Ask the Author: Evan Roskos
Answered Questions (5)
Evan Roskos
So funny you ask this now--I ALMOST sorta did recently. They are very hard to see because pigeons roost in protected spaces and the babies stay in the nest for 2 months! I’m sure you know these fun facts and that’s why you asked.
But here’s the thing--there’s a morning dove nest right outside my back door this year. My neighbor says the mother has nested in his backyard for YEARS and this year it chose a huge huge bush on our property line. I noticed that a morning dove was nearly beheading me anytime I went outside, and then sitting on the fence, likely threatening me with her various noises. The nest was just high enough that I couldn’t see the little ones. So that’s as close as I’ve gotten!
But here’s the thing--there’s a morning dove nest right outside my back door this year. My neighbor says the mother has nested in his backyard for YEARS and this year it chose a huge huge bush on our property line. I noticed that a morning dove was nearly beheading me anytime I went outside, and then sitting on the fence, likely threatening me with her various noises. The nest was just high enough that I couldn’t see the little ones. So that’s as close as I’ve gotten!
Evan Roskos
I’m sure there’s a psychological block that some writers experience. And I’m sure it’s horrible. Other writers say (and I’ve said too) that there is no such thing as writer’s block. I’d modify my stance to be: writer’s block is often not an inability to write, it’s a sign that there’s something wrong in the manuscript.
But I haven’t experienced what I would label writer’s block. I’ve experienced days or weeks where I can’t write because nothing seems interesting. But that’s due to my mental health issues, not something I call writer’s block. That’s the reality and I have to be sure I take care of my mental health because it impacts more than just my writing, it impacts my daily life, relationships, etc.
But I haven’t experienced what I would label writer’s block. I’ve experienced days or weeks where I can’t write because nothing seems interesting. But that’s due to my mental health issues, not something I call writer’s block. That’s the reality and I have to be sure I take care of my mental health because it impacts more than just my writing, it impacts my daily life, relationships, etc.
Evan Roskos
Do not be afraid to set aside or even abandon a manuscript. Some stories are good but the execution is bad. You’ll lose confidence and time remaining loyal to a manuscript that’s not going to work. When I finished Dr. Bird I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t know if I wanted to publish it. So the manuscript sat on my computer, unread, for a year. When I read it again I loved it, edited it, then queried agents, etc.
Evan Roskos
I’m always working on projects. Which is a boring answer for it’s best not to talk about specifics except to say the following: one project is about cartoons and suicide. Another is about music and mental health and siblings. And another is about what people do when they think they’ve totally ruined their lives but actually have to keep on living.
Evan Roskos
Inspiration doesn’t work like I thought when I was first starting to write (way back in high school). It’s not a magic element that I wait for. In fact, the more I write a project, the more inspired I can become because my brain’s threading strands and possibilities together regardless of whether I’m at my writing table or not. Does that mean my inspiration is circular? I write because I’m inspired and I get inspired because I write? Hmmm.
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