Ask the Author: Walter C. Conner
Answered Questions (2)
Walter C. Conner
This one's kinda awkward because (A) there are actually four fictional couples who, although their relationships are slightly different, are all loving and all equally my favorites, and (B) we met them all in the first of my Wisdom Chronicles books, "Wizard of Wisdom."
First is the "innocent youth" romance of the blacksmith Kemp and the accidental companion, Peg. Very circumspect and sweet, theirs is an old fashioned romance, which appeals to me.
Second is the fiery romance of Tingle and Thisbe. No less loving than that of Kemp and Peg, but far more volatile and passionate.
Third is the shy romance of Scrubby and Mattie who admired each other from afar but never had much of an opportunity to speak to each other until thrown together by fate in the very last pages of the book.
Last, but far from the least, is the very complicated, incredibly powerful romance of the Wizard Wilton and Princess Caron Gleneagle, about which I can say very little without giving away significant parts of all six of the books in the series.
First is the "innocent youth" romance of the blacksmith Kemp and the accidental companion, Peg. Very circumspect and sweet, theirs is an old fashioned romance, which appeals to me.
Second is the fiery romance of Tingle and Thisbe. No less loving than that of Kemp and Peg, but far more volatile and passionate.
Third is the shy romance of Scrubby and Mattie who admired each other from afar but never had much of an opportunity to speak to each other until thrown together by fate in the very last pages of the book.
Last, but far from the least, is the very complicated, incredibly powerful romance of the Wizard Wilton and Princess Caron Gleneagle, about which I can say very little without giving away significant parts of all six of the books in the series.
Walter C. Conner
I'm all too familiar with this problem. While I have "mini-blockages" on a depressingly regular basis, I had one particularly vexatious bout with writer's block that stumped me at about 30,000 words into the story and lasted the better part of a year. That was a definite bummer!
But now, how do I deal with them?
My first step is generally to go back and read what I've written to that point which can reestablish the flow of the story in my mind. I've even gone back to preceding novels in the series to refresh the history as well as reinforce my writing voice. While it would seem a waste of valuable time, it's not all bad because it gives me the opportunity to edit and re-write as I go, plus I can find inconsistencies and character and location transpositions that could cause a reader to stumble and disturb the flow of the story.
Sometimes, just walking away and focusing on other things is helpful.
But my ultimate fallback when all else fails is what I refer to as "the nuclear option" wherein I just start writing anything that might create a direction to take. Even though I don't have a clear idea of where I'm going, it at least gets me moving, and surprisingly often ends up being where I would or should have gone anyway.
Don't know how others handle it, but those are what have worked for me.
But now, how do I deal with them?
My first step is generally to go back and read what I've written to that point which can reestablish the flow of the story in my mind. I've even gone back to preceding novels in the series to refresh the history as well as reinforce my writing voice. While it would seem a waste of valuable time, it's not all bad because it gives me the opportunity to edit and re-write as I go, plus I can find inconsistencies and character and location transpositions that could cause a reader to stumble and disturb the flow of the story.
Sometimes, just walking away and focusing on other things is helpful.
But my ultimate fallback when all else fails is what I refer to as "the nuclear option" wherein I just start writing anything that might create a direction to take. Even though I don't have a clear idea of where I'm going, it at least gets me moving, and surprisingly often ends up being where I would or should have gone anyway.
Don't know how others handle it, but those are what have worked for me.
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