Ask the Author: S.A. Klopfenstein
Answered Questions (3)
S.A. Klopfenstein
I’ll offer four things:
- The biggest piece of advice I can give is to keep at it, and make it a habit. When I make myself write everyday, I produce my best writing. It’s hard to get good if you do it sporadically, or never finish a project.
- Finish that first novel, learn from the process, and be willing to set it aside and move on to the next thing. It took me quite awhile to do that with my first novel. But it was the best thing I ever did. My second (The Shadow Watch) was so much better. And my third (coming soon) is better than the second.
- Try to take every failure or rejection as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer.
- Keep reading good books, and make note of what those writers do well. And then, keep writing. The more you write, the better you’ll get.
- The biggest piece of advice I can give is to keep at it, and make it a habit. When I make myself write everyday, I produce my best writing. It’s hard to get good if you do it sporadically, or never finish a project.
- Finish that first novel, learn from the process, and be willing to set it aside and move on to the next thing. It took me quite awhile to do that with my first novel. But it was the best thing I ever did. My second (The Shadow Watch) was so much better. And my third (coming soon) is better than the second.
- Try to take every failure or rejection as an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer.
- Keep reading good books, and make note of what those writers do well. And then, keep writing. The more you write, the better you’ll get.
S.A. Klopfenstein
I know it is simplistic, but eventually, as Stephen King says, I have to sit my butt in the chair and write, and there is no way around it. Sometimes I just have to slog through a tough scene, even if I don’t like the outcome, and get past it, and then go back later and fix it.
That being said, sometimes I do need a break from my story world, so I can come back to it with fresh eyes, and sometimes that is exactly what my stories need. I let myself take a break sometimes, and I play around with other ideas. But I really try not to break the habit of writing everyday.
That being said, sometimes I do need a break from my story world, so I can come back to it with fresh eyes, and sometimes that is exactly what my stories need. I let myself take a break sometimes, and I play around with other ideas. But I really try not to break the habit of writing everyday.
S.A. Klopfenstein
The original, and most basic, inspiration came from an idea I had many years ago, a sort of loose re-imagining of angelic beings. The Watchers in The Shadow Watch were once this sort of guardian order of magically gifted people, who could fly, and who tried to keep peace in the world until some of them sought power and brought about a magical apocalypse. The second inspiration came from an image of a gallows in a city square, and two slaves forced to build it. This image led to the event that catapults Tori onto her journey in the story.
I wrote the first 8,000 words or so of The Shadow Watch separately from the rest of the book. I had some inspiration and hurried to get it down in the matter of a few days. I let the story lie for about 5 months until I had time to start being serious about it, and until I had a better idea for where the story was going to go. I finished it about 7 months after I returned to writing it.
I wrote the first 8,000 words or so of The Shadow Watch separately from the rest of the book. I had some inspiration and hurried to get it down in the matter of a few days. I let the story lie for about 5 months until I had time to start being serious about it, and until I had a better idea for where the story was going to go. I finished it about 7 months after I returned to writing it.
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