Ask the Author: Amy Sargent Swank
Answered Questions (7)
Amy Sargent Swank
The Arrivals by Meg Mitchel Moore
War and Peace
Anna karenina
Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff
A Gentleman in Moscow
Does this Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?
I'll Take You There
Commonwealth
The Nest
Millers Valley
And the Mountains Echoed
War and Peace
Anna karenina
Those We Love Most by Lee Woodruff
A Gentleman in Moscow
Does this Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?
I'll Take You There
Commonwealth
The Nest
Millers Valley
And the Mountains Echoed
Amy Sargent Swank
the best way for me to deal with writer's block is to go away. i've done it several times, sometimes by myself and sometimes with other writers. it is an effective way for me to break through something. when i am home, at my desk, and i'm stuck, it's too easy for me to leave the desk, flip a load of laundry, run an errand, or do any chore necessary not to write. when i'm away, and on a singular mission to write, and there are no household distractions, i have no way to leave the project. i'm stuck, and therefore, i get un-stuck. the going away doesn't necessarily have to be an actual trip out of town; i find even leaving my office, and going to my local coffee shop or library can give me that separation i need.
Amy Sargent Swank
the best thing for me about being a writer is having this wonderful creative outlet at my disposal. it is cathartic. i work though things. it is therapeutic. and then i have this tangible result from a very intangible, soulful and difficult process.
Amy Sargent Swank
write, write, write. i know it's been said too often, but it really works. writing takes time and practice and it's gut-wrenching and hard, so it's incredibly easy to put it off. if there's a block of time every single day when it works to write, maybe early morning, or mid-afternoon or whenever, setting aside even a half hour a day can be effective. i find, once i get writing, it's hard to stop. it's the sitting down that's hard.
Amy Sargent Swank
i'm working on a mystery about the murder of a woman, witnessed by the woman's young daughter. the young girl and her sisters go to a therapist to try to work through their grief and to try to solve the murder.
Amy Sargent Swank
for me, inspiration comes in so many forms. for some reason, going for long walks often provides me with new ideas or new fixes to ruts i'm in. i won't realize i'm doing it, but when i'm nearly home, i realize i've fleshed out some new idea, or thought of some new ways to work an existing project. these experiences inspire me too: going to museums, having thoughtful and meaningful conversations, driving on beautiful days, listening to music, painting or drawing, looking at water, meditating. generally, the process of inspiration seems to occur when i let go.
Amy Sargent Swank
the idea emanated from a conversation with a friend (way back in 1994) after listening to the counting crows' new album ("august and everything after"). i was telling my friend how the lyrics resonated with me, and then i started sharing some of my memories of childhood summers on cape cod, and all of the many, many crows in my life...i started writing seven birds
shortly after that.
shortly after that.
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