Ask the Author: Sumiko Saulson
Answered Questions (10)
Sumiko Saulson
I know Paula so I can ask and get back to you.
Sumiko Saulson
It was too late to save the ozone layer. Only the mutated roach people would survive.
Sumiko Saulson
Wow... this question makes me wish I had read a lot less horror books over the years. Most books I have read take place in realities I would never want to be trapped in. I'm going to go with the World of Two Moons from the Graphic Novel "ElfQuest."
Sumiko Saulson
I have been reading Bone Music by Christopher Rice. I finished reading Writing the Other by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward. I have an ARC of Nisi Shawl's forthcoming Talk like a Man I will be reading as well.
Sumiko Saulson
Black Magic Women, the anthology I edited, came out of doing a revamp of 60 Black Women in Horror. I decided there needed to be a clear division between the short stories and the non-fiction portion so I released 100+ Black Women in Horror the reference guide (publisher: Iconoclast Productions) separately from Black Magic Women (publisher: Mocha Memoirs Press) in order to make that happen. There are other anthologies of works by black women like Sycorax's Daughters and by black authors like the Dark Matters series that also inspired it.
My personal short story and poetry collection Spit and Pathos was primarily inspired by the death of my former fiance Gregory Hug in May of 2017.
My personal short story and poetry collection Spit and Pathos was primarily inspired by the death of my former fiance Gregory Hug in May of 2017.
Sumiko Saulson
I usually look at calls for submissions and I use them as writing prompts. That way I am writing my short stories for a specific market. As for novels - I go to writing groups to get fueled. I started my own writing group, Kinky Writer's Munch, which meets weekly, to help me motivate myself to write regularly.
Sumiko Saulson
Akmani, the fourth book in the Somnalia series. Disillusionment, the second book in the Solitude series. I am editing two anthologies, Scry of Lust - an erotica anthology - and Wickedly Abled, an anthology of sci-fi, horror and fantasy by and about disabled authors.
Sumiko Saulson
Don't let perfectionism or pretender's syndrome stop you. Decide you have the right to write, and that your writing doesn't have to be perfect. Separate editing from writing.
Devote time and space to just writing, without editing, correcting, and self-judgement, then devote separate space and time to your self-editing and proofreading.
Once your first draft is completed, get lots of feedback before completing your second draft. Don't feel obligated to get feedback on an incomplete first draft if you think it will be discouraging - if you are easily discouraged, finish your first draft first, without getting feedback from anyone very critical until that draft is complete.
Devote time and space to just writing, without editing, correcting, and self-judgement, then devote separate space and time to your self-editing and proofreading.
Once your first draft is completed, get lots of feedback before completing your second draft. Don't feel obligated to get feedback on an incomplete first draft if you think it will be discouraging - if you are easily discouraged, finish your first draft first, without getting feedback from anyone very critical until that draft is complete.
Sumiko Saulson
I am unable to NOT write, so I think that getting my writing out in the world makes it so that I am communicating with other people in the audience and getting the ideas out of my own head. I would be off in my own mind, daydreaming constantly. Writing helps keep me connected. It brings my ideas into the world around me.
Sumiko Saulson
I force myself to write - sometimes on subjects that are not what I usually write about. For example, if I can't write fiction, I will force myself to write essays of a non-fiction sort, or illustrate an old story for a comic book, until the block clears.
Another thing I do is exposition by making notes, such as write character sketches or do story boarding or outlining until it clears up. I can look at the work with fresh eyes that way.
Another thing I do is exposition by making notes, such as write character sketches or do story boarding or outlining until it clears up. I can look at the work with fresh eyes that way.
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