Ask the Author: Julie Drew
Answered Questions (5)
Julie Drew
I'm a very methodical (read: boring) writer, in that I always work from a plan. I take a lot of notes, write a lot of backstory, think about and research setting, plot, themes, character arcs, A and B story lines, and I write all of it down. Seriously, reams of notes. And I draw diagrams. And think about the whole book (or trilogy) from both macro and micro perspectives. There is no pressure in that kind of work, it's just for me. It takes time, but so far at least it has kept the dreaded writer's block from the door. If I feel stuck, it's because I need to go back and do some additional preliminary work. By the time I really start to write the book I have a detailed outline, characters I know extremely well, a plan for each chapter, and a thorough understanding of the forward movement and pacing of the story. That doesn't mean it doesn't get tweaked as I go, of course--but those are happy surprises, welcome inspiration, a better idea, and are the opposite of writer's block. The idea of having only a vague notion of what I'm trying to write, and just sort of waiting around for some magical moment of inspiration to strike, is unappealing to say the least. It makes my stomach hurt just thinking about that stress and pressure. I need more control and less chance/mystery in order to write.
Julie Drew
For me it's all about character and sentences. I love creating people that are interesting, flawed, sympathetic. Making it difficult, but inevitable, for the reader to love them, empathize with them. And then there is nothing quite like crafting a gorgeous sentence. It doesn't happen often--I need to keep working hard on this--but every now and then a sentence comes together, stands out, and you step back and think, Wow. How did that happen?
Julie Drew
Write every day. You have to get words on the page, above all else. And keep practicing. And reading. It's like the piano--you will get better and better as you play, and understand the structures and rhythms of music as you listen to other musicians do their thing. It's a craft, like anything else, not magic. You have to work hard, work consistently, and keep at it.
Julie Drew
I am lucky in that I live in an area with two major universities within 20 minutes of my house. So there are a lot of interesting speakers and events I get to attend. A couple of years ago I attended a talk by Dr. Ron Mallet, a physicist from UConn, on time travel, and his new memoir--when he was a kid his dad died suddenly, and he decided to become a scientist, invent time travel, and go back and save his dad's life. His story stayed with me--the whole what-if, universal dream of a do-over in which we DON'T lose a loved one. But of course, it never works out quite like our dreams. Endless stories are possible from this familiar idea, and Tesla was born of it, certainly.
Julie Drew
Right now I'm doing final edits on book 2, RUN, and working on the manuscript of book 3, BREATHE, so I'm pretty busy! It's such work, though, despite the difficulty of keeping timelines and different outcomes for the characters straight and believable...because time travel.
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