Ask the Author: Peter E. Watts
Answered Questions (6)
Peter E. Watts
Sometimes it's a conversation with a friend. Other times what I'm reading. Sometimes coffee or a walk. Or struggling through matters of faith and spirituality. Really anything that opens me up and connects me to content and issues that I want to write about is a potential influencer.
Peter E. Watts
Creating content for my blog site at peterewatts.com
Peter E. Watts
I have been part of religious communities (i.e. churches) since I was a young kid. I eventually had some experiences that left me believing God was real and wanted a relationship with me. At the same time, the church environments I grew up in lacked a certain authenticity in how they treated and acted toward people. It seemed that living honestly and transparently was a rare thing in those communities. Religious people seemed more concerned with living the status quo by living cookie cutter Christian lives and hiding and pretending who they actually are. Out of these ongoing experiences in church, I began to do some soul searching. I started asking, "Is it possible to love and follow Jesus and be a genuine human being at the same time?"
Peter E. Watts
Begin somewhere. You don't have to be perfect. There is no such thing anyway. Take time away from others. Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or a drink you enjoy and just begin to write. Write down what you want out of writing. Bullet point or number some ideas of topics you want to write about and the genre of writing you want to engage in. Pick your favorite ideas and then just start writing. My first book began inside a local airport I lived near, sitting down with a cup of coffee and an old school yellow lined pad and pen. And I began to jot down some ideas for a book. Eventually I picked one, and began to outline the book. After many (MANY) revisions later, I self-published my first book. But it began with simply blocking out some time to write.
Peter E. Watts
Writing is a way of expressing myself. It's a way for me to communicate what matters the most to me. Back in college, I began discovering that I loved the process of thinking about the content I was learning in school and engaging with that content with the written word. There's something about it that is deeply satisfying to me. For me, it's an intellectual, spiritual, and earthy experience. It's raw. It requires me to be vulnerable and courageous. And it opens me up to others in a way that audible communication does not.
Peter E. Watts
I take a break. I usually leave the place where I'm writing (sometimes my home office, local library, or hideaway), and I go out to have a little fun. I go to a coffee shop, take a walk in a nearby park, take a jog or workout. Sometimes I go alone. Sometimes I go with people. Writing has a way of isolating me, as other writers can relate to, so intentionally spending time with others becomes that much more important after a long stretch of writing. It can also clear some of that writer's block and inspire fresh ideas and content.
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