Ask the Author: Jim Riva
Answered Questions (5)
Jim Riva
I just keep thinking about how to get from A to B – while taking a shower, exercising, eating dinner, or whatever – and sooner or later, an idea will come to me. But I don’t just want any idea of how to get from A to B; I want the best possible idea of how to get there. When that happens, or seems to happen, it can be very exciting. Unfortunately, the excitement doesn't last long because then there’s the matter of getting from B to C, and so on.
Jim Riva
I am presently working on a three-chapter story (historical fiction) about young Julius Caesar: at ages ten, eighteen, and twenty. I am also working on my first horror story, although it has become a comic horror story. (I can’t seem to get away from humor – not that I've really tried.)
Jim Riva
It’s very important to not only accept criticism, but to actually seek it. It took me a long time to get to this point, but I can’t stress it enough. Giving manuscripts to family members and close friends may be good for the ego because they basically tell you what you want to hear, but giving them to straight-talkers who provide good criticism enables you to make the story better – and that’s what the goal should always be. When I pass manuscripts to people, I make it very clear that I do not want a pat on the back, at least not at that point. What I want is good, old-fashioned criticism, and I will think about it with an opened mind. It took me a long time to get to this point as well.
Jim Riva
As a writer of fiction, the best thing for me is the creative process. I love to create stories that provide entertainment; and since I am a humorist, I love to hear people say that I made them laugh out loud. I firmly believe that laughter is good for your health, and I do my best to write very ‘healthy’ books.
Jim Riva
I don’t wait for inspiration because I could be waiting for a very long time. Instead, I go at it like I go at my regular desk job – by sitting down and putting the time in, and this often means grinding it out. But here’s the way I look at at: If I go six days without any real progress but get clicking on the seventh day, then that’s a good week – and it might even be a very good week.
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