Ask the Author: Melissa A. I. Murray
Answered Questions (6)
Melissa A. I. Murray
Writer's block happens to me a lot. One of the reasons my first book, Destined, took me so long to write is because I would alternate between knocking out a chapter or two in a week and not touching the manuscript for six months, sometimes even a year. Part of that I blamed on being in college at the time, but a large part of it would be that I just didn't have the energy for such an undertaking. So instead, I would write little things: shorter stories, poems, song lyrics. I'd play music, record a new song, paint something or sculpt something or make a new piece of jewelry. Those sort of activities are very calming for me, and they help me get back in the mode, because while I'm working on them I am also daydreaming, and my daydreams often occur in the world of my stories. Running or swimming also helps me; my characters are very physically fit as a result of all the crap I put them through, so sometimes going for a run through the woods helps me reconnect with the story. Other times, I try to view it less as "writer's block" then as a needed break. Writing isn't always easy, and it can be healthy to take some time off to recharge. I generally use chapter breaks to that effect.
Melissa A. I. Murray
The best thing about being a writer is being able to talk about the voices in your head without being labeled as crazy...just kidding. I do, however, hear my characters various voices very clearly, and often when I am recording dialogue sketches--what I like to think of as the "muscle" of my stories, with the outlines being the "bones" and the chapter summaries being "ligaments and tendons"--I feel more as if I am just listening in on and recording a conversation that is occurring in real time. It feels less like I am writing than simply being a vessel for the story to happen, and perhaps that does make me a wee bit crazy, but it's my process, and it's one of my favorite things about writing. The other favorite thing, of course, is being able to unleash the entirety of my creativity on creating a world that is all my own. I love building the land of Aorea, making up species and cultures and history, fleshing out the geography, the world's mythology and legends. I often joke that the reason I'm so terrible at mental math is because I exist with one foot in reality and the other in Aorea; I have thousands of years of history for a world that doesn't exist cluttering up my brain.
Melissa A. I. Murray
Just start. If you have an idea, just start. I'm not a "pantser"--I plan and outline and map long before I actually sit down and start typing a story, but just diving into the writing process can be a great way to get started with an idea, and then you can flesh it out later as the story unfolds in your head. But wherever you are, just start, and see where it takes you.
Melissa A. I. Murray
I am about halfway through the process of writing Hidden, the second full length novel in the Circle series. I have five books total planned for this series, with a novella and short story occurring in between each. The in-between works are complimentary and supplementary stories, but are not "required reading" to follow the main storyline in the novels. They're just fun little anecdotes that occur in the world of Aorea and feature the side-adventures of either the protagonists or some of the supporting characters from the main series.s
Melissa A. I. Murray
I have been writing almost as long as I could read. Writing is as much a part of my routine as breathing. When I'm not working on a novel, I'm writing a short story. When I'm not writing a short story, I'm writing poetry or songs. Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night with an idea and furiously type it on my phone before falling back asleep, other times I'll have a weird/unique dream that prompts me to include an element from said dream in an upcoming story. My inspiration varies: conversations overheard in passing, my own research into myth and folklore, my nerdom for music and language...every aspect of life I witness or experience is up for grabs.
Melissa A. I. Murray
I got the idea for the book I am currently working on, Hidden (Circle, book 2), back in high school when I first started planning the Circle series. I can't remember what prompted the initial concept since it was so long ago, but the version I am working on currently is quite different from my high-school self's original vision (and, I would like to think, significantly better). The inspiration for the Circle series in general dates back even further; I first started developing the world of Aorea when I was about 12. I even started trying to write a draft of a book for it, which I had called The Spinner's Journey, back when I was 14. That draft, as you may imagine, was complete garbage. After writing about 120 pages of it, I wrote my characters jumping off a cliff, scrapped the whole thing, and started back over at the drawing board.
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