Ask the Author: Jenny Martin
Answered Questions (9)
Jenny Martin
Maybe someday!! ;)
Jenny Martin
Hi, Natalie!
Thanks so much. Yes, I'm currently working on a brand new, unrelated SFF novel, and hope to finish drafting this summer. And although Marked concludes this arc, I left myself a tiny story loophole, in case I ever wanted to slip back into Phee's world again. Maybe someday!
Thanks so much. Yes, I'm currently working on a brand new, unrelated SFF novel, and hope to finish drafting this summer. And although Marked concludes this arc, I left myself a tiny story loophole, in case I ever wanted to slip back into Phee's world again. Maybe someday!
Jenny Martin
Hi! With Tracked, I always knew that the book would be a series, based on the larger arc of story. Sometimes, you have a long arc, and it makes sense to break things up. Other times, a book starts out as a standalone, but as you near the finish line, you realize you're not finished in that world. That's happened to me before, too. Hope that helps!
Jenny Martin
Thank you so much!!
Jenny Martin
Hi, Sofia! Thanks so much for asking! The sequel is in its final stages and I've seen a cover, but I don't know my release date yet. Hopefully, I'll be able to reveal this info soon! Here's what I can tell you about the sequel:
Phee has been through so much, but my spitfire girl still has a long way to go. She has some tough dilemmas ahead, and she’s the only one who can restore all that’s been lost. So much depends on her stepping up and evolving into the hero she needs to be.
One thing's for certain, the endgame is coming.
Thanks again for asking about the sequel--I can't wait to share it!
Phee has been through so much, but my spitfire girl still has a long way to go. She has some tough dilemmas ahead, and she’s the only one who can restore all that’s been lost. So much depends on her stepping up and evolving into the hero she needs to be.
One thing's for certain, the endgame is coming.
Thanks again for asking about the sequel--I can't wait to share it!
Jenny Martin
I'm inspired by other writers. I know so many authors with a strong work ethic. They juggle deadlines and projects. They consistently battle obstacles. They keep delivering incredible books. By example, they motivate me to sit down and keep going.
Jenny Martin
Two projects. One adult. One YA. One is fantasy/horror, the other is fantasy/sci fi.
Jenny Martin
First of all, I don’t know who coined this advice, but I first learned it at DFW Writers’ Workshop. There, I heard it over and over…when it comes to writing, there are really only two rules:
1.) Don’t bore the reader, and 2.) Don’t confuse the reader.
Beyond that, I'm not anything else really matters.
2.) Read at least as much as you write. Read, read, read, read. Read good stuff and bad stuff. Analyze why like/don't like it. Deconstruct. Pick apart. Savor.
3. Find your voice. You’re not a news reporter. You’re not making a list of “stuff that happened.” Instead, you’re interpreting an experience. Channel your narrator or character and choose the exact, just right words that get that unique experience across. Choose the words your particular narrator/character would use; those are the right words. And maybe forget about passive verbs and adverbs and all the other paint-by-numbers rules. Just get inside. Tell the story from under the skin, from the heart. Tell it the way no one else can, and you’ll make it.
1.) Don’t bore the reader, and 2.) Don’t confuse the reader.
Beyond that, I'm not anything else really matters.
2.) Read at least as much as you write. Read, read, read, read. Read good stuff and bad stuff. Analyze why like/don't like it. Deconstruct. Pick apart. Savor.
3. Find your voice. You’re not a news reporter. You’re not making a list of “stuff that happened.” Instead, you’re interpreting an experience. Channel your narrator or character and choose the exact, just right words that get that unique experience across. Choose the words your particular narrator/character would use; those are the right words. And maybe forget about passive verbs and adverbs and all the other paint-by-numbers rules. Just get inside. Tell the story from under the skin, from the heart. Tell it the way no one else can, and you’ll make it.
Jenny Martin
I'm not sure I believe in writers' block. At least for me? Most of the time, when I'm not writing, it's not because I'm "blocked." It's because I'm slacking off and not exercising a disciplined mindset. As in any other profession, to succeed, you've got to develop some kind of work ethic. Once I make myself sit down and start working on a story, the writing comes. I may get stuck on a scene. I may have to rewrite it a few times. And I may even have to take a short brain break to fill up the creative well/daydream a solution, but most of the time, the solution was/is there all along. It's just waiting for me to catch up with it.
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