Ask the Author: Margaret Overton
Answered Questions (6)
Margaret Overton
It was actually a classroom assignment at Harvard Business School. Honest.
Margaret Overton
I keep a list of topics I want to write about and then it takes me a while to figure out a structure in which to hold it. If I have a structure first, I'm all set. I have a time-consuming job, so finding time to write is my biggest problem. I do a lot of work in my head before I sit down. The first draft is misery. The second is better. The third is easier. After that, I begin to enjoy the process. By the end, I don't want to stop. I love editing - editing is where all the magic happens. It's where the story gets richer, where the metaphors appear, where the word usage improves, etc. I get most of my ideas while walking outdoors, staring out the window, driving, or before I get out of bed in the morning. I keep notes everywhere. I talk to myself. It isn't pretty.
Margaret Overton
A book about birds...
Margaret Overton
If you get bored reading your own work, so will everyone else. Be ruthless when you edit yourself. And write from your heart.
Margaret Overton
The best thing about being a writer is that you get to be sneaky and have opinions and tell stories and have a sense of humor or be deadly serious and you don't have to leave the house or change out of your pajamas if you don't want to!
Margaret Overton
There are different kinds of writer's block. And they require different approaches. When I'm not inspired to write, I try to read good books by new authors. I go to movies. I look at art. I make notes and give myself room to just absorb information and the work by others.
When I have a writing problem to solve, I try to take my mind off the problem by chopping vegetables or ironing. I actively change the subject.
I think that the type of writer's block that is most damaging is the kind that undermines my confidence, the kind that makes me think I'll never write anything worthwhile again. And that's the kind that causes me to give myself permission to write very bad first drafts...The thing I always remember is that there will always be more words. Sometimes it's good to lose a draft and be forced to rewrite the whole thing. That way you know that nothing is too precious.
When I have a writing problem to solve, I try to take my mind off the problem by chopping vegetables or ironing. I actively change the subject.
I think that the type of writer's block that is most damaging is the kind that undermines my confidence, the kind that makes me think I'll never write anything worthwhile again. And that's the kind that causes me to give myself permission to write very bad first drafts...The thing I always remember is that there will always be more words. Sometimes it's good to lose a draft and be forced to rewrite the whole thing. That way you know that nothing is too precious.
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