Ask the Author: Michele Poague
Answered Questions (6)
Michele Poague
I had been doing research on the book I’m presently working on and fell asleep. When I woke up this scene was playing in my mind: a young dark-haired woman was frantically trying to move a broken beam from an old woman’s chest. Flames licked at the walls and smoke blurred the scene. The old woman was pleading with the younger one to take care of her husband. Sitting up in bed, I asked myself; who were these women and how they came to be in this horrible fire. Silly as it seems, I asked them and then let my mind wander. By lunchtime I knew their story. As I got to know them better, I learned about their friends and family as well.
Michele Poague
I imagine a character and put them in a situation. Sometimes it’s as simple as walking in on a friend crying. From there, I ask; who, when, why, and where, in no particular order. When one of the characters comes to life in my mind I start writing down what they say. Sometimes they’re just silly or dull but once in a while I meet someone really fascinating.
Michele Poague
My current project is a ghost story of sorts. A twenty-something cocktail waitress is saddled with a rundown hundred–year old house in the middle of a very bad part of town. While remodeling, she wakes up the ghost of a 1920’s jazz singer. She has zero experience with construction or ghosts but is determined to help the ghost passover and to make the house livable once again.
Michele Poague
Write. It sounds so simple but the key to being a writer is to write. Don’t tell people about the book you want to write —write it down. Don’t worry about the grammar or plot. You can repair anything in the editing process but you must first have something to edit. When you get stuck, do character outlines. You will be surprised at how much you can learn about a character’s wants and needs when you start to imagine their background. Don’t worry if the character fits the needs of the story you're working on. Sometimes they will have a story of their own.
Michele Poague
Meeting new characters. I often go so far as to find pictures on the Internet that resemble my characters. They come to life in my mind and each one has a story. While writing Ransom, book three of The Healing Crystal trilogy, I needed an ambitious female character to make a play for power. I wrote the background outline for Ensaris and set her in play. By the fifth or sixth chapter, she totally wimped out on me. She kept telling me a Family Mediator wouldn’t think that way or do those things. Try as I might, she refused to be power hungry. I had to replace her with a security guard who, to that point, had been very inactive.
Michele Poague
I write. I push through it. I clear the room of distractions and make myself write something. For me, the act of writing usually opens the floodgates of creativity.
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