Ask the Author: Jennifer A. Marsh
Answered Questions (6)
Jennifer A. Marsh
I was building a dollhouse with my daughter when random thoughts were going through my head, as they often do. And I thought, “What if there was a psychologist who saw paranormal patients. They would probably have as many problems as we do.” I am a student of psychology (one more year to go, yay) so I am sure my studies had been on my mind as well. I then began writing down notes as they came to me and my daughter just laughed as she knows how I get when the inspiration hits. The makings of a story became to come together. Honestly, it was the first time a completely new story idea had come out of the blue in the last eight years I had been working on my first series. While I have finished the first one, it still needs hard editing, and I am currently working on number two in this new series.
Jennifer A. Marsh
Inspiration is such a fickle creature. I go through times where I do nothing but write, and then I go through droughts where writing is the furthest thing from my mind. Last summer, for instance, I wrote two books in two months, then nothing the last month. And then, when I resumed classes in the Fall, on the first day of course, I began writing one more, that I finished before the end of the year. Then, this year I have only written one so far, and started on the second. It seems, for me, inspiration comes when I have the least amount of time to write. If I have a lot on my plate, that’s when I want to add to it by writing another book. It’s funny, because I often have long nights and early mornings just to be able to get what is coming to me down on paper before it fades away, yet I still manage to take care of my other responsibilities as well. As I know from experience, when the inspiration hits, nothing can stop me from delving in.
Jennifer A. Marsh
I have a few projects going on currently. I have been hard editing the remaining two books in The Anti-Princess Saga so that they will be ready for their release dates next year. I have been working on my new series: Dr. Wulf, Paranormal Psychologist. The first book is in beta testing still and I have begun the second in the series while I await feedback (positive so far). There are also two other projects I am working on that I am not quite sure what they are yet. One appears to be a dark fairytale that will most likely end up a short story. And finally I have another that I am unsure where it is going exactly, but more writing will tell me that when I feel inspired to work on that one again. It involves ghosts, and that is all I am comfortable talking about at this time. Most of my attention has been on the second book in my second series. And I will hopefully get the first: Faezed & Confused, ready for publication by the end of this year.
Jennifer A. Marsh
As a person who struggled for years to find my way in my writing career, I have two simple things to say to aspiring writers out there. 1. Don’t give up. 2. You can’t please everyone. Whenever I get a little down from bad reviews of my book, I look up books that I absolutely love, and read the reviews. All books have bad reviews. I am never sad that someone didn’t like my work, but I am sad that they seemed to have wasted their time in even reading it since it wasn’t something that they might enjoy. It is impossible for everyone to like something, so don’t be discouraged if some don’t like your work. Me, I am fine with having a small audience, as long as I am bringing joy to those reading it. Because of this, I know that I will probably never be a bestselling author, but that’s not why I write. I write because I truly enjoy creating something that others might enjoy.
Jennifer A. Marsh
The best thing about being a writer, to me, is bringing a world to life from nothing. By my hand, new lands and people take on life. I love to watch the characters grow and progress through my series. I may have created them initially, but they take on their own life and steer me in the way the books end up going. If you are not a writer, it’s difficult to explain. You would think that an author has total control over his/her characters, and I do have some, but it’s the character’s reactions and decisions that create that fluidity in the best stories. And I love it when I am surprised by even my own characters reactions. I write much like a reader reads: waiting for the story to unfold, the only difference is that I hold the pen.
Jennifer A. Marsh
Ah, there’s nothing worse than writer’s block to someone in the middle of writing a book. For me, I simply stop writing. There is no sense in forcing it since I know I will just have to go back and delete what I wrote when I was uninspired anyway. I simply focus my attention on other things until I feel that sudden epiphany and continue on, usually it happens when I am trying to fall asleep. Sometimes, if I want to try to make that spark happen a little sooner I just start reading what I have so far from the beginning. And, if I’m lucky, by the time I reach where I got stuck, I will be able to start writing from there without a problem. If not, I simply wait for it. It’s never more than a month or so, thankfully, for me at least. It’s better not to force things. Not having hard deadlines helps.
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