Ask the Author: Spencer Steeves
Answered Questions (7)
Spencer Steeves
For me, this answer is very simple: read. Writing a novel or short story can be an arduous process(I have books that have been in the works for years now, and are still only halfway finished) but I find that when I am given the chance to read, my creativity sparks, and my writing improves tenfold. Read as many different stories from as many different authors as you can. Read books that are of lower quality too, so that you can dissect what they did wrong, and try not to replicate their mistakes.
For the great door that is writing, reading is the key.
For the great door that is writing, reading is the key.
Spencer Steeves
Everyone has stories, that much I know is true. Every person who has a functioning brain and imagination has the ability to come up with stories. As I see it, being a writer means knowing how to take these stories and develop them, foster their growth and then share them with the world. Being a writer allows someone to share their views of the world with others and excersizing your creativity muscles can make you a more well-rounded person overall. I've found that learning how to write conversations has made me somewhat better at conversations in the real world, and sometimes you can get a better feel for the type of person someone is just by having experience in creating several different characters with distinct personalities.
Spencer Steeves
As someone who adores reading more than anything except perhaps the glory of nature, I constantly have a huge stock of books waiting to be read. This year, on my summer reading list, I hope to read the two books of the Kingkiller Chronicle, since there is no pending release date for the third, but I have heard it is an impressively wrought work.
Besides those tales, I have a book a friend gave me several years back that I still haven't managed to pick up, The Way of Kings by Brandon Saindon, so perhaps that will find it's way into my hands. I am also on the lookout for more books by Mercedes Lackey, so that I can continue reading along the timeline of her Valdemar series.
Besides those tales, I have a book a friend gave me several years back that I still haven't managed to pick up, The Way of Kings by Brandon Saindon, so perhaps that will find it's way into my hands. I am also on the lookout for more books by Mercedes Lackey, so that I can continue reading along the timeline of her Valdemar series.
Spencer Steeves
This is a question I ask myself a lot, and though I have seen many different worlds, there are few I would choose to visit. The Forgotten Realms is far too deadly, the number of times a year they face incursions from primeval gods or otherworldly entities makes it a hard sell. The collected lands from David Edding's stories often seem a bit drab and full of fear as well, so not my ideal place. I think Valdemar could be nice, depending on if I could choose my social status. I would enjoy being a Herald in Training, but I have no desire to work as a slave in the gem mines like Mags did. I suppose if I could choose Roland from Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages, preferably after the end of the story, where the world is constantly on the brink of war, I would accept a place such as that. The architecture is notably beautiful, and the characters in that world are undeniably interesting. I would likely take up a career as a wanderer, like Ven Polypheme, and pen a journal about my discoveries, and how the world has changed a few thousand years after his adventures.
Spencer Steeves
This is not a strategy that will work for everyone, but since I have an overflowing well of ideas that have accumulated over the years, I've been able to use a strategy of switching between projects until you find something you can work on. During that time, I also try to read as much as possible, because reading drives me to work harder and fuels my creative centers. At the moment, I have five projects all awaiting my attention, including a short story collection/novella, three novels, and a few other miscellaneous projects. I find that for me, this is the best strategy, as I never get tired of writing one story and I never need to deal with the frustration of a story not panning out the way I like after hammering at it for several months.
Spencer Steeves
At all times, I have several projects going on, since I am prone to numerous bouts of writer's block. Whenever the ideas for one project stop flowing, I head over to the next one.
Currently, I have placed the writing of the sequel to Everything Under the Sun on hold, and I am splitting my attention between a few short stories, and another book idea I had a while back based off of an NPC I made for a Dungeon's and Dragon's campaign I was running, a story called A Storm Without Warning.
Currently, I have placed the writing of the sequel to Everything Under the Sun on hold, and I am splitting my attention between a few short stories, and another book idea I had a while back based off of an NPC I made for a Dungeon's and Dragon's campaign I was running, a story called A Storm Without Warning.
Spencer Steeves
The idea for Everything Under the Sun came from several sources, as most books do. One of my all-time favorite series, the Enduring Flame by Mercedes Lackey is the series I have read the most times(Listened to it twice and read it once.) In that series, there is a large portion that takes place in a desert called the Isvai. It was from that series that I attained my interest in the desert. The other characters came from a different source. I was in a class for game design, and we had two projects, a board game, and a video game. During the design of the video game, my idea for Amaru, the Sun Maiden, and her Mother Yamaria, the Goddess of the Sun was born. Then, when it came to the board game, I realized I had to make more characters to represent the players and the enemies, and from there several other characters were developed: Leonidas Braveheart, Cynthia Flashstrike(Who won't appear until Book 2) and an older knight who eventually became Casinius. For the city aspect, I was inspired by the Fallen Kingdom series, where I also found ideas for a few other characters.
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