Ask the Author: Anne Newgarden
Answered Questions (9)
Anne Newgarden
I have certainly used my own life as the plot for a book, with Adventures of a Soul, and the mysteries were the mysteries of life and the universe that I explored in that book, and am still exploring: Who are we, where do we come from, where are we going, why are we here, and what abilities do we all possess that we may only be awakening to? The books I'm working on now are still attempting to answer those questions. To me, nothing is more interesting than that search, and nothing is more fun!
Anne Newgarden
I wake into a world with no books, no reading, no language, no communication via the written or spoken word. In the end, it's just a bad dream. :)
Anne Newgarden
As I read this, it's September, and the air is turning cool...so no summer reading list at the moment! As for a fall reading list...as always, books on the metaphysical, research for upcoming books I'm writing, especially on healing, channeling, manifestation, and multiple timelines/parallel universes and realities! :)
Anne Newgarden
Before I wrote the several non-fiction books I've now written, I was always, ALWAYS interested in writing fiction. It's what I nearly always read growing up and for most of my adult life, up until the time that I began living the adventures in Adventures of a Soul, when my reading turned primarily to books about the metaphysical--with a little infusion of fiction now and then. Had to have it! So that is a very tough question. I'll just go with what pops into my head first. I would like to go into the world of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. It's one of the books I read OVER and OVER as a child, young adult, and adult. I still enjoy seeing all the movie versions that continually come out too. I would like to meet the Marches because they feel like my family to me--meaning, I feel like a part of their family. There is something in that book that endures, and it's partly the wonderful writing, partly the focus exclusively on female characters and female points of view, partly the beautiful rendering of family, love, and loss...and of course I relate to Jo, and her yearning to be a writer and to prove herself in that world. I'd like to go and experience it, and them, in person. I think I'd be friends with all the March girls, each in a unique way, and in fact with Marmee, Laurie, and all the others too. Such a fantastic book!
Anne Newgarden
I sort of answered this in another question, so forgive if it's a little repetitive. I found myself very blocked earlier in my life when I couldn't seem to finish anything I started. One of the psychics I worked with who is featured in my book Adventures of a Soul, Patricia Masters, pointed out to me that what I was calling "writer's block" was really "a writer not writing what she was meant to be writing" (I'm paraphrasing here, but that was the gist). For me, it turned out that once I found the correct material and format...in my case, first-person narrative and writing about my own experiences in the metaphysical...the "block" dropped away. This is not to say that there are not other types of writing that I can, and may, do (children's writing is another genre that always came very easily to me, and I believe I undervalued it because it did! Too often the case with our "gifts" and talents...). But I did learn that if something really causes a lot of struggle...it's probably not the right thing. And I think this applies not only for writing, but for careers, relationships, etc. Go for the path of least resistance! That's not to say you won't need to work hard and apply yourself, cultivate discipline, etc. It's just to say...if it's really like pulling teeth, or you just keep hitting a wall...try something different!
Anne Newgarden
In my book Adventures of the Soul, one of the psychics I worked with early on tells me "Writing to you is like breathing," and I do feel that way. I just don't really feel fully alive if I'm not doing it. I guess as with any of the arts, it feels really good to express yourself. I find so much fulfillment in writing. I always have something that I love to do, and I can do it nearly anywhere, provided it's a quiet place, or a place where there is a certain type of "white noise," maybe, like in a cafe, where I often do write, and I'm never bored. I always have writing to stimulate me, to stimulate my creative juices...and that's very satisfying to me. Writing calms me, almost like meditation. I think it plugs me in to a higher part of myself.
Anne Newgarden
Adventures of a Soul, and the books I'm working on now, feel like a life path to me, or a mission, even. They just feel as though they are what I am here to do. I'm always exploring, living experiences that I then write about. So I go in search of those experiences...following my nose, following what intrigues me, investigating, trying things out, remaining open, but keeping a bit of a critical mind as well. The bullshit detector, as I say in my Introduction to Adventures of a Soul. It's important when you're exploring these sorts of topics, because of course, not every practitioner you come across IS the real deal, and you have to develop discernment. I'm inspired by scientific and academic studies that are looking into things that have long been considered "woo-woo": things like reincarnation, mediumship, telepathy, thoughts affecting reality, etc. There is SO much of this kind of study going on that very few people in the mainstream know about. Really, inspiration is everywhere. You just have to follow your curiosity and passion.
Anne Newgarden
I've never been a writer who writes every day. At times I do. But not always. But when you're first starting out, I think it is important to develop discipline. Sometimes you just have to sit your butt in the chair and just write, no matter what comes out. As many a writer teacher has told me, "Writing is rewriting," at least for most of us. Just getting something on the page when you sit down is important, even if it seems like drivel. You later can go back and see if there is any sort of little gem in there, even a tiny one, or a twinkle of one you can't quite see, and then...work with that. My best advice, I think, is that it sometimes takes a long time to find your niche, to find the type of writing that you're really meant to do. There may be more than one type, but...I tried for years to do writing that I really WANTED to do, but which did not come easily for me. I had "writer's block" for a long time, where I could not finish anything. When I started to do the metaphysical memoir writing, it just flowed...and I was never blocked. So I'd say...look for that. Look for what comes easily to you, and don't undervalue that. Children's writing came easily to me, and I didn't really value it when I was younger. I thought everyone could do it. Turned out that's not the case. Now I value it much more. Be patient with yourself, try various types of writing, and see where things really flow. Where you're not hitting resistance. Where you feel like...Ahhhhh...yes. This is not a struggle. It always takes effort. But it should not be such a struggle...in my humble opinion!
Anne Newgarden
I'm currently working on two more books in the same genre and format as Adventures of a Soul...First person point-of-view books about my further explorations in the world of alternative healing--especially energy healing of various sorts--and in the world of channelers and channeling--especially as it relates to the idea of the global shift in consciousness now occurring on the planet. The second is in the research phase currently, so likely the healing adventure book will be next. I've also been working on a few children's books to do with the idea of one's thoughts and emotions affecting one's reality, and other metaphysical notions.
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