Ask the Author: Danielle Swisher
Answered Questions (6)
Danielle Swisher
I will admit that this is a tough one to answer because writer's block is something I have always wrestled with even when I was a little girl! However, my best remedy for it is to work on multiple projects in a variety of genres. I have also noticed that activity looking for ideas, and just going out into the world and living life also helps.
Danielle Swisher
I would say the people you meet! Since I have become a published author, I have met great artists, fellow writers, and interacted with readers and the fans of my work! I have also met great people through the freelance writing work I do, who have not only helped me with my research and/or have been great clients, but turn out to be good friends and colleagues too. I also like attending the festivals and events that come with promoting a new book. I like the fact that they are fun, laid back, and are filled with fun, cool activities!
Danielle Swisher
I have several bits of advice to give aspiring writers. First, write what you know and be authentic about it. If you try to write what everyone else is, or just try to placate what you think readers want, your writing will suck and readers will know it. Second, read a lot. As I always say: "In order to write you must read. In order to read, you must write." Third, just write a lot. I wrote every summer as a kid, and showed my work to lots of people to get their input which leads to point number four. Show your work to people and don't be afraid to, because this is how you learn to write well. Point five, study literature. Either take a class on English and American literature online, at a local college, or invest in some old college textbooks on the subject. Studying literature helps you know what came before, and knowing how to analyze good literature, teaches you how to write good literature. I am always studying classic authors, analyzing them using the techniques I learned in my AP English Literature class, and I am constantly analyzing my work while I'm writing it and going through the analysis stages. For me this is important, because how can you produce great literature if you don't know what great literature is? My sixth point, please note that the idea of the introverted, lonely writer doesn't exist anymore. If you want to write professionally, you have to mingle with others. So learn how to network and communicate well with others. Learn how to express yourself about your work and about who you are. My seventh and final point, is to find ways for inspiration to find you, and not to wait for inspiration. You can't make it in this business if you just wait to be inspired by something to write a book about it. You have to stay prolific, and write as much as you can. Therefore, always be on the look-out for great ways to inspire your work so that you are always writing, producing and selling your work.
Danielle Swisher
I am working on a lot of amazing things right now that I think all of you will be eager to see! I am working on a second The Adventures of Travis and Asrid series book, however I will note that I plan to change the name of this series. I also have a cool short story collection that will come in two volumes, which I will call The Shopkeepers, which will be short stories inspired by various mom and pop shops I have visited around the world! I also have my first short story collection in French now currently in the works, and I am working on my first novel in Spanish! I also have a play inspired by EJ Watson now in the editing stages, and several other short story collections, poetry collections, and novels in English, Spanish and French all in the works! So stay tuned and look out for what I have to publish next!
Danielle Swisher
The world inspires me honestly. The people I meet, the experiences I have, the places I see around the world, the books I read, the knowledge I obtain, myself and my own efforts to understand the world around me. All of this inspires me to write and just to be creative.
Danielle Swisher
My latest book was actually my way of healing after dealing with a very dark period in my life. When I first started composing the poems, my boyfriend had broken up with me, I was unemployed and for many months underemployed, and for some reason I got inspired to reconnect with an individual whom I had had a love/hate relationship for sometime, which ended badly, reminding me why I had disconnected with the person in the first place. The theme of love and loss seemed to be present in my head at the time, so writing it all down in poetry helped me to heal from it. When I write, it helps for me to put my problems out of my hands, turning them into fiction, and therefore a work of art that I can give to the world, rather than for these problems to continue to be mine. This is my way of coping with negative things that happen, and I feel these dark times helped to produce some of the best poems of my career thus far.
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