Ask the Author: Betty Cross
Answered Questions (7)
Betty Cross
I looked down at what I had written in a mixture of horror and bitter disappointment. I just didn't know how to write a horror story.
Betty Cross
Many things can cause a blockage. (A) You come to a place where you don't know what a character is going to do next. (B) you suddenly spot an immense plot hole, and you don't know how to fix it. (C) you gradually or suddenly find yourself bored with this particular project. But the remedy is always the same. Go do something else creative. If you have a talent for crafts, such as jewelry-making or costuming, do that. I'm not blessed with either of those, so when I put my own work aside, I write fan fiction or make notes for future writing projects. Eventually, you'll get your mojo back.
Betty Cross
My most recent book is still in the hopper at a publisher's office. It's Dispelled Illusions, the 2nd book in the Danallo Chronicles trilogy, of which Discarded Faces is the 1st. The idea was a simple one. The dictatorship is gone, but what are the people of Danallo going to do with their freedom? Everybody mistrusts everybody else, and some people want to dissolve Danallo altogether. The events of the book organically grow out of the mistrust that life under NTP rule engendered in the first book.
Betty Cross
Keep writing. Accept that your earliest efforts won't be very good, but keep trying. Also read, both in the genres you want to write in and outside them. Don't worry about inspiration. You'll get ideas as you write.
Betty Cross
I've never figured out where creativity comes from. But I do know this: It helps to have the same time of day to do writing, every day. Your brain will eventually get programmed to be creative. I do my best work between noon and 8 pm.
Betty Cross
Holding the published book in your hands, seeing your name on the cover, and thinking, "I made this! I made this!"
Betty Cross
I just submitted Dispelled Illusions, Book Two of the Danallo Chronicles to Baen Books. Discarded Faces was the first book. I'm now working on the third volume of the trilogy, Unleashed Hopes.
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