Ask the Author: April Davila
Answered Questions (5)
April Davila
Hi, Jodi,
Thank you so much for reaching out. I have already finished the next novel and am working on getting it published. I'll keep you posted!
Cheers,
April
Thank you so much for reaching out. I have already finished the next novel and am working on getting it published. I'll keep you posted!
Cheers,
April
April Davila
The first piece of advice I always give to aspiring writers is to just get started. Set aside a regular time and just do it. It might mean getting up early (like, really early) or working on your lunch break, or writing on the bus, but if you wait to be inspired, the odds of finishing anything are pretty slim. Be okay with the fact that your first draft will suck and just get to it.
The second thing I usually tell writers is to go ahead and take the word "aspiring" out of their description of themselves. If you write, you're a writer. You don't have to wait for publication or awards or your parent's approval to call yourself a writer. Just write something.
The second thing I usually tell writers is to go ahead and take the word "aspiring" out of their description of themselves. If you write, you're a writer. You don't have to wait for publication or awards or your parent's approval to call yourself a writer. Just write something.
April Davila
My greatest disappointment in life is that I will never get to be or do all the things I wish I could be and do. I will most likely never go to space, or fight for survival in the wilderness, or work on an ostrich ranch. But as a writer, I have the best of excuses to dive into all the things that spark my curiosity, to steep myself in them for as long as they hold my interest, then move on.
That’s how I decide what I want to write about. I pay attention to the things I find fascinating. I dig in a little and if every answer opens up more questions, I know I’ve got something I can spend some time with.
And then, when that story is done, I get to move on and indulge some other aspect of my curiosity. I can spend a few years as an ostrich rancher, then wipe my hands of that profession and spend a while exploring what it’s like to be a long distance runner, or a geneticist working on an ethically dubious project. The limits are defined only by my imagination. I love it.
That’s how I decide what I want to write about. I pay attention to the things I find fascinating. I dig in a little and if every answer opens up more questions, I know I’ve got something I can spend some time with.
And then, when that story is done, I get to move on and indulge some other aspect of my curiosity. I can spend a few years as an ostrich rancher, then wipe my hands of that profession and spend a while exploring what it’s like to be a long distance runner, or a geneticist working on an ethically dubious project. The limits are defined only by my imagination. I love it.
April Davila
I don't believe in writer's block.
That said, there have certainly been times when I've struggled with writing. Like the time I didn't understand my main character well enough, so every time I sat down to write I couldn't get the words to come. Then there was the time I needed a break from a story that I was burned out on. And that time when I was just being lazy.
When I'm feeling "blocked" I find the best cure is to dig in and figure out why exactly the words aren't flowing. Sometimes I need to do more research. Other times I need to switch projects to get some space from one that I'm feeling overwhelmed by. Sometimes I just need to put my effing butt in the chair and type something, anything, because that's the job.
That said, there have certainly been times when I've struggled with writing. Like the time I didn't understand my main character well enough, so every time I sat down to write I couldn't get the words to come. Then there was the time I needed a break from a story that I was burned out on. And that time when I was just being lazy.
When I'm feeling "blocked" I find the best cure is to dig in and figure out why exactly the words aren't flowing. Sometimes I need to do more research. Other times I need to switch projects to get some space from one that I'm feeling overwhelmed by. Sometimes I just need to put my effing butt in the chair and type something, anything, because that's the job.
April Davila
I don't have a summer reading list so much as an ever-growing pile of books on my bedside table. Currently, I'm looking forward to Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates and The Imperfects by Amy Meyerson (which comes out May 5). Both are writers I admire for different reasons.
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