Ask the Author: Cassandra Austen
Answered Questions (4)
Cassandra Austen
I do believe that writers need to write. But I don’t believe that there is a “right” way to write. Some people plan. Some people just write and write and write without any plan. Some people dictate (I can’t). Some people write longhand (I can’t.) Whatever it takes, do that. But make sure you are honest, that you know where you are weak and you know where you are strong. Get good feedback, not from friends, but from people who are ahead of you in the game. And don’t give up or lose hope! All good things take time.
Cassandra Austen
I think most writers would say that the best thing about being a writer is that sense of "flow" when you are writing and you lose track of time, because you're so thoroughly immersed in your fictional world. I do agree with this, but I wish to add that the most surprising thing that has happened to me is the connections that I've developed with readers all over the world who are touched by the world I created in my writing. I'm a wallflower and I don't socialize easily, so I have been gratified and amazed at how I've been able to meet people who share a "certain something" with me and my characters. It's been wonderful, and it's my reason to keep writing!
Cassandra Austen
It kind of depends. Sometimes it's writer's block, but sometimes it feels like writer's block but it's really a period of quiet. Novelists need this, and the world is so busy and noisy nowadays, we can find ourselves unable to produce because we aren't letting our minds rest. Therefore I can't wait until writer's block happens in order to deal with it; I have to deal with it before it happens. So my biggest tool against writer's block is meditation; my second biggest tool is regular (hard) exercise, the kind where it's borderline unpleasant. And my third is to have regular doses of stories, whether television, movies, or books. The imagination goes stale if you let it. If I take care of myself in all of these areas, and I find that I'm not writing, I have to conclude that it's not time to write.
Cassandra Austen
I am rushing to finish editing a novella called TWELFTH NIGHT, which I don’t actually plan to publish! It’s a gift for the people who followed me and encouraged in the year before I published my novel, THE PORTRAIT. I started writing TWELFTH NIGHT as part of a flash fiction challenge back in December, and I thought I would be done by Christmas. Silly me! I don’t write short stories very easily, so I don’t know why I thought I could write flash fiction! I hope I’m done soon, because I’d like to send it out to my list as soon as possible. If anyone wants a copy, you’ll have to sign up at my website! Https://www.cassandraausten.com/newsl...
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