Ask the Author: Victoria Corva
Answered Questions (6)
Victoria Corva
I'm working on a light contemporary fantasy / litRPG based on a parody Dungeons & Dragons setting.
It's weird and earnest and I hope it will resonate with anyone who has ever found solace in playing TTRPGs with friends, or who has dreamed of escaping into a fictional world.
It's weird and earnest and I hope it will resonate with anyone who has ever found solace in playing TTRPGs with friends, or who has dreamed of escaping into a fictional world.
Victoria Corva
I take a break! I watch a film, I read a book (or several), I play a video game, usually with a story element. I go for a walk. I chat to friends. In a few days, or a week if times are tough, I can usually go back.
The key to dealing with my writer block has always been to take the pressure off. And since I intrinsically want to keep writing, I return when the moment passes.
For lesser blocks, I get myself to write only a small amount. 'Just 100 words today,' I will tell myself. Or even 'just 10' if times are especially rough. Even a small amount of progress will unstick me -- and if it doesn't, I'm a few words better off than I was before.
The worst thing I can do is force myself to sit at my desk and do nothing until words arrive. But that's just me!
The key to dealing with my writer block has always been to take the pressure off. And since I intrinsically want to keep writing, I return when the moment passes.
For lesser blocks, I get myself to write only a small amount. 'Just 100 words today,' I will tell myself. Or even 'just 10' if times are especially rough. Even a small amount of progress will unstick me -- and if it doesn't, I'm a few words better off than I was before.
The worst thing I can do is force myself to sit at my desk and do nothing until words arrive. But that's just me!
Victoria Corva
Read, write, and read some more.
Finish the things you start, so that you can understand how to craft a whole story, and not just a very good start.
Get other eyes and other opinions on the things you write, but choose who you share it with carefully.
Not all critique is equal, useful, or fair, but some critique is necessary to grow.
And remember that publishing doesn't have to be the goal. It's wonderful, and I love it, but it's more than acceptable to write for the joy of it.
You are a real writer as long as you have written or are writing. And we all go through fallow periods. Don't beat yourself up if it's been a while since you last wrote. It doesn't make you any less of a writer.
Finish the things you start, so that you can understand how to craft a whole story, and not just a very good start.
Get other eyes and other opinions on the things you write, but choose who you share it with carefully.
Not all critique is equal, useful, or fair, but some critique is necessary to grow.
And remember that publishing doesn't have to be the goal. It's wonderful, and I love it, but it's more than acceptable to write for the joy of it.
You are a real writer as long as you have written or are writing. And we all go through fallow periods. Don't beat yourself up if it's been a while since you last wrote. It doesn't make you any less of a writer.
Victoria Corva
I read, I watch, I play. I consume fiction in all its myriad forms, and somewhere along the way I discover something that resonates with me. Something I feel I would change, or an emotion, or just the sheer desire to MAKE. Only story can really do that to me.
Knowing WHAT to write is usually a more amorphous process. If I consume enough fiction then I have the desire to write and am full of stories, and if I've been engaging with non-fiction then I likely have new facts and concepts I could try to spin into a new world.
But the key is always always story.
Knowing WHAT to write is usually a more amorphous process. If I consume enough fiction then I have the desire to write and am full of stories, and if I've been engaging with non-fiction then I likely have new facts and concepts I could try to spin into a new world.
But the key is always always story.
Victoria Corva
My favourite part of being a writer is when I'm editing the story into shape and it starts to look like something I could love. I find writing a difficult and tiring process, but the wonder of it finally taking form really changes that.
The best part of being a *published* author is people reading and enjoying my book. Every time I get a message from someone saying they enjoyed my work, I feel buoyant, as if I have been filled with air and light. And it makes me want to go and write more, which is very useful!
The best part of being a *published* author is people reading and enjoying my book. Every time I get a message from someone saying they enjoyed my work, I feel buoyant, as if I have been filled with air and light. And it makes me want to go and write more, which is very useful!
Victoria Corva
I'm torn. There were two fantasy worlds that strongly informed my childhood. One was INTO THE LAND OF UNICORNS by Bruce Coville. I would love to wander that world, to find the unicorn cities and learn from them all they had to teach me.
The other is the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce. Especially post-Daine and post-Alanna (think Keladry times) when the animals are smarter and sexism is really being tackled. I think I would like to teach animal behaviour at the university, like Lindall Reed. And of course I would love to learn to use The Gift, if I had it!
The other is the Tortall books by Tamora Pierce. Especially post-Daine and post-Alanna (think Keladry times) when the animals are smarter and sexism is really being tackled. I think I would like to teach animal behaviour at the university, like Lindall Reed. And of course I would love to learn to use The Gift, if I had it!
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