Ask the Author: Renaldo Christopher
Answered Questions (3)
Renaldo Christopher
A love story. I'm not sure I'm ready to call it a romance since it might not adhere to enough familiar tropes but the central story is two people coming together, learning about each other, falling in love and making some tough decisions.
Renaldo Christopher
There is no such thing as an "aspiring writer." You can aspire to be published or more skilled at writing, but aspiring to write just means you aren't writing. It's like aspiring to make the bed. Are you getting in formation or not?
Whether you've been "called to write" or just want fame/attention. at a minimum, you need to start. If you expect to be any good at it, you also need to be a reader. Not an "aspiring reader" but a person who actually reads books. A writer who does not read books is like your friend on Facebook who has an opinion about everything but has not bothered to engage with any form of journalism - written, video or otherwise.
Immerse yourself in the practice of writing and consuming written media. Read books about topics that interest you, read within your genre, read outside of your genre. Write short stories. Write short paragraphs. If you want to be better at composition then you need to constantly read and write. It's a muscle, and it won't get stronger without exercise. If you truly believe it's what you want to do then you owe it to yourself to get started.
Whether you've been "called to write" or just want fame/attention. at a minimum, you need to start. If you expect to be any good at it, you also need to be a reader. Not an "aspiring reader" but a person who actually reads books. A writer who does not read books is like your friend on Facebook who has an opinion about everything but has not bothered to engage with any form of journalism - written, video or otherwise.
Immerse yourself in the practice of writing and consuming written media. Read books about topics that interest you, read within your genre, read outside of your genre. Write short stories. Write short paragraphs. If you want to be better at composition then you need to constantly read and write. It's a muscle, and it won't get stronger without exercise. If you truly believe it's what you want to do then you owe it to yourself to get started.
Renaldo Christopher
The short answer is that I mostly just don't write. I'm very bad at routine when it comes to writing, to the point that a friend had to give me a deadline with a fine attached to it.
When I have been able to defeat it, I first identified what the block was. Was I just tired and uninspired? Were other things on my mind? Had I lost confidence in the story?
Sometimes you get to a scene that you "have" to write, and it becomes burdensome because it's not the scene you "want" to write. So you have to change it into a scene that you "want" to write. Place the scene in a different context, determine if there's something about it that doesn't excite you and make it exciting. Writing is work, but you're in control and there are ways to make it fun, even if you end up writing something that makes no sense just to go back and re-write it. These things usually work themselves out. It's okay to be patient and forgiving with yourself, just don't become complacent and lazy.
And wine always helps.
When I have been able to defeat it, I first identified what the block was. Was I just tired and uninspired? Were other things on my mind? Had I lost confidence in the story?
Sometimes you get to a scene that you "have" to write, and it becomes burdensome because it's not the scene you "want" to write. So you have to change it into a scene that you "want" to write. Place the scene in a different context, determine if there's something about it that doesn't excite you and make it exciting. Writing is work, but you're in control and there are ways to make it fun, even if you end up writing something that makes no sense just to go back and re-write it. These things usually work themselves out. It's okay to be patient and forgiving with yourself, just don't become complacent and lazy.
And wine always helps.
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