Ask the Author: Elizabeth A. Keddy
Answered Questions (6)
Elizabeth A. Keddy
I had wanted to write a novel for most of my life, and at age 75 I finally did realize this dream with The Way We Touch. When I studied creative writing, I encountered some harsh feedback on a story I had written, and that discouraged me. I became a technical writer in order to pay my children's college tuition and meet other expenses. In late 2013, I had a bad accident (fell backwards down a whole flight of stairs and broke my neck and back and sustained a concussion). It took a long time to recover fully from that accident, and I had lots of time to think. I wondered why I had not died in such a bad fall and if there was something I was supposed to do. I found my old bucket list from 2007 and the only thing I had not done on that list was to write my novel. Shortly after that I received a diagnosis of macular degeneration from my ophthalmologist and knew that if I were going to write a novel, I should do that while I could still see. In March 2015, I was fortunate to meet Kate Chadbourne who mentors writers and other artists. She helped me get past my obstacles to writing and to uncover the topic of my book I met with her once a week and completed the first draft of the novel in four and a half months.
Elizabeth A. Keddy
Once I have a firm idea of the topic, I write best with a deadline. Meeting with my mentor was great for that. I will have to motivate myself going forward.
Elizabeth A. Keddy
I am researching a historical novel that will be somewhat based on my grandmother's life.
Elizabeth A. Keddy
Don't worry about what other people might think or compare yourself to someone else. I have a sister who is a well-known painter and I was hesitant to write creatively for fear that I would not measure up to her genius as an artist. My mentor Kate gave me the best advice. She said "Don't worry about that, Betty. Just whistle your own tune." And that's what I did. I whistled my own tune and wrote my novel. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I feel good about it.
Elizabeth A. Keddy
Writing is empowering. You can create wonderful characters and make them do whatever you want. The characters also lead you in unexpected directions that you had not planned. It is quite an adventure.
Elizabeth A. Keddy
Write a few sample scenes to get started. Plan the structure of your book with an outline of your chapters including the scenes in each chapter. Create a chronology of characters table to keep track of all of them (include dates of birth, marriage, deaths, etc) Things won't seem so overwhelming once you put some structure in place.
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