Ask the Author: Carmen Richter
Answered Questions (8)
Carmen Richter
Well, it's not summer anymore, but for the rest of the year:
1. Hidden Kisses by Laura John
2. I Never Expected You by Stefanie Jenkins
3. Holding Out for Harper by Gabrielle Ashton
4. Jupiter and Her Moons by BL Mute
5. Saturn and Her Rings by BL Mute
6. Change Your Mind Parts 1&2 by Sugar Daniels
...Now let's see how many of those I actually get to read between writing and editing. Haha.
1. Hidden Kisses by Laura John
2. I Never Expected You by Stefanie Jenkins
3. Holding Out for Harper by Gabrielle Ashton
4. Jupiter and Her Moons by BL Mute
5. Saturn and Her Rings by BL Mute
6. Change Your Mind Parts 1&2 by Sugar Daniels
...Now let's see how many of those I actually get to read between writing and editing. Haha.
Carmen Richter
I'd go to Middle Earth, and I'd build a hobbit hole and live there. Haha. I love Lord of the Rings, and I'm probably short enough to pass for a hobbit, so...
Carmen Richter
I can do it in one sentence: I ran out of coffee!
🤣
🤣
Carmen Richter
A while back, while I was writing My Heart Is Sealed (book 2 of the Sealed With a Kiss series), I wrote one chapter of My Lips Are Sealed from Elijah's point of view rather than Zoe's as a character building exercise. I wanted to get inside his head a little bit and understand him better. And, when I finished, I realized that I liked it. A lot. I liked getting to know him better. So much so that I decided to give him his own book. He has a story to tell about the events that took place in My Lips Are Sealed too, and some parts of it are very different from Zoe's story. So, that's what I'm working on now. Elijah's version of My Lips Are Sealed. It's called My Fate Is Sealed, and the release is still TBD. I'm not sure if I'll do the whole series from his point of view or not, but I'm keeping an open mind. Keep an eye out for updates on my blog!
Carmen Richter
This is kind of an embarrassing story, and it's about the entire Sealed With a Kiss series, but I'll share it. I write fan fiction for the TV show Pretty Little Liars. And, a couple of years ago, I wrote a much worse version of the Sealed With a Kiss series as an Ezra/Aria fan fiction.
Cut to sometime last year: When I thought more about it, I realized that the idea for the story could be great even without the existing characters and without the whole "A" thing. The first book of the series, My Lips Are Sealed, was basically a back story for my characters. I did like the student/teacher aspect of the Pretty Little Liars story. I liked the idea of a forbidden love story between two people who, if they hadn't been in the exact right place at the exact right time, would have missed the opportunity to connect and then would have first met each other in a classroom setting. And the idea that, though they both knew it didn't look right, they couldn't deny that it FELT right. But besides that, I changed a lot of things about them. And that book laid the groundwork for the story I really wanted to write: a story about a young couple with a unique past who is trying to build a new life together and is being stalked and threatened by a faceless foe.
Cut to sometime last year: When I thought more about it, I realized that the idea for the story could be great even without the existing characters and without the whole "A" thing. The first book of the series, My Lips Are Sealed, was basically a back story for my characters. I did like the student/teacher aspect of the Pretty Little Liars story. I liked the idea of a forbidden love story between two people who, if they hadn't been in the exact right place at the exact right time, would have missed the opportunity to connect and then would have first met each other in a classroom setting. And the idea that, though they both knew it didn't look right, they couldn't deny that it FELT right. But besides that, I changed a lot of things about them. And that book laid the groundwork for the story I really wanted to write: a story about a young couple with a unique past who is trying to build a new life together and is being stalked and threatened by a faceless foe.
Carmen Richter
Write for yourself. Don't write for money, fame, or popularity. The best stories are the ones that you're passionate about. And don't feel like you have to go it alone. Get a beta reader or at least find a friend or two to bounce ideas off of.
Carmen Richter
I think the best thing is creating characters I really connect with (and that I think other people will connect with too). I genuinely enjoy spending time with my characters and writing their stories. As a matter of fact, a lot of times I feel like my characters write the story for me.
Carmen Richter
There are a few ways I deal with writer's block:
1. Sometimes I have to take a step back from my story for a day or two and brainstorm.
2. If I know where I want a story to go, but I haven't gotten there yet, I find it helpful to write future chapters and just save them for later. It gives me something to work towards, and sometimes just having a little bit of a road map helps me. If I need to edit details in those later chapters as the story progresses, I cross that bridge when I come to it.
3. I'm not opposed to bouncing ideas off of other people. I'll use my best friend (who is also my beta reader) and my boyfriend as sounding boards, and sometimes they'll come up with ideas that are even better than anything I could have come up with.
1. Sometimes I have to take a step back from my story for a day or two and brainstorm.
2. If I know where I want a story to go, but I haven't gotten there yet, I find it helpful to write future chapters and just save them for later. It gives me something to work towards, and sometimes just having a little bit of a road map helps me. If I need to edit details in those later chapters as the story progresses, I cross that bridge when I come to it.
3. I'm not opposed to bouncing ideas off of other people. I'll use my best friend (who is also my beta reader) and my boyfriend as sounding boards, and sometimes they'll come up with ideas that are even better than anything I could have come up with.
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