Ask the Author: Donald J. Bingle
Answered Questions (3)
Donald J. Bingle
Writer's block is a symptom, not a disease. An inability to continue writing can be a sign of insufficient motivation because of lack of a deadline, waning enthusiasm for a project, or distraction by something else (like a different writing project). It can also be a sign of some type of problem in the project (you don't know what happens next, you don't like the status of the current draft, you've backed the characters into a corner plotwise and don't know how to get them out, etc.). Short-term block can also occur when mixing editing functions (fixing already written sections of the project), then turning immediately to fresh, blank-page writing, which is a more creative endeavor. Try writing something else to distract you and get you back into a creative writing routine. If you have a plot problem, talk it out with a sympathetic friend. While your friend is unlikely to solve your plot issue for you (as they won't know your characters and plot as well as you), just framing the situation to ask the question can be revealing. Also, explaining why their uninformed, simplistic solutions won't work can give you insight into what the real solution is.
Donald J. Bingle
I'm currently working on a sequel to my spy thriller, Net Impact. Wet Work picks up shortly after the events of Net Impact and Subsidiary agent Dick Thornby has a lot of fences to mend ... and not just because of his overuse of explosives.
Donald J. Bingle
I'm involved in a writers' group and I often do panels on writing topics at game and science fiction conventions like GenCon, Origins, and WindyCon. One of the things I've mentioned when talking to other writers is that the search history of someone who writes mysteries and spy thrillers ends up with a lot of odd things about it. And then it occurred to me that when I submitted chapters to my group about murder or terrorist weapons and such that they would all be giving me advice on a subject that would be unthinkable in any other context. That was the genesis for Frame Shop, a mystery/thriller set in a writers' group, which gets unknowingly involved in giving out some deadly real-life advice. I've got a Kickstarter running for Frame Shop right now. Take a look at http://kck.st/YMyWaS. Remember, critiquing another writer can be murder.
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