Ask the Author: I.J. Schecter
Answered Questions (6)
I.J. Schecter
Read everything you can get your hands on, and write as much as you can to hone the craft, find your voice and get in touch with the process. The act of writing itself is the hardest part for many people to conquer. The act of revising is a close second. Write down everything you can, with no regard to how good it is. Just build the muscle. Study others. Think actively about why the stuff you think is good is good and why the stuff you think is bad is bad. Emulate the good; learn from the bad. Read multiple authors, in various forms, across genres.
I.J. Schecter
I can't remember a time when I wasn't driven to write. Since I was very small, I've instinctively expressed myself through stories, poems, sketches, screenplays and other forms of writing. Writing has always been like oxygen to me: a survival need.
I.J. Schecter
I am putting the final touches on the manuscript for my upcoming book, Do You Ever Cry, Dad? a practical and emotional guide for dads going through a family breakup.
I.J. Schecter
The exhilaration of getting a setence right. The glorious high of finding the right word at the right time. The adrenaline rush of capturing something well. The thrill of the blank page and the endless possibilities it holds. The stratospheric moment when someone tells you that something you wrote had an effect on them.
I.J. Schecter
I don't believe there is such a thing as writer's block. I believe there are practical distractions. I believe there are many excuses not to write. I believe there are many false things we can tell ourselves that sound like descriptions of what people may call writer's block. And I believe that we have many different moods, physical states, and energy levels that contribute to how well disposed we are to write at a given moment. But I don't believe there is any real syndrome that prevents us from writing at any moment that we wish to write.
I.J. Schecter
I am a dad to three wonderful kids. Being a father is the most important and most special thing in my life. Five years ago, I split from my wife. During the period following the family breakup, I experienced different struggles trying to help us move forward as a family and attempting to guide my kids through the extremely difficult process of adjusting to their new reality. I spoke to many other dads at different stages of this journey as well, and realized that what each of them needed most was the emotional support and practical guidance to take the steps forward into the next chapter of life. I realized how much I could have benefited from such advice, and how it could have helped me avoid certain mistakes, or at least help provide the assurance that things would slowly get better. I decided to propose the book as a way to help other fathers, and their kids, make passage through this tumultuous stage.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more