Ask the Author: Sharon Burch Toner
Answered Questions (9)
Sharon Burch Toner
A young girl walking along a country road on her way to school noticed a strange black object ahead in the middle of the gravel road. As she neared it became a tall, pointed witch’s hat that she lifted to find a pile of dust that swirled above her head, making her head spin.
Sharon Burch Toner
Life, itself, can be a mystery. But to narrow the question a bit, I’ll focus on a mystery that was puzzling at the time, and for which I’ve never had a satisfactory answer.
I lost my daughter when she was too young to have a major illness (or so I believed). We had a close relationship and shared our thoughts and experience. But there were a few things she always wanted me to experience. One of those was a cruise on a student ship. When she was in college, she went around the world on this ship and thereafter encouraged me to take one of the shorter cruises they offered.
But I was “too busy” or lacked the disposable funds, or . . ..
Then some time after she was gone and I had retired, I was offered a free three-week cruise on this ship. I don’t know how it happened or why. The invitation came out of the blue.
I went (of course) and it was a wonderful experience, poignant and affirming and exciting. I met many passengers, both new and some staff members who remembered her.
Was it, as I came to believe, that from wherever she was, she managed to put it together for me to have the cruise? Or was it that friends from the organization who had known her and whom I’d met arranged it?
It was a marvelous and tantalizing mystery that continues to intrigue me.
I lost my daughter when she was too young to have a major illness (or so I believed). We had a close relationship and shared our thoughts and experience. But there were a few things she always wanted me to experience. One of those was a cruise on a student ship. When she was in college, she went around the world on this ship and thereafter encouraged me to take one of the shorter cruises they offered.
But I was “too busy” or lacked the disposable funds, or . . ..
Then some time after she was gone and I had retired, I was offered a free three-week cruise on this ship. I don’t know how it happened or why. The invitation came out of the blue.
I went (of course) and it was a wonderful experience, poignant and affirming and exciting. I met many passengers, both new and some staff members who remembered her.
Was it, as I came to believe, that from wherever she was, she managed to put it together for me to have the cruise? Or was it that friends from the organization who had known her and whom I’d met arranged it?
It was a marvelous and tantalizing mystery that continues to intrigue me.
Sharon Burch Toner
Hello Sherrie,
Thank you for your question. I am sorry that your library isn't carrying my books.
But as to the characters, yes. I write a book a year and I spend each year with the characters and in the location (electronically). I live there and with them. They become a big part of my life. The truth is that a character in my books becomes quite real to me and often will take on a life of his/her own, sometimes becoming a bit unruly and changing the plot I had in mind.
I always enjoy bringing a book to its conclusion at the end of the story, but I part with the characters with some melancholy because I've enjoyed their company during the past year.
Thanks again for your question. I hope you enjoy the read.
Sharon
Thank you for your question. I am sorry that your library isn't carrying my books.
But as to the characters, yes. I write a book a year and I spend each year with the characters and in the location (electronically). I live there and with them. They become a big part of my life. The truth is that a character in my books becomes quite real to me and often will take on a life of his/her own, sometimes becoming a bit unruly and changing the plot I had in mind.
I always enjoy bringing a book to its conclusion at the end of the story, but I part with the characters with some melancholy because I've enjoyed their company during the past year.
Thanks again for your question. I hope you enjoy the read.
Sharon
Sharon Burch Toner
This is not an easy question. Really, I don't know. All I can say is that when a book finally is complete and has been published, I am bereft. I wander around in a sort of daze, not sure what I should be doing next. This malaise is cured only by writing again. Sometimes, the best times, the idea for the next book appears as I'm finishing the editing stage and I'll make a few notes or even write the first few pages (to be reviewed and probably rewritten, of course.)
It is as if I don't get inspired as much as I must write.
Truly, I have no real idea about the origin of the specific ideas for each book. They seem to appear as if by magic -- often overnight.
It is as if I don't get inspired as much as I must write.
Truly, I have no real idea about the origin of the specific ideas for each book. They seem to appear as if by magic -- often overnight.
Sharon Burch Toner
I've finished the first draft of "Maggie in White," the seventh of the Maggie McGill Mysteries. I've been in the editing/proofing/rewriting stage for a couple of months now. It will be out in November.
I'm enjoying this book, even this stage of it. I like all the characters and it's been a challenge to designate one as villain; however, . . ..
In this book, as in "Maggie's Ghost," there are two story lines that converge to help resolve the mystery. I like the challenge of bringing these stories together. I've really enjoyed the research necessary to do it.
I'm enjoying this book, even this stage of it. I like all the characters and it's been a challenge to designate one as villain; however, . . ..
In this book, as in "Maggie's Ghost," there are two story lines that converge to help resolve the mystery. I like the challenge of bringing these stories together. I've really enjoyed the research necessary to do it.
Sharon Burch Toner
WRITE! There's no substitute for jumping right in and going for it. When I first started writing I was working full time, absolutely sure I had no time for writing. But I made a deal with myself to sit at the computer for twenty minutes a day, five days a week, even if it was only spell-checking. I agreed that if inspiration hit, I could spend more time. Think about it. The commitment was only a hundred minutes a week. Surely I'd never miss them.
So, aspiring writer, put something down, even if it's not great, even if it's in the middle of the story. Get something down. You can change it. You can build around it. You even can trash it if later you have a better idea. But start.
BTW, I keep a document for each book of "outtakes." I put in it each major deletion from the book "just in case." The truth is, I've never gone back and used it. But it's comforting to know that the wonderful passage hasn't disappeared into the ether.
So, aspiring writer, put something down, even if it's not great, even if it's in the middle of the story. Get something down. You can change it. You can build around it. You even can trash it if later you have a better idea. But start.
BTW, I keep a document for each book of "outtakes." I put in it each major deletion from the book "just in case." The truth is, I've never gone back and used it. But it's comforting to know that the wonderful passage hasn't disappeared into the ether.
Sharon Burch Toner
There are too many wonderful things about writing to choose just one. I LOVE getting lost in the story, living in that other world for a while. I love the freedom of setting my own schedule, working into the wee hours one day and maybe only spell checking the next. I must admit that often I fall in love with my characters. It truly is a tragedy if I must kill one off as I did in the fourth book of the Maggie McGill Mysteries, Maggie's Island. And I grieve for them.
Sharon Burch Toner
I do something else. Empty the dishwasher. Take a walk. Or if it's really deep, I take a vacation -- spend a day completely away from the computer, go to the beach or go shopping with a friend. Whatever I do, what works best is giving the left brain a complete break. That gives the right brain, where all the good stuff happens anyway, a chance to come up with something creative.
Sharon Burch Toner
Where the ideas originate is a mystery. Often an idea will pop into my head when I'm just waking. Or sometimes during a walk. The idea to set "Maggie in White" in a snowy winter came last winter as the eastern United States was struggling with one intense snow storm after another.
Here in southern California it is easy to forget just how unpleasant and often dangerous a severe winter storm can be. I had to draw on nearly forgotten memories to depict the feel of intense cold.
Here in southern California it is easy to forget just how unpleasant and often dangerous a severe winter storm can be. I had to draw on nearly forgotten memories to depict the feel of intense cold.
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