Ask the Author: Bonnie Lendrum
Answered Questions (6)
Bonnie Lendrum
I hesitate to answer because I have never had writer's block. I did have a head injury that interfered with creativity and memory for two years. As the issue resolved, my characters returned.
Perhaps it's my naivety, but I expect that in a day's work there will be a nugget that is worthwhile. I won't know it's there until a day or two later when I am reviewing the previous few days' pages. And once I've found it, I mine it!
Perhaps it's my naivety, but I expect that in a day's work there will be a nugget that is worthwhile. I won't know it's there until a day or two later when I am reviewing the previous few days' pages. And once I've found it, I mine it!
Bonnie Lendrum
Carol Shields' characters, Reta and Tom, in Unless are my favorite fictional couple. We come to know them as one of their daughters has undertaken an extended 'sit-in' on Bloor Street in Toronto. It's an emotionally nerve-wracking time that they survive with honesty, openness, and love. I think it was the loving that forever imprinted them on my memory. It was a powerful message that in the midst of heartbreak and grief, we can still be interested in loving.
Bonnie Lendrum
There are many things in the world that worry me. Puzzling though them is my way of being inspired to write..
Bonnie Lendrum
I'm currently working on a manuscript that addresses issues in aging. it's told through the perspective of four healthy, vibrant older women. As with Autumn's Grace, I'm motivated to write by the things that worry me.
Bonnie Lendrum
Write and then re-write.Inspiration comes as you play with ideas and words.
Bonnie Lendrum
What I love most about being a writer are the surprises.
- The surprise that someone has read Autumn's Grace and wants to tell me what it felt like to read it.
- The surprise when a reader tells me a story of personal experiences with palliative care and then notes the similarities/differences with the characters and encounters in Autumn's Grace. I treasure these stories and am honoured that readers will take the time to share.
- The surprise when a character I have developed has something he/she needs to say, or wants to accomplish. Clearly, I am tapping into concerns or dreams that I must have, but have not yet expressed or explored. Through the process of working through these 'moments', I stretch my own boundaries.
- The surprise that someone has read Autumn's Grace and wants to tell me what it felt like to read it.
- The surprise when a reader tells me a story of personal experiences with palliative care and then notes the similarities/differences with the characters and encounters in Autumn's Grace. I treasure these stories and am honoured that readers will take the time to share.
- The surprise when a character I have developed has something he/she needs to say, or wants to accomplish. Clearly, I am tapping into concerns or dreams that I must have, but have not yet expressed or explored. Through the process of working through these 'moments', I stretch my own boundaries.
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