Ask the Author: Cheryle Coapstick
Answered Questions (6)
Cheryle Coapstick
Walk away. Read for a bit then sit down and write anyway. I may write pages of drivel but out of it comes a sentence or two that's usable. Writing is easy, rewriting is hard.
Cheryle Coapstick
Living with your characters while you are writing, visiting them when talking with those who've read your book and enjoyed it.
Cheryle Coapstick
Write. write and then write some more. When you are not writing, read. Read the authors you admire. Read the first time to enjoy the story then reread for the characters, the dialogue, the structure. Try to discern why this author is your favorite. Artists used to copy the old masters, its how they learned. I have copied chapters in longhand from my favorite authors. There is something about physically copying their work that gets into your muscles on a cellular level. I'm convinced its made me a better writer.
Cheryle Coapstick
I'm currently working on book two in the My Mama's Mama series. The title is ABOUT MISS RUTH. It's the story of how she ended up in Alaska. She had to lose her dream to find her destiny.
Cheryle Coapstick
it's more perspiration than inspiration. I have so many images in my mind, characters running around in my head just begging to be put on paper. I often don't know their stories until I begin to write. If only life and laundry didn't get in the way.
Cheryle Coapstick
Bodie Thoene challenged me to write my family story so my grandchildren would know the kind of world their great-grandparents lived in. There were so many gaps in the information I had about my mother's history and when I shared my frustration with her she told me to write what I knew and let my heart fill in the rest. This I have tried to do while staying true to my mother's life and times.
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