Ask the Author: Russell Burden
Answered Questions (5)
Russell Burden
I am in a sweet spot with writing because my financial stability is not tied to it. That gives me the ability to just stop writing for a time when I get stuck. I used to make myself push through but that rarely yielded a satisfying result. I try to give myself grace and write when the inspiration hits me. I go from not having any ideas to having so many ideas that there's not enough time in the day to write them all down.
The hardest thing in the world is to be patient with oneself.
The hardest thing in the world is to be patient with oneself.
Russell Burden
Well, they (who ever "they" are) say to write what you know when first starting out. I think there is a lot of merit to that because your first goal as a writer is to find your authentic voice. It is difficult when first writing to not mimic other writing styles. My first story was about a psychiatric hospital because that was an environment I knew well and could speak authoritatively on. The story is not very well written and it took me almost three months, but it did teach me how to write.
Russell Burden
I am continuing to write short stories, mostly fiction but there are a few reflection/biography and nonfiction pieces I am working on.
Russell Burden
There are many sources for inspiration. I get inspired by real life events, things I watch, read, and hear. I find the stranger and darker news stories to be very inspiring. The best inspiration is pain and life experience.
Russell Burden
In January of 2016 my friend and coauthor Kevin McCartney challenged me to start writing short stories with him. I took him up on it just for fun and I got published a couple of times early on so I just continued writing. 18 months ago, Kevin had an idea (since many of our stories are intertwined) to collect our better stories together into a shared volume. Into the Void: Stories From Beyond the Veil is the result.
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