Ask the Author: John M. Bauer
Answered Questions (6)
John M. Bauer
Well, I just released Dorus so anything I may or may not currently be working on is secondary to shouting into the void about my new book!
John M. Bauer
I find motivation in everything from the mundane to the esoteric. I count among my influences the likes of Chaucer and Sakaguchi. There is no single source of inspiration for me, but rather an infinite web of possibility in the myriad interactions we forget each and every day.
John M. Bauer
Write as much as you can and don't be afraid of the results. The first step of learning anything at all is being exceptionally bad at it. You will be a babbling baby until you have the confidence to speak words with the intention you desire.
I would add that you should never accept anyone's "universal advice." Defining how you want to express yourself is a deeply personal affair and as such what works for one person may not work for another.
Find what allows you to keep writing and dive deep with that motivation in your heart!
I would add that you should never accept anyone's "universal advice." Defining how you want to express yourself is a deeply personal affair and as such what works for one person may not work for another.
Find what allows you to keep writing and dive deep with that motivation in your heart!
John M. Bauer
As a bit of a cheesy tagline I like to say I AM WORDS & STORIES.
While the claim is big and bold, it's closer to the truth than my shy sensibilities would like me to say. Working in writing for the better part of what can be called my career, it took a long time for me to accept that storytelling and breathing life into a voice is considered a skill at all.
That is a long winded way to say that for me the best thing about writing is that it allows me to be who I truly am.
While the claim is big and bold, it's closer to the truth than my shy sensibilities would like me to say. Working in writing for the better part of what can be called my career, it took a long time for me to accept that storytelling and breathing life into a voice is considered a skill at all.
That is a long winded way to say that for me the best thing about writing is that it allows me to be who I truly am.
John M. Bauer
At the time of answering this, my most recent book is Dorus and the inciting incident was largely due to two factors. First was an extreme disappointment regarding the failure of my previous book to real capture an audience, Significatorius.
While working and writing my harvest festival celebration, I intentionally drifted away from my usual style in an attempt to court new readers. There's a lesson about foreign species of trees falling in unexplored forests somewhere in my folly, but it then led me to wanting to draft a new story closer to my own heart.
The question burning in my vague response is "so what did you write?"
For me, after being enraptured by Frieren, that meant a return to fantasy. Now, I had an established world with lore threaded between hundreds of pages already out and enjoyed by at least a dozen people. Naturally, I chose a path through the dark wood I had yet to explore in the Epic of Maneus.
While working and writing my harvest festival celebration, I intentionally drifted away from my usual style in an attempt to court new readers. There's a lesson about foreign species of trees falling in unexplored forests somewhere in my folly, but it then led me to wanting to draft a new story closer to my own heart.
The question burning in my vague response is "so what did you write?"
For me, after being enraptured by Frieren, that meant a return to fantasy. Now, I had an established world with lore threaded between hundreds of pages already out and enjoyed by at least a dozen people. Naturally, I chose a path through the dark wood I had yet to explore in the Epic of Maneus.
John M. Bauer
The best advice, or perhaps better said description, for writer's block I've ever heard follows what MF DOOM said in an interview once. In general, creativity comes in waves and so you often need to do little more than to leave it alone.
The metaphor I find myself drawn to is waiting in a train station. You can buy the right ticket and still miss the train. Then all that's left to do is wait for the next train and hope for the best.
The metaphor I find myself drawn to is waiting in a train station. You can buy the right ticket and still miss the train. Then all that's left to do is wait for the next train and hope for the best.
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