Ask the Author: Jessica Shubert
Answered Questions (7)
Jessica Shubert
"Just please come out here right now or they're gonna kill me," Harry's voice comes through the receiver, shaky with panic. But Harry, standing two steps below me on our way down the stairs to look for the phone he lost an hour ago, slowly shakes his head.
Jessica Shubert
I pace broodily across the room and talk out loud about the issue. When I don't want to be over-dramatic, I either take a step back and write about the issue or I just go and write something else until I feel like getting back to the first thing.
Jessica Shubert
There are so many great things about being a writer! It's always been very important to me, though, because I have a hyperactive imagination, so being a writer is a way to channel, organize, and validate that, all while feeding someone else's imagination, too.
Jessica Shubert
Think about your writing. Write about your writing. Write about what's hard or what's stopping you. You'll only overcome your obstacles if you can acknowledge what they are. If you don't have someone to talk to about this stuff, I recommend keeping a journal just to write about which character is giving you trouble or where you saw a great example of something you're trying to accomplish. Even if you never look at it again, it's helpful to process.
Jessica Shubert
I'm always editing books I've already written (i.e. the entire finished Rat Race Chronicles), but as for what new things I'm actively creating, my focus is very split. I'm working on a journal of a dragon rancher, a new series about robots, several backstories about Tersatellus . . . I wouldn't advise this approach, but it's working for me and my lifestyle right now.
Jessica Shubert
Music definitely helps. Pandora and YouTube playlists that mix things I know and like with things I don't know are great ways to discover new stuff. I have my own playlists for certain characters, moods, scenes, and styles I want to focus on.
Reading is also a big inspiration. I learn things from reading, whether I'm reflecting on the style or the world-building. Even just seeing a new word can help (this happened to me with "stevedore").
Reading is also a big inspiration. I learn things from reading, whether I'm reflecting on the style or the world-building. Even just seeing a new word can help (this happened to me with "stevedore").
Jessica Shubert
Funny story . . . I actually got the original idea for My Name is Criminal from a dream. It was about a competition, a race of some sort, except the mode of transport was tree houses. The competitors all had these giant, somehow-moving trees, and the bigger someone's tree was, the smarter they allegedly were. There were twin girls who didn't get along--one was evil and the other was good, and their trees were entwined--two other girls who were supposed to get along but one of them betrayed the other somehow, and a boy who was supposedly stupid. They all also had random weapons, one of which was a weed wacker. I just wrote it down afterwards because I thought it was cool; I didn't realize I'd ever go back and use it as inspiration for a book!
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