Ask the Author: Aimee Massey
Answered Questions (11)
Aimee Massey
I'd really like to know more about my family's ancestry. My mother's side is fairly well-documented, though we cannot, for love or money, track down her maternal grandmother's birth record, but my father's side is kind of a mystery. The last name is so common, at least around here, it makes searching rather difficult, and the family has been in the country so long nobody knows anything about where they came from originally. DNA says Scotch-Irish and English, but I wish we knew more.
Or there's always the mystery of the missing sock .. come to think of it, lots of authors have tackled the genealogy questions, but nobody seems to have sat down and written an "un-put-downable (I would like to slap the taste out of the mouth of any reviewer or blurber who uses that "word"; only sayin'.) epic saga about missing socks and where they disappear to and who's responsible.
Or there's always the mystery of the missing sock .. come to think of it, lots of authors have tackled the genealogy questions, but nobody seems to have sat down and written an "un-put-downable (I would like to slap the taste out of the mouth of any reviewer or blurber who uses that "word"; only sayin'.) epic saga about missing socks and where they disappear to and who's responsible.
Aimee Massey
Well, since forests are typically inhabited by various non-human animals, and these are either male or female, it depends on the sex of the animals who heard him. If they are female, yes, he is probably dead wrong. If they are male, he may be either right or wrong depending on the personal opinions and hang-ups of the males who hear him. And if they are chipmunks of either or both sexes, he is wrong no matter how right he actually is, for chipmunks are the most argumentative and contentious of mammals, and they will disagree with even the most patently correct statement for the pure joy of being contrary.
Aimee Massey
The signs were all along the beach and they warned, in big scary red letters and with more exclamation points than can be reproduced here: "Danger! Sharks! Stay Out Of The Water!" It's really too bad Patrick had never learned to read.
Aimee Massey
If I'm feeling like I want to be a kid again, I'd travel to the Hundred Acre Wood, where I'd be "busy doing nothing" as the song from the movie "Christopher Robin" says. Also, I like honey.
Or if I wanted to stay a grown-up, I think I'd see if Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt might be willing to let me tag along on a vacation with him. I'd have to get it in writing that 1. There's to be no hanky-panky between us and more importantly, 2. He is to stay out out out of international intrigue! Excitement is fine, but being taken hostage or getting blown up is a bit too much excitement.
Or if I wanted to stay a grown-up, I think I'd see if Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt might be willing to let me tag along on a vacation with him. I'd have to get it in writing that 1. There's to be no hanky-panky between us and more importantly, 2. He is to stay out out out of international intrigue! Excitement is fine, but being taken hostage or getting blown up is a bit too much excitement.
Aimee Massey
Well, I never set out with a reading list, I just read whatever strikes my fancy. Three books I've read this summer are "West End Girls" (which I loved) "Furious Hours" (which was only okay because it wasn't really what it was marketed as) and "There There" (which I really did not like at all.)
Aimee Massey
Sometimes all you really need to do is talk to somebody about a troublesome plot point and once you've figured out, for instance, just how a person might come to have a refrigerator fall on them (there are a shocking number of ways this can happen, believe it or not) you find you're over the block. Other times, you just need to walk away from the book for a little while. Familiarity really can breed contempt. There were several times during the writing of "Odric the Bold" when I felt I couldn't go on, that I hated Odric and hated blue gourds and everything that runs around in the woods. But after leaving them all alone to rest for a while, I found it easier to go back to them.
Aimee Massey
Seeing other people take pleasure or learn something new from what you've written.
That, and getting paid.
That, and getting paid.
Aimee Massey
I'm going to echo Stephen King first by saying that if you want to be a good writer, read good books, and learn the basics of good grammar, spelling and sentence structure. An editor can help clean things up a bit, but editors aren't miracle workers, you have to meet them at least halfway.
Second piece of advice: if you get a sudden idea for a story or a book or a poem, start writing it down as soon as you can. You can always change your mind about it later, but you won't know how good an idea it is till you see at least some of it written down.
Thirdly: be prepared for other people to want to offer their own advice and opinions about what you should write and how to go about it. Realize most of this is well-intentioned, but it can be very annoying. Try not to take it personally and respond with a noncommittal smile, but don't automatically discount ideas or suggestions.
Second piece of advice: if you get a sudden idea for a story or a book or a poem, start writing it down as soon as you can. You can always change your mind about it later, but you won't know how good an idea it is till you see at least some of it written down.
Thirdly: be prepared for other people to want to offer their own advice and opinions about what you should write and how to go about it. Realize most of this is well-intentioned, but it can be very annoying. Try not to take it personally and respond with a noncommittal smile, but don't automatically discount ideas or suggestions.
Aimee Massey
I've got a couple things going, in a casual sort of way. One's a story about the Clothes Fairies, those tiny beings that invade people's closets and cause clothes to suddenly not fit right. That's the only one I'm willing to drop hints about right now. :)
Aimee Massey
I have to strike while the iron is hot; if I get an idea I start writing something right away, and worry about whether it's a good idea later on.
Aimee Massey
It was no specific incident that gave me the idea; I wish I could point to one aha moment but I really can't. It germinated over several walks in the woods in different seasons, and the query of why there aren't any more blue (natural) foods than there are.
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