Ask the Author: Gregory Phipps
Answered Questions (4)
Gregory Phipps
Write. Just write. It doesn't matter what you write - short story; essay; love letter; daily diary; complaint letter to a product or service provider; a screenplay; a poem; a sonnet; musical lyrics. Whatever. Just write. And do not, under any circumstance, throw out what you might hate, or be ashamed of. Keep it all. Why? 1) To remind you, in the near future, of how much you have developed, as a writer; and 2) Some or all of it might become the source of inspiration for a great future work.
Gregory Phipps
My most recent novel - Oak - was born out of a screenplay. I had written it ten years ago. Oak was awarded semi-finalist at a Film Festival a decade ago, and although I believed it had potential as a screenplay, I really wanted to explore the story, characters, dialogue and setting more deeply, than the screenplay genre allows. The story itself was inspired by a news item I stumbled upon, while surfing the 'net. Back in 1989, some whack job in Austin, Texas took it upon himself to poison, and eventually kill the 600 year old Treaty Oak: a tree of great age and historic significance.
Gregory Phipps
I am preparing for the launch of my debut novel - The Hermit of Carmel. Whether you are self-publishing, or working with a "traditional" publisher (large or small), all writers today are required to proactively participate in marketing their personal brand, and the title that is being released. It's a full-time job in itself. In my spare time, I am taking a first cut at editing my second novel - Oak - before shipping off to a professional editor for the more detached, unemotional and (sometimes) vicious cuts and guidance. I'm a relative newbie and still haven't gotten over the loss of 6,000 hard-fought words that came with editing Hermit of Carmel.
Gregory Phipps
Honestly, I don't get blocked all that often. My brain is constantly "on'. I wish I could shut it off, sometimes. On the rare occasion that I do experience "block", I will sit down and just start typing something - anything. I'd advise writers to just sit down and start typing "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog..." and then embellish and expand on that. Incorporate some element of the story you're working on (or trying to work on). For example: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog - who's grief over the death of its human companion had motivated it to remain, beside her grave, in the cemetery. While he had initially chased it away, the groundskeeper at Mount Pleasant had become attached to the canine, and welcomed its presence." Then just keep going. Edit out the dog, the fox, the groundskeeper as necessary. Just write something and you'll end your block.
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