Ask the Author: Megan Prewitt Koon
Answered Questions (6)
Megan Prewitt Koon
Ugh. That's my honest, initial response. When I experience writer's block, I start by listening to music that puts me in the correct head space for the project. Then I back up and read some of the writing I've done while listening to the music, so I can immerse myself. If that doesn't work, I open my blog and type a draft about anything, or I go for a walk.
The truth is that sometimes the characters simply aren't in the mood to talk. That's okay. We all feel quiet sometimes.
The truth is that sometimes the characters simply aren't in the mood to talk. That's okay. We all feel quiet sometimes.
Megan Prewitt Koon
Being a creator. Giving life to voices and stories that long to be heard.
Megan Prewitt Koon
You must learn to be quiet so that you can hear the story speak to you. You cannot listen to "the voices in your head" if there's too much noise all around you. Dedicate time to sitting quietly, with a pen in your hand or not. Build a discipline.
It's also important to view your desire to share your work as the professional goal it is. As with all professional goals, you have to keep working and keep trying. A lot of publishing is luck and timing. One of my mantras is, "If you don't ask, the answer can't be 'yes'", so keep putting your work out there and take constructive criticism to heart as far as it allows the work to stay true to itself.
It's also important to view your desire to share your work as the professional goal it is. As with all professional goals, you have to keep working and keep trying. A lot of publishing is luck and timing. One of my mantras is, "If you don't ask, the answer can't be 'yes'", so keep putting your work out there and take constructive criticism to heart as far as it allows the work to stay true to itself.
Megan Prewitt Koon
I'm currently working on two projects. The sequel to Sweet Divinity is in the early stages. I know that I want to explore the theme of old South/new South when it comes to being a Southern woman, so Amanda Jane is going to be challenged both in her personal role as a woman in the South, but also in her judgments of other southern women. I'm also working on a literary fiction work about a corrupt preacher on his deathbed. I'm exploring the lasting impacts he had on those in his flock. Very different projects, but both reflective of who I am as a writer and creator.
Megan Prewitt Koon
I mainly derive inspiration from photographs. I've been working on a novel for some time now that was inspired by an antique photograph I picked up at an arts and crafts festival in Summerville, SC. Also, just two years ago I was at the country fair in my hometown in Georgia and I purchased two photographs taken by a local photographer. The instant I saw them, the story starting tugging at me, and I was able to visit the places in the photographs during my research process. I'm a very visual person, so if I see a photograph that has a story, I'm attached!
Megan Prewitt Koon
I was inspired in part by my own life story. I was raised on a farm in northwest Georgia, and it was only after leaving for college that I began to realize what a unique experience I had. So I was tossing around the idea of telling some stories about where I come from.
Around that time, I found myself at Disney World with a friend (see...Disney really is magical!), and as we talked about out families, she told me a story that became the basis for the opening story of the novel. How could I resist? From there, I had my setting and my main characters, and the novel flowed.
Around that time, I found myself at Disney World with a friend (see...Disney really is magical!), and as we talked about out families, she told me a story that became the basis for the opening story of the novel. How could I resist? From there, I had my setting and my main characters, and the novel flowed.
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