Ask the Author: Irma Fritz
Answered Questions (9)
Irma Fritz
Yes. Where are you?
Irma Fritz
Wish I had known them. My loss, I'm sure. I loved Elliott Bay books when they had their store at Pioneer Square, and would often stop there to buy a book and have lunch. Thanks for letting me remember!
Irma Fritz
Absolutely everything in your own life can be a prompt or even a plot for a book. Dreams, newspaper clippings, snatches of dialogue you overhear while you're having your latte, or people you see on the bus on your way to work or school. It's all grist for a writer's imagination.
What you need to decide first is if you want to write a memoir, following the facts to explore the mystery in your own life, or if you wish to accept the mystery and let your imagination turn it into a work of fiction.
Good luck!
What you need to decide first is if you want to write a memoir, following the facts to explore the mystery in your own life, or if you wish to accept the mystery and let your imagination turn it into a work of fiction.
Good luck!
Irma Fritz
Darn, I answered that in the question about what inspires me. But -- here it goes again!
I have always loved and written literary fiction. So now I'm trying something totally new to me: a mystery. This was inspired when I was invited to a Q&A and book signing at a woman's house with a beautiful garden. Later, I had a dream about the garden, and it stayed with me so much that I wanted to write about it. The garden I dreamed about was so magical, I thought I might write it as magical realism. Eventually, I came to the conclusion to try it as a mystery. Perhaps a psychological mystery? We'll see!
I have always loved and written literary fiction. So now I'm trying something totally new to me: a mystery. This was inspired when I was invited to a Q&A and book signing at a woman's house with a beautiful garden. Later, I had a dream about the garden, and it stayed with me so much that I wanted to write about it. The garden I dreamed about was so magical, I thought I might write it as magical realism. Eventually, I came to the conclusion to try it as a mystery. Perhaps a psychological mystery? We'll see!
Irma Fritz
Writer's block is a tough one. I experienced it after finishing a long novel that took me years to write. Writing is so much about the journey, but once a work is completed, I am very much with Truman Capote who said: "Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it." What has helped me over writer's block is joining a writers' group or signing up for a writers' workshops. It gets those creative juices and that competitive spirit flowing again!
Irma Fritz
If you were not an English major in college, learn the tools of your trade first. Those are word order, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, etc., etc. Yes, I know - boring! Learning your craft first allows you later to let your imagination go wild on the page. Good luck!
Irma Fritz
By knowing that inspiration is only the first tiny little flame that beckons you to a new adventure. Writing-and finishing- a novel is about butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard!
Irma Fritz
You get to make all the decisions!
Irma Fritz
My inspiration for my current work-in-progress came when a readers' group invited me to join them for a book signing and visit. It took place in a beautiful garden and the night after my visit I had a very strange dream about it. This new work (tentatively entitled "The Garden") will be a mystery, a new genre for me!
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