Ask the Author: Jeff Atchison
Answered Questions (6)
Jeff Atchison
I fell off the toilet and hit my head on the sink.
Jeff Atchison
I helped a friend with his first novel. He was having a hard time with it and he let me assist. When we finished, I felt I had a bit of a knack for telling a story (not exactly for writing).
Jeff Atchison
I have an enormous amount of world to cover and plenty of open endings to draw from. The second book will likely pull in a few directions. I ended the book leaving you with more questions than answers ...you're welcome!
The fight with the green eyes seems most pertinent so that will be in the foreground, but I have a lot of other things brewing in the back.
The fight with the green eyes seems most pertinent so that will be in the foreground, but I have a lot of other things brewing in the back.
Jeff Atchison
Stop aspiring. If you can read this post, chances are you have ALL the tools you need to write. Nothing gets done if you just sit on your hands, and you'll never know what you can do until you try.
Jeff Atchison
I would like to change the word writer to storyteller. And the best part is sharing it, then hearing how much others enjoyed the trip.
Jeff Atchison
I wouldn't say I had much writer's block, except in the beginning. I had two characters, Noah and Lily, and a desire to build a story around them.
For the most part, I couldn't start writing until I created detailed notes of the characters. Once I got an understanding of their personality, I was ready to throw them into a story.
The dialogue was sometimes a bit of a skip-and-come-back-to-it kinda deal. If I was stumped on the details of the conversation, who said what, and what message I needed them to get across, I might stew on it for a bit. Sometimes I would just put notes and move on to another part of the story.
My brain was (is) full of a ton of content. It doesn't take much for me to just piecemeal it all and stitch it back up later. Technology is a wonderful thing.
I guess my advice for writer's block is, if you are stuck on a certain spot, go around. Work another point in the story until that one clears up. Once you are ready to stitch them back up you can work on how you want to bridge the parts together. At least at that point, you'll have parts to work with. Outlining helps, too. I didn't start with an outline, but at some point, I added one and just started filling in the holes. This really helps when working on multiple sections.
For the most part, I couldn't start writing until I created detailed notes of the characters. Once I got an understanding of their personality, I was ready to throw them into a story.
The dialogue was sometimes a bit of a skip-and-come-back-to-it kinda deal. If I was stumped on the details of the conversation, who said what, and what message I needed them to get across, I might stew on it for a bit. Sometimes I would just put notes and move on to another part of the story.
My brain was (is) full of a ton of content. It doesn't take much for me to just piecemeal it all and stitch it back up later. Technology is a wonderful thing.
I guess my advice for writer's block is, if you are stuck on a certain spot, go around. Work another point in the story until that one clears up. Once you are ready to stitch them back up you can work on how you want to bridge the parts together. At least at that point, you'll have parts to work with. Outlining helps, too. I didn't start with an outline, but at some point, I added one and just started filling in the holes. This really helps when working on multiple sections.
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