Ask the Author: Elle Carling
Answered Questions (5)
Elle Carling
I love fantasy novels—as a young girl I enjoyed reading the J.R.R. Tolkien collection. Stories with fairies, little forest creatures, and colorful landscapes of faraway worlds are my favorites. Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series is another contender because wouldn't we all want to meet Jamie Fraser in 1743 Scotland?
Elle Carling
I played the "single's scene" in Los Angeles for a while, including being set up by friends and using online dating apps. After sharing my stories with other single friends and then listening to their experiences, I gathered material that was funny, sad, and sobering—but relatable. A friend of mine was catfished by a guy on an app, giving me the idea for the storyline. It's open season for anyone to bamboozle or be bamboozled on a dating app because sometimes we want to overlook the obvious to make that love connection.
Elle Carling
Don't stop—keep writing! I admire those who genuinely enjoy writing, whether it's a short story or manuscript. But life has a way of derailing a writer from their completion. Days beget days, etc, and before you know it—a year or more has passed. It also depends on what you'd like to achieve with your writing. I'd hoped to write a novel that readers would not only relate to but find it interesting enough to discuss over a text, phone call, or post. Regardless if one's writing is published, it's still cathartic to pen a few paragraphs or several pages.
Elle Carling
I love telling stories—if they're from my dreams, random thoughts about plot twists, or just a retelling of an event from my day. Recounting someone's "story" to others and giving this voice a life is powerful—even if "she" is fictional. Writing a few paragraphs about a scene or an exchange of dialogue and then sharing the ideas with someone who cares to listen is about advancing communication. We all want to be seen and heard—if someone takes the time to hear us or read what we've written, we've really achieved something!
Elle Carling
The truth is that I've never really had "writer's block" since I can type for hours—at the kitchen table, in the carpool line, sitting on an airplane, or in the wee hours of the night when my Sleeptime Tea isn't effective. It always comes down to being happy with the writing and if it advances the plot and characters' journey or purpose in the story. After I edit and edit and then edit some more, what I've whittled it down to usually coalesces with the storyline.
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