Ask the Author: A.B. Westrick
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A.B. Westrick
Hello! And my apologies for not seeing your question until now. Were you able to attend my presentation? I had a great time on 4/28/15.
I don't have a favorite genre. I particularly like dramatic, realistic fiction (more than fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), although that being said, I've read HARRY POTTER, THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT, and many others, and enjoyed them. When I set out to write BROTHERHOOD, I didn't intend to write historical fiction. I was trying to explore a boy's feeling of being stuck in a tough situation, and for me, the history was simply the setting.
I don't decide on my beginning until I've completed a first draft. Or many drafts. I don't always know what my stories are about until I get to the very end. I sit back and ask: what's really going on here? Then I rewrite the whole thing.
The more you write, the more your writing will improve. Some writers enjoy writing the ending first, then going back and writing the scenes that lead up to that ending. Some books begin with the ending of a story, then go into a series of flashback scenes. There are many ways to do it, and no one way is right or the best way. Keep writing, and keep reading, and try to describe the sensory details (using your 5 senses) in each moment, and your writing will come alive.
I don't have a favorite genre. I particularly like dramatic, realistic fiction (more than fantasy, sci-fi, etc.), although that being said, I've read HARRY POTTER, THE HUNGER GAMES, DIVERGENT, and many others, and enjoyed them. When I set out to write BROTHERHOOD, I didn't intend to write historical fiction. I was trying to explore a boy's feeling of being stuck in a tough situation, and for me, the history was simply the setting.
I don't decide on my beginning until I've completed a first draft. Or many drafts. I don't always know what my stories are about until I get to the very end. I sit back and ask: what's really going on here? Then I rewrite the whole thing.
The more you write, the more your writing will improve. Some writers enjoy writing the ending first, then going back and writing the scenes that lead up to that ending. Some books begin with the ending of a story, then go into a series of flashback scenes. There are many ways to do it, and no one way is right or the best way. Keep writing, and keep reading, and try to describe the sensory details (using your 5 senses) in each moment, and your writing will come alive.
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May 02, 2015 08:56AM · flag