Ask the Author: Amy Z. Rowland
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Amy Z. Rowland
Write outside the box. Don't assume that because you start out writing poetry, poetry is all that you can write. Don't assume that because you write nonfiction that sells, you should just keep writing nonfiction. Don't let people pigeonhole you and your writing abilities. Claim your creative freedom (at least on your own time).
What is there about writing that makes your heart race or your mind quicken or your imagination see an altogether different reality? What challenges you? Be willing to experiment with words and language as if you were a child with finger-paints. Get into it! Let yourself be messy. You can always revise and edit later on.
Write your rough draft as if you were writing a letter to your best friend or your mother, someone who loves you no matter what. Again, you can revise later -- after you have that completed rough draft. (It is very hard to write a rough draft from start to finish when you are worrying about what an editor is going to think about your manuscript. Forget about the editor until after you have a rough draft, then a revised draft, that satisfies and pleases you. Once you have that accomplished, you will also have the confidence and conviction to believe in your book through the publishing process.)
And if you have written the best book that you possibly can, then believe in your book. Talk about it. Tell the world about it. Keep putting it forward, no matter how shy or reclusive you are by nature. You had to grow to write the book, so you may have to grow to promote it as well. Be willing to be brave, the hero of your own life story.
What is there about writing that makes your heart race or your mind quicken or your imagination see an altogether different reality? What challenges you? Be willing to experiment with words and language as if you were a child with finger-paints. Get into it! Let yourself be messy. You can always revise and edit later on.
Write your rough draft as if you were writing a letter to your best friend or your mother, someone who loves you no matter what. Again, you can revise later -- after you have that completed rough draft. (It is very hard to write a rough draft from start to finish when you are worrying about what an editor is going to think about your manuscript. Forget about the editor until after you have a rough draft, then a revised draft, that satisfies and pleases you. Once you have that accomplished, you will also have the confidence and conviction to believe in your book through the publishing process.)
And if you have written the best book that you possibly can, then believe in your book. Talk about it. Tell the world about it. Keep putting it forward, no matter how shy or reclusive you are by nature. You had to grow to write the book, so you may have to grow to promote it as well. Be willing to be brave, the hero of your own life story.
Amy Z. Rowland
I "see" the scene and the character interactions in a fragmentary, intuitive way, reach for my laptop, and let my fingers fly over the keys. That's when I'm "inspired."
There are also days when I am not inspired, but I write because I want the habit of words flowing through my mind and onto the page. Sometimes what I write surprises me because it is much better than what I expected would be forthcoming on a day when I wasn't in the "mood" to write.
To me, writing fiction isn't about moods; it's about loving the language and the process of story-telling. It's joyful -- although sometimes it also requires patience.
There are also days when I am not inspired, but I write because I want the habit of words flowing through my mind and onto the page. Sometimes what I write surprises me because it is much better than what I expected would be forthcoming on a day when I wasn't in the "mood" to write.
To me, writing fiction isn't about moods; it's about loving the language and the process of story-telling. It's joyful -- although sometimes it also requires patience.
Amy Z. Rowland
Synchronicity! I have always been fascinated by dragons, so it was natural to want to feature them in my first young adult fantasy. I have also long been interested in astronomy and the particulars of parallel worlds. Setting Dragonkin: Awakening in Pottstown, PA (and a parallel world Pottstown) made sense to me because I have liked the town since I was a child -- and now I work here. As for the characters (who range in age from eleven to mid-thirties) developing intuition, I struggled with my own flashes of intuition growing up. Now I teach intuition workshops. I think I understand both the challenges that face these characters and the joy of discovering they are guided by an inner wisdom.
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