Ask the Author: Judy Light Ayyildiz
Answered Questions (6)
Judy Light Ayyildiz
I have to be sick or dealing with tragedy before I get blocked from writing, if at all. But there are days when I just don't feel as creative as others. On those days, I do office work and get submissions out and clean up my computer. Most writers basically have to be their own secretary and marketing director. When my novel, Forty Thorns, came out, my publisher gave me a marketing person for six weeks. That was heaven, but after that, I had to do all of the reaching out by myself. That is usual unless you get to be one of the top 3%. There is so much work to do that all I desire is to get back to my writing.
Judy Light Ayyildiz
The creative process and the sharing of your discoveries about life through publication. The book talks, the talks about writing, the sharing of the process through discussions and through writing workshops. Being a part of the magic of the combination of the spirit and lots of hard work. And the luck of getting it done, and finally getting it published. Having readers tell you what they found in your books.
Judy Light Ayyildiz
Read, read, read the kind of book you would like to write. Take any writing workshops led by writers whose work you admire and who are good guides for you. Write every time you get a chance and try to do that every day. Do not show your drafts to your mother or father unless they are critical writers. Show your drafts to people who know and care about writing and literature. Go to talks and lectures given by writers and others in the field. Write and rewrite based on critique, submit wherever you are able. Join book clubs and writers clubs. Take classes and programs at your local organizations of higher learning. Once you learn about a writing technique, look for ways in which authors use this technique in their work. Buy and read writers magazines. Buy literary magazines to see what is getting published.
Judy Light Ayyildiz
Polishing up my 4th volume of poetry that will come out as the 3rd in a series of Appalachian Writers published by Mountain Empire Publications in the late winter 2015.
I am also finishing my memoir The West Virginia Diet, for which I will be seeking a publisher and agent after the turn of the New Year.
I am also finishing my memoir The West Virginia Diet, for which I will be seeking a publisher and agent after the turn of the New Year.
Judy Light Ayyildiz
i was born seeing in metaphor and life is my inspiration. Creativity has saved me from the everyday.... I love to read and hear others' stories, love film that is a good script, love a good stage play. All that inspires me and moves me to challenge myself to create. I do not experience "writers' block." I only experience not having enough time to write.
Judy Light Ayyildiz
My husband is from the multi-fascinating country of Turkey, which I have visited over 30 times. The history is so vast and goes back to the cave man. My mother-in-law, Adalet, asked me to come to spend her 91st summer with her in Istanbul. She wanted to tell me her life. "I'm not important but my story is," she said. She died a year later and I began 7 years of research into Anatolia, the Ottomans, the Balkan and First World War, the Occupation, and the revolution led my Ataturk that created the Turkish Republic in 1923. Adalet was a progressive Moslem woman who believed in Justice and Freedom for all, especially women. Her story captivated me. It is the timeless theme of triumph of the human spirit and her journey parallels that of her nation.
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