Ask the Author: Vivian Vaughan
Answered Questions (3)
Vivian Vaughan
Write. Write. Write. I once had an author tell me, "Write thirteen stories, and you'll sell one." It's true. A write writes.
Vivian Vaughan
I'm not certain here is a 'best' thing, but a sense of accomplishment is high on the list: a sentence, a paragraph, a scene that you are particularly proud of ... even though you know it may have to be cut later.
The euphoria that erupts inside you when you complete a project: story, novel, poem. For that moment the work, and it as always been hard work, is solely your own. It's part of your heart. The catchphrase of the 1980s A-Team actor John "Hannibal" Smith has always been the first description of how I felt upon completing a novel: "I love it when a plan comes together!"
The euphoria that erupts inside you when you complete a project: story, novel, poem. For that moment the work, and it as always been hard work, is solely your own. It's part of your heart. The catchphrase of the 1980s A-Team actor John "Hannibal" Smith has always been the first description of how I felt upon completing a novel: "I love it when a plan comes together!"
Vivian Vaughan
The best antidote for writer's block is excitement -- when you're excited about your work, ideas come rapidly and stories develop naturally. When writing Texas Gamble, the villain's demise didn't work, time after time; then I realized that I was not writing a scene that followed my contract with the reader. In the opening scene Clara had vowed kill the man who was determined to steal her family's Spanish land-grant ranch. Twice more during the book, she had vowed the same thing. When I came to writing the scene, however, I tried to let another character do the deed. After I realized this, the scene flowed naturally. Other times I have gotten in my car and driven for an hour or so. That wouldn't work in Houston, where I live now (although at times one might think some of our freeway drivers are driving with their heads in the clouds!). I lived in a rural area when I wrote these books.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more