Ask the Author: Jeff Henigson
Answered Questions (4)
Jeff Henigson
Become a morning person. I wasn’t. I’m still not. I always told myself that I was more productive at night. But a writer friend persuaded me to try waking early for a week—keeping my phone switched off and dedicating the first two hours of each morning (after ten minutes of meditation and two cups of coffee) to writing. Those hours have proven consistently to be my most creative and fruitful. I can’t say I’ve happily converted myself into a morning person (some people can assure you that I haven’t), but with persistence and some really good coffee, I’ve reaped major benefits from working through those wonderfully productive morning hours.
Jeff Henigson
I can't decide if it's the flood of money pouring into my coffers from book sales, the many A-list Hollywood actors aspiring to play me in the film adaptation of my book, or...okay, perhaps I'm fantasizing a bit. Or a lot. On a more serious note, there's a wonderful sense of accomplishment when this story idea that you've developed for years ultimately manifests in the form of book. It comes with an intense feeling of gratitude, because as much as we may like to think that the book's all ours, many minds--the members or your writers' circle, dear friends, your agent, your editor--contribute to the process. The communal nature of writing is deeply satisfying.
Jeff Henigson
The best approach I've found to overcoming writer's block is to steer clear of it in the first place, and the only way to do that is to write every day. You’ve probably heard that writing is a muscle that quickly atrophies when not regularly exercised. I heard that, too—and initially ignored it. Writing every day translates into significantly increased productivity. When I finally got around to making that daily commitment, my progress went through an extraordinary acceleration.
Jeff Henigson
I’ve got a few projects in the works. One is a continuation of my YA memoir, Warhead, focusing this time on my visits to Russia beginning in 2011 in which I tracked down the beautiful human beings who wrote me those remarkable letters when I was a kid battling brain cancer. That’s been an ongoing process, and I anticipate returning to Russia this year for my research. I’m also working on a YA novel. It’s a teenage love story, a tragic one, set fifty years into a future we seem intent right now on creating. I’m excited to get started on it full time.
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