Ask the Author: Reyna Marder Gentin
Answered Questions (3)
Reyna Marder Gentin
My debut novel, Unreasonable Doubts, is inspired by experiences I had as an appellate public defender representing people convicted of felonies who could not afford private counsel. I started to write the book just about a year after I left the job that I had held for almost 18 years. The first draft of the novel was very different from how the book eventually turned out -- I definitely needed some distance so that the fiction could take the lead and not my own emotions about transitioning from my legal career to one as a writer.
Reyna Marder Gentin
The best thing about being a writer is the ability it gives a person to connect with others. People think writing is such a lonely experience. In some ways, it is. You are alone with your thoughts, and usually alone with the computer. But driving it all is the need to build a bridge to the reader and to share something human -- an experience, an observation, an emotion.
Reyna Marder Gentin
I find that I avoid "writer's block" by not forcing myself to write on any particular schedule. Without that pressure, I write only when I have a rush of inspiration. I also know that for me, the more that I get out and about in the world, the more I'm motivated to write. And it doesn't have to be something dramatic that I do -- it can be taking a subway, or visiting with an elderly relative, or even sitting on my porch and watching people walk past. Anything can be the substance of a story.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more