Ask the Author: Tembi Locke
Answered Questions (6)
Tembi Locke
I don’t try to go around a block. I just go through it. My training as an actor has taught me that. So I do a number of things. I’ll give myself permission to write something else until I’m freed up enough to come back to the project, essay, paragraph, or page at hand. Or, I’ll read a passage of poetry, or dance, or take a walk. Then, I set the timer and just write. Good, bad, it doesn’t matter. I won’t let the block have the last word.
Tembi Locke
I have been an actor all my professional career. So the thing I love about being a writer is that I can do it anywhere and at anytime. It doesn’t requires a carnival of people, sets, costumes and props. It’s just me, my ideas, and a pen and paper. That is incredibly freeing creatively.
Tembi Locke
Keep a notebook. Journal often. Always pay attention to everyday details. Write frequently and free of the constraint that anyone is looking. Then step away. Edit later. And even later, share your writing with a trusted friend/reader for feedback. But mainly, just write.
Tembi Locke
I am currently working on a new book idea about family. I am doing light research and collecting stories. It’s eye opening and heart opening.
Tembi Locke
I wish I could say the muse finds me easily. I have to go out hunting for her. I will often do things to help inspire me to get to the page. Those habits are my rituals. I listen to music, I take walks and I will often look at old photographs or read poetry to find my way into writing.
Tembi Locke
The idea to write From Scratch did not come fully formed in my imagination all at once. It took years of slowly realizing I had a story to tell. Then more years to give myself permission to write about the most intimate experiences of my life. Three years of travels to Sicily alone with my daughter and, finally, I could see the greater idea of the book.
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