Ask the Author: Raymond Henri
Answered Questions (6)
Raymond Henri
Okay... this gets a little off the deep end. I will probably explain more thoroughly elsewhere at another time. Ultimately, I covered my right eye with an eye patch and put a pen in my left hand. Then I told myself I would put the pen to the page in my notebook and wouldn't stop moving it until I knew what my next creative project would be. (I probably couldn't find my ideas journal.)
I never intended to draw instead of write words, but I promised I wouldn't stop my pen and there wasn't a single word coming to mind. Rather, as I drew, various parts of stories that never found a home came falling together in harmony. Some were nearly fifteen years old at that point.
That night, as I finished my abstract drawing, I had plotted out the whole eight-book series. That was July 25th, 2011. On July 26th, 2011, I started writing the first chapter of the first book, and its last paragraph. On March 31, 2015, the first book was released as an ebook.
I never intended to draw instead of write words, but I promised I wouldn't stop my pen and there wasn't a single word coming to mind. Rather, as I drew, various parts of stories that never found a home came falling together in harmony. Some were nearly fifteen years old at that point.
That night, as I finished my abstract drawing, I had plotted out the whole eight-book series. That was July 25th, 2011. On July 26th, 2011, I started writing the first chapter of the first book, and its last paragraph. On March 31, 2015, the first book was released as an ebook.
Raymond Henri
Engaging life around me. That's important, so I'm going to write it again, in case you're too lazy or thoughtless to re-read it. Engaging life around me. I get inspired from so many random and unexpected moments, I can't keep track of them. Even playing video games. My mind hits a tangent, and voom! It's off to the races.
The trick is capitalizing on the inspiration and making it work for my current project. It's a little trickier to let it go if it doesn't fit. Some brilliant ideas get jotted down on a list in a journal I highly doubt I'll be able to find years from now when I'm scrabbling for something to work on.
The trick is capitalizing on the inspiration and making it work for my current project. It's a little trickier to let it go if it doesn't fit. Some brilliant ideas get jotted down on a list in a journal I highly doubt I'll be able to find years from now when I'm scrabbling for something to work on.
Raymond Henri
The sequel to Tear of God - Elements (codenamed: ToG2). And marketing for Tear of God - Elements. The tedious, filthy, spirit-crushing marketing.
Raymond Henri
It's called "writing." Not "talking." Don't be paranoid or selfish. Let other people read it and give you their opinion. Even people you don't trust, because, let's face it, if you're paranoid, you don't trust anyone. Write every day, but never write all day. If all you do is write all day, you'll start writing stories about writers with writer's block. Blech.
The best writing advice I've ever received came from my Personal Essay Professor. She said, "good writing is never finished. It's just abandoned." At a certain point, you just gotta let that puppy fly. But, puppies can't fly. So, you probably just made a mistake. And a mess.
The best writing advice I've ever received came from my Personal Essay Professor. She said, "good writing is never finished. It's just abandoned." At a certain point, you just gotta let that puppy fly. But, puppies can't fly. So, you probably just made a mistake. And a mess.
Raymond Henri
The money. The endless, bank-crushing, Congress-buying deluge of money. And the delusions. Delusions are essential to writing, but also the best part. People tell me that some thought of mine is sheer fantasy. But, ah-ha! There it is. On the page in simple black and white. Can't dispute that. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but I don't need a thousands words to paint a picture in your brain. Yeah. Take that, Fred Barnard.
Raymond Henri
I spew forth with a barrage of totally ridiculous ideas that have nothing to do with the story or matters at hand. If nothing else, I eventually give myself a good laugh. But, most likely, the right way to move forward pops up and I continue on. I also try to limit my writing to four hours in a day.
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