Ask the Author: Christina Pishiris
Answered Questions (6)
Christina Pishiris
Music helps create a good working environment and very often, the emotion in a favourite song inspires me to get those words down.
Christina Pishiris
I'd be a maid in Hunsford Parsonage so I could eavesdrop on Darcy's first proposal and, more importantly, Lizzie's mic-dropping refusal.
Christina Pishiris
Microwaved tea.
Christina Pishiris
Being able to give my characters pithy comebacks that elude me in real life.
Christina Pishiris
Badly! I usually cycle through panic, dread, depression, self-loathing, you know, all the fun stuff. Having cheerleaders helps, or having a regular meet-up (online or offline) with other writers who expect to see a new chapter from you each time. I try and write 1000 words a day, and seeing the numbers creep up is one way to keep plodding away. Deadlines are *great* for powering through writer's block, but it's not always possible to have a cast-iron deadline when your'e writing your first book. If you're stuck on a specific scene, jump to another part of the book and see if you can unstick yourself that way. I did that with my debut, Love Songs for Sceptics. I jumped to the middle of the book and wrote till the end, then went back and filled in the middle 20,000 words or so. I made an outline of the main events of the book, and these tend to get more frequent and dramatic as the story unfolds, so the second half of the book is easier because at least you know what needs to happen. Write, even if it's crap - you can polish on the next draft. Don't get it right get it written is great advice. It took me ages to actually heed it, though!
Christina Pishiris
You'll never improve your writing till you show it to someone, but it needs to be the right someone! Join, or form, a writing group. Easier said than done, but try doing a writing course (evenings, weekends etc). You'll meet other people serious about their writing and you can suggest you meet up after the course to critique each other's work. I did the Saturday course at City Lit for a while and met loads of incredibly talented writers. My current writing group evolved from the Curtis Brown Creative course.
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