Ask the Author: Sheila Allee
Answered Questions (6)
Sheila Allee
My most recent book, My Father's Eyes, is the result of personal experience. It's a memoir about a life-changing friendship I had with my Uncle Melrose, who had a profound intellectual disability. Because of him, I was able to overcome some emotional handicaps that had plagued me from childhood. I had to write it. It was a story I felt compelled to share.
Sheila Allee
I don't wait to be inspired. I just write.
Sheila Allee
I'm currently working on my first piece of fiction. It's based on a true story but much of it is my creation. It's been great fun learning how to create scenes, write dialogue and develop a narrative arc.
Sheila Allee
Write a lot, and I mean a lot. Get words down on paper and learn to ignore your inner critic. He/she is not your friend. Remember, there are second and third drafts and maybe more to make your prose smooth and readable, even beautiful. Also, read a lot. You learn about the craft of writing by reading published writers.
Sheila Allee
Being a writer means you get to learn, learn, learn. And that is so important to me. Learning makes life worth living. The other best thing is that writing gives me a sense of peace, a sense of knowing that I'm doing what I was put here to do.
Sheila Allee
I plow through it. I was fortunate earlier in my career in that I worked for The Associated Press. It was fast-paced and I wrote 2,000 or more words a day for eight years. It was produce copy or get fired, day in and day out. Most of the time when I get stuck, I just start writing. It might be terrible prose, but at least I'm getting words on the page. I can clean it up later.
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