Ask the Author: Diane Connell
Answered Questions (7)
Diane Connell
I think writer's block is not an isolated thing. It's comes as part of a general state of mind or emotions. A malaise.
Writers require solitude to write which can lead to isolation and inward thinking. It is very difficult to create when you feel burdened or closed in. It's like being stuck in a room without windows, a place where the imagination has nowhere to go. The creative mind needs to open up. We need to feel optimism or a sense of possibility to create.
When I feel burdened or shut down, I just keep trying. I keep knocking on the door until it opens. It can be lonely and I will go through long periods of not liking myself or what I do, but I just keep trying until something shifts and the door opens a crack.
Writers require solitude to write which can lead to isolation and inward thinking. It is very difficult to create when you feel burdened or closed in. It's like being stuck in a room without windows, a place where the imagination has nowhere to go. The creative mind needs to open up. We need to feel optimism or a sense of possibility to create.
When I feel burdened or shut down, I just keep trying. I keep knocking on the door until it opens. It can be lonely and I will go through long periods of not liking myself or what I do, but I just keep trying until something shifts and the door opens a crack.
Diane Connell
I'm working on another book set in London. My character is odd and talented but is troubled by something dark in his past.
Diane Connell
Create an outline, chapter by chapter. Know where you are going with your story and then flesh it out. An outline makes all the difference. It's too easy to wander off and get lost without a structure.
Your first draft will probably be awful and full of holes. Don't worry. Just bang it out. Keep moving forward until you have a completed first draft. Then you will have written a book and the rest is all about editing.
The second draft is probably where you will do the heavy lifting. Don't be afraid to throw out paragraphs or chapters, or even characters. Less is more. Rearrange the timeline and/or characters if necessary. Strip out unnecessary text. Show don't tell. Do whatever it takes to make it work. Then keep working on it.
Move on to third and fourth drafts. Keep refining. Throw away anything that doesn't work. A single idea that you cling to out of vanity can ruin a book. By about draft 5, your book should be singing.
Try not to talk about your unwritten story to every man and his dog. Talk can rob you of your motivation to actually write the thing. Only show your work to people you trust and even then, only take on board criticism that comes from a supportive or knowledgeable place. Criticism based on someone else's taste is utterly worthless. But someone with a keen editor's eye who can tell you what works and what doesn't, and how to improve your work, is gold.
Friends and family are usually not good editors. Indeed, not everyone can be trusted with something as precious as a draft novel. Friends and family care about you and will worry for you. They might fear you will fail, and their comments will be coloured by these fears. Then there are the underminers, the scary friends who secretly feel they should be the writer and not you. You can imagine the comments they will make.
Don't compare yourself to others and don't listen to people who want to tell you what great writers they are. They probably aren't.
Put your head down and write. Keep working at it in a dogged, determined way. Be honest with yourself. Be optimistic. Be open.
In my humble opinion.
Your first draft will probably be awful and full of holes. Don't worry. Just bang it out. Keep moving forward until you have a completed first draft. Then you will have written a book and the rest is all about editing.
The second draft is probably where you will do the heavy lifting. Don't be afraid to throw out paragraphs or chapters, or even characters. Less is more. Rearrange the timeline and/or characters if necessary. Strip out unnecessary text. Show don't tell. Do whatever it takes to make it work. Then keep working on it.
Move on to third and fourth drafts. Keep refining. Throw away anything that doesn't work. A single idea that you cling to out of vanity can ruin a book. By about draft 5, your book should be singing.
Try not to talk about your unwritten story to every man and his dog. Talk can rob you of your motivation to actually write the thing. Only show your work to people you trust and even then, only take on board criticism that comes from a supportive or knowledgeable place. Criticism based on someone else's taste is utterly worthless. But someone with a keen editor's eye who can tell you what works and what doesn't, and how to improve your work, is gold.
Friends and family are usually not good editors. Indeed, not everyone can be trusted with something as precious as a draft novel. Friends and family care about you and will worry for you. They might fear you will fail, and their comments will be coloured by these fears. Then there are the underminers, the scary friends who secretly feel they should be the writer and not you. You can imagine the comments they will make.
Don't compare yourself to others and don't listen to people who want to tell you what great writers they are. They probably aren't.
Put your head down and write. Keep working at it in a dogged, determined way. Be honest with yourself. Be optimistic. Be open.
In my humble opinion.
Diane Connell
I get to create something that hopefully brings people joy. I am compelled to write and when I don't write or when I write poorly, I don't feel good about myself.
I don't write for myself, you see. I write for you, the reader. So I want my work to be good, to have worth, and that is not always easy.
I don't write for myself, you see. I write for you, the reader. So I want my work to be good, to have worth, and that is not always easy.
Diane Connell
Inspiration, the thing that lifts the heart and mind beyond the ordinary, is everywhere. It's autumn light filtering through yellowing leaves or the look of concern on a mother's face as she comforts a crying baby. It's an overheard conversation in a doctor's waiting room or the memory of two skinned knees from a playground fight.
These are ingredients, if you like. They get thrown into a big pot of ideas that I dip into when I write. My stories, however, are fiction. My observations and experiences hopefully enrich this fiction and give it authenticity.
I find the best time for ideas or inspiration is just after I turn out my bedside light at night. That's when my head empties of clutter and begins to expand beyond the boundaries of the every day.
These are ingredients, if you like. They get thrown into a big pot of ideas that I dip into when I write. My stories, however, are fiction. My observations and experiences hopefully enrich this fiction and give it authenticity.
I find the best time for ideas or inspiration is just after I turn out my bedside light at night. That's when my head empties of clutter and begins to expand beyond the boundaries of the every day.
Diane Connell
I think my choice of career has something to do with a desire to understand the small mysteries of everyday life, and in the process understand myself. None of these mundane mysteries would be a great basis for a book but when I am writing a novel and developing characters, I find myself dipping into my holdall of small questions and mysteries. I think part of writing a compelling story is being able to plant the word 'why?' in a reader's mind.
Diane Connell
I don't have a summer reading list. I think it's because I tend not to take summer holidays. I read all year round. I tend to read in the evening so I probably read more in winter when the nights are longer. I am always on the lookout for a new book.
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