift in perspectives. I worked on that new format for a long time before I realized that I liked the original draft better. Going back to that, I had to merge a great deal of the scripts, since I had moved the story forward.
This was a task that took a lot of focus and time, and there was yet another story that had been begun, more than a decade earlier, by myself, my father, and my brother. This story became the focus so that I could step back from the sequel project. In another year and a half, I finished the multi-author story, bring together all of what had been written, tying pieces and divergent styles together, writing the unwritten, excising portions that would go into a sequel for that story, and then really cutting my teeth on some deep learning about style and craft through the end of this process. (That will be published under my TR Stevens pen name, "with contributions...")
Not having my writing group because of Covid, I sought online resources, and found a gold standard method for learning (ask if you want to know), and with the new knowledge, put into practice, I realized I had a finished work that was worthy of an effort to obtain and agent. I wanted beta readers and that is where things stalled out. Choosing an impartial reader who was also known to me to be trustworthy (they would have possession of the entire story on which I had spent so much time and energy- this has not been easy.
For the moment, I have recently discovered Kindle Vella, which is what inspired me to veer from the common aphorism of "Keep Writing."
I wish to establish a platform, a clear following of readers who enjoy the nature of my style, as it is now, rather than the over-written first publishing. For those who have read Parallel Extinction, I would say, read it again. While the story is the same, the tone will be 160 degrees shifted.
The sex scenes are still there, though less eroticized but no less erotic, with a couple placed further into the readers mind, rather than in script. Emotional depth of characters is naturally revealed and more relatable.
That is what I am currently re-working :-)
T.R. Stevens
If it takes years, then that's ok. Life as a writer will not sweep you away, as concerns the daily responsibilities of life, but let it sweep you away in moments. Find the time necessary to follow your passion. Whether you are prolific or deep and pondering, plodding along through the years, if you are committed, you will find yourself with publishable work at some point - nearly every writer's goal.
T.R. Stevens
I trained as as massage therapist. I chose not to follow that path, but the experience of having my hands on bodies was quite magical. I find the human form to be exquisite, and I subsequently pondered sculpting as an artistic outlet. During both of these periods, I was writing; I came to realize that, with my words I could touch the forms that I was creating. In that, I was sculpting. And writing a nice sex scene is like sculpting a whirlwind of energy.
T.R. Stevens
Free association is good. In my Friday group, we use a prompt, pulled from a hat, and 20 min writing sessions. Something always comes, whether the prompt makes it into the piece or not.
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