Ask the Author: Nancy Buell
Answered Questions (6)
Nancy Buell
You know, I don't have it. Writing is my go to activity, all day, any day. I write poems, I copy phrases, I think about writing and spin out actual words in my head. I have to say, thought, that my protagonist is in my head. If I sit down with a blank screen and my fingers on the keyboard, Annie will come out right away. To help those with block, I recommend writing "free writes" for 10 minutes every day. You'd be surprised what's in your brain that will come out under such "open" sessions. Used to use a book called "Writing to be Read." Helped students.
Nancy Buell
Being able to control your own narrative. Hands down.
Nancy Buell
Trust your voice. It's sometimes hard. I am such a mimic that I had to basically stop reading the work of others, so that I could make certain that I maintained a consistent voice. After several years, I no longer had to worry about it. My second recommendation is to spend the money to get what you think your best work through a literary edit. Even though I have degrees in English and much publishing experience in academia, I learned so much from the editor. It was a one-time thing, and well worth it.
Nancy Buell
I am currently trying to balance a return to jewelry making with thinking through the "second" ending to Just Politics. have been working on a sequel in my mind ever since. I think you might watch for BEST SERVED COLD in the next year, and it will take up the rest of that first case, most of which Annie worked alone before the Cold Case Unit was formed.
Nancy Buell
I write because it is the voice I have now, at my age. I think we all want our voices to go on, especially women, when our professional career has ended. I am inspired to say something. I'm sure you are, too. I do my best thinking in writing. I tend to get "flashes" of the beginning of a book, which I have learned to call "visitations" from my protagonist in the Alaska Cold Case Mysteries series. Annie is in there, and when I say I'm not going to write anything for a time, because 7 books in 5 years is a lot, she waits a day or two and then says something like "Annie woke up in the hospital." Then I have to go and see what she is talking about, and it all starts with just putting your hands on the keyboard.
Nancy Buell
It's interesting how often a true crime show or documentary will actually stimulate you to think about something related which happened in Alaska. We spent a long time there, and unlike many, our main jobs involved considerable bush travel. So the ideas for our books come from real experiences. Similarly, my hybrid memoir and my poetry were inspired by true events. I've never thought of myself as particularly creative. I modify and watch what unfolds.
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