Ask the Author: Eilish Hawes-Fraser
Answered Questions (2)
Eilish Hawes-Fraser
Don't ever give anyone the power to discourage you from doing what you were born to do. The first thing you think of when you wake each day is the very thing you should be doing. If you want to write, then write. If you want to paint, then paint.
Pour yourself into your work. Learn the craft. There is always something new to learn. It is impossible to know all there is to know about anything. Take writing classes. Join writing groups. There are many online but also look for writing groups close to home. It's good to have a network of like-minded people, who can relate. You can also share tips.
Don't ever allow anyone to tell you there is only one way to write, or that you have to follow a specific routine. You write what is in your heart to write, and do it in the way that only you can. Follow your favorite writers. Learn from them, but use what works best for you.
Be a vicious self-editor. Kill your darlings if they don't fit in your WIP. Save them for something else. Never think you can get by without an editor. Even editors need editors. They are expensive. I know what it is to need an editor and not be able to afford one. But, don't think you can do it all on your own. Be careful of editors who will take your money and never deliver. Do your research. Find one you can trust.
There will be people who just do not like your writing style. That's okay. There are so many different genres and writing styles to appeal to what each reader does like. Forget the naysayers. Do your thing and be happy.
Pour yourself into your work. Learn the craft. There is always something new to learn. It is impossible to know all there is to know about anything. Take writing classes. Join writing groups. There are many online but also look for writing groups close to home. It's good to have a network of like-minded people, who can relate. You can also share tips.
Don't ever allow anyone to tell you there is only one way to write, or that you have to follow a specific routine. You write what is in your heart to write, and do it in the way that only you can. Follow your favorite writers. Learn from them, but use what works best for you.
Be a vicious self-editor. Kill your darlings if they don't fit in your WIP. Save them for something else. Never think you can get by without an editor. Even editors need editors. They are expensive. I know what it is to need an editor and not be able to afford one. But, don't think you can do it all on your own. Be careful of editors who will take your money and never deliver. Do your research. Find one you can trust.
There will be people who just do not like your writing style. That's okay. There are so many different genres and writing styles to appeal to what each reader does like. Forget the naysayers. Do your thing and be happy.
Eilish Hawes-Fraser
I rarely experience writer's block in the sense I don't know what to write. I write something each day. I do, on occasion, become stuck on a work in progress. That is usually when I don't have all the details worked out yet. When this happens, I take a break from that WIP and work on another WIP, or I will watch a movie with the family. When I go back to it, everything seems to fall into place. No matter how much we love something, we still need a break from time to time.
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