Ask the Author: N.B. Austin
Answered Questions (7)
N.B. Austin
Put a laptop in front of me an open up Microsoft Word. Sometimes I go to an inspiring and/or relaxing place.
N.B. Austin
All The Light We Cannot See, The Martian, Bishop's War, Big Little Lies.
I have a hard time seeing further than four books into the future but there will certainly be more that pop up.
I have a hard time seeing further than four books into the future but there will certainly be more that pop up.
N.B. Austin
Everywhere.
Every experience I've ever had is somewhere in my subconscious molding this series into what it is.
Every experience I've ever had is somewhere in my subconscious molding this series into what it is.
N.B. Austin
Three things based on my experience thus far:
1. Don't fit a mold: write the thing you'd want to read and set no limits on your creativity/imagination.
2. Just write: just sit down and type your vision. Don't over-plan. Don't over educate yourself on the way people think you should write. Just WRITE.
3. Invest in yourself: pay for a professional editor, pay for a professional designer, and pay to make this extension of yourself the best it can be for the people you want to be your fans. What you will find is that you aren't really "spending" money at all, but rather you are "investing" it, which is entirely more rewarding.
Funny thing I'm realizing about all three of these points is that they pertain to ANY dream/ambition you have, not just writing!
1. Don't fit a mold: write the thing you'd want to read and set no limits on your creativity/imagination.
2. Just write: just sit down and type your vision. Don't over-plan. Don't over educate yourself on the way people think you should write. Just WRITE.
3. Invest in yourself: pay for a professional editor, pay for a professional designer, and pay to make this extension of yourself the best it can be for the people you want to be your fans. What you will find is that you aren't really "spending" money at all, but rather you are "investing" it, which is entirely more rewarding.
Funny thing I'm realizing about all three of these points is that they pertain to ANY dream/ambition you have, not just writing!
N.B. Austin
I'm currently (5/20/2017) working on book 2 of the Civilands series! At this time I'm through three chapters and working on the fourth. So far it's been really exciting to see how the things I learned from book 1 about all stages of the process are being applied to book 2. Most of the plot points have been planned out thus far so it's just a matter of finishing but my target first draft date is 6/15/17. At that point I will begin work with my editor and probably get started asap on my draft of book 3!
N.B. Austin
Writer's block for me is me debating what I should write while I'm not sitting down in front of my laptop typing. Once my fingers are hovering above the keys they're mostly moving naturally and furiously. In these scenarios, I'm just translating to the page a story that is mentally engaging in my own mind.
I think if I were to be sitting there and not typing it would be because I was trying to tell a specific kind of story, which I simply don't feel qualified to do. In that case, I would try to catch myself doing that, reset, and then commence typing whatever image is actually on the projector of my mind. I'd do this even if it had no relation to the story I'd been writing before, because writing for me is a process I want to enjoy at all times and not ever force.
I think if I were to be sitting there and not typing it would be because I was trying to tell a specific kind of story, which I simply don't feel qualified to do. In that case, I would try to catch myself doing that, reset, and then commence typing whatever image is actually on the projector of my mind. I'd do this even if it had no relation to the story I'd been writing before, because writing for me is a process I want to enjoy at all times and not ever force.
N.B. Austin
The best thing about being a writer, for me, is how natural it can be if you just sit down and do it. If you're being authentic as a writer, every single character holds a part of you within them, every setting is a place you'd want to experience, and every plot is like a movie that would most entertain your mind. Releasing these pieces of who I am onto the page (and then into the world) has been the most freeing process I've ever experienced.
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