Ask the Author: Tasha Brynn
Answered Questions (7)
Tasha Brynn
Oh boy, this is a tough one. The very first fictional world that completely pulled me in and made me long to live there was Tolkien's works. I'm not even embarrassed to admit that I had the biggest crush on Aragorn and Legolas (and didn't they cast them super sexy/well in the movies?), but I hated Arwen. She did nothing. I wanted to be Eowyn and fight the Big Bad. That was when I was about thirteen, and it would probably still be my top choice, even though I've visited many worlds since that I wish really existed--the decadent, richly-vibrant, gorgeously-decayed worlds of Tanith Lee, the wonderful urban paranormal creations of Kim Harrison (I always thought Rachel Morgan and I would be friends) and Jim Butcher (I'm almost in love with Harry Dresden as I was with Aragorn, when I was thirteen!). But that's the wonderful thing about books--you can not only visit, but live in those magical worlds, whenever you want. It is my fondest wish, as an author, that my readers find the world I create to be a place a they wish to visit and stay a while.
Tasha Brynn
Why is this the first question--the most difficult question a writer is ever asked? Well, my Scarlet's series was instigated by a very vivid, literal dream. The Romantic Misadventures of Mia began during a college creative writing course. I knew a typical vamp-romance would not go over well with my professor, but he did love sarcasm So that's what I did--I wrote a sarcastic vamp-romance, and then I thought it would be fun to write more sarcastic, paranormal 'romances.'
A lot of times, a thought just gets caught in my brain, and I sort of subconsciously mull it over, turning it this way and that. For example, I was watching one of those typical, obsessed woman movies, and I was suddenly in the head of the spurned mistress, hanging from a chandelier, thinking, 'It was at this point that I realized my life had taken a seriously wrong turn.' Who knows? Possibilities expand and melt, like snowflakes on glass, but this might turn out to be more than an idea--it might turn into a plot.
A lot of times, a thought just gets caught in my brain, and I sort of subconsciously mull it over, turning it this way and that. For example, I was watching one of those typical, obsessed woman movies, and I was suddenly in the head of the spurned mistress, hanging from a chandelier, thinking, 'It was at this point that I realized my life had taken a seriously wrong turn.' Who knows? Possibilities expand and melt, like snowflakes on glass, but this might turn out to be more than an idea--it might turn into a plot.
Tasha Brynn
I've tried lots of tricks of the trades--skipping a problematic scene to write a later one, working on an entirely different piece of writing, filling out worksheets I've found on the internet, playing the 'What if...?' game with my characters (What if the heroine lost her job? What if a tornado ripped apart the town? What if my heroine was artificially inseminated with Elvis Presley's preserved semen, and the baby was taken by aliens?). To tell the truth, that usually gives me ideas for new stories, and doesn't help with the WIP. Really, the most effective way to beat writer's block for me, is to just keep writing, even when I know what I'm putting down will never make it into the final draft. I just keep slogging on, and, eventually, I find the words flowing again, a wellspring of creativity leads me down paths I never even contemplated before, and I race to put the words down, before I run dry again.
Tasha Brynn
I simply love to write. I've been doing it, since I was about nine, and, even if I hadn't managed to self-publish on Amazon, even if I had never published anything, I would still write, because I can't not write. I fall in love with my characters, and some of them become so real to me, it feels like I'm simply recording their adventures, not making them up. Another nice thing about being a writer is that you can do it practically anywhere, though I've so far not taken to writing in the bath, because I can't afford to replace my laptop, if it falls in. :)
Tasha Brynn
I believe Stephen King said to read and write. A lot. He's right. Write. Write and write and write. A lot of it will be crap, but even the bad stuff will teach you to be a better writer. When you can read your own words and judge objectively whether they're crap, you're well on your way to being a good writer. Reading teaches you to be a better writer, without you even knowing it--it teaches plotting, pacing, characterization, not to mention how confusing some missing commas can be!
Tasha Brynn
I'm working on the third book in my erotic suspense series, Scarlet's, and the fourth book in my humorous, paranormal short story series, The Romantic Misadventures of Mia. I'm actually embarrassed to admit that I have about a dozen works in progress, all at different stages, where 'inspiration' left me high and dry. Since I've realized that I can't rely on inspiration alone, I hope to bring at least half of those to completion.
Tasha Brynn
Like anything else, the more you write, the better you get at it and the easier it is to keep doing it. Not to say that I don't get inspired by an idea or a picture in my head, but I can't rely on the sizzle and crackle of inspiration to keep me writing. Sometimes, it's a slog, no doubt.
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