Ask the Author: Sarah Stone
Answered Questions (2)
Sarah Stone
My favorite part of being a writer is the people -- the friends and colleagues and students I've come to know through reading, writing, and teaching. And also the people I invent, my characters, who come to feel alive to me. Then there are other people's characters, other people's books. When I write (or read), I get to live many lives, not just one. And when my books move or interest other people, and they write me letters -- that's one of the most exciting and happy moments for me as a writer, to know that I've made something that's meaningful to someone else.
Sarah Stone
When I get stuck, I try to get a sense of what's happening, to listen to my writing self. Am I trying to write a final draft, rather than a discovery draft? Can I let myself just write badly? Can I skip the scene I'm writing and work on a different one? Is there something I need to learn in order to write the next piece? Is it time to do a freewrite to speculate about what might happen next, or even just to explore what the obstacle might be?
I used to panic when I couldn't write, but now I regard it as part of the process. So I give myself options and try to do whatever seems most alive or interesting in that moment.
And if all else fails, I go for a walk or let myself read and assume that my writing brain is working away, under the surface, and at some point I'll get the glimmer of an idea, or a phrase, and that will help unlock the door so I can move forward.
I used to panic when I couldn't write, but now I regard it as part of the process. So I give myself options and try to do whatever seems most alive or interesting in that moment.
And if all else fails, I go for a walk or let myself read and assume that my writing brain is working away, under the surface, and at some point I'll get the glimmer of an idea, or a phrase, and that will help unlock the door so I can move forward.
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