Ask the Author: J. Steven Spires
Answered Questions (6)
J. Steven Spires
Up until seventh grade, I really had no interest in writing. But that changed in seventh grade. My english/ writing teacher, Ms. S., miraculously transformed my attitude and gave me a desire to become a writer. From that year on, I have never been the same!
J. Steven Spires
My latest writing project, THE OAK TREE, is actually in production with Inspired Books Publishing. It is scheduled to be released in the FALL of 2015.
J. Steven Spires
There isn’t one good answer to this question. Writing professionally requires a combination of skill, luck, and diligence, and every writer has his own system.
That said, I have learned a few things over the years.
First, read a lot. Reading helps refine those creative thoughts that many lose to watching too much television. So, read a lot and read many different genres.
Secondly, stay organized. Not only work on an outline for the story you want to write, but write out a schedule to stay on track with your writing. It is so easy to become distracted with life. You may have the best story outline, but it means nothing if you are not organized to write on it.
Thirdly, write and rewrite and rewrite and … I think you get the point. A good story is not going to be the first one you write. The story gets better and better each time you rewrite it.
Fourthly, when in doubt, cut. Writers by nature love the sound of their own words, and the hardest part of becoming a professional is learning to accept that what you find incredibly droll is oftentimes uninteresting to others. It’s a bitter pill to swallow but a necessary one. Most of what we write is going to be bad. (Hemingway said that he wrote one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pieces of trash. The trick was to put the trash in the wastebasket.) The key here is learning to evaluate your own work with the same critical eye you bring to a stranger’s work.
That said, I have learned a few things over the years.
First, read a lot. Reading helps refine those creative thoughts that many lose to watching too much television. So, read a lot and read many different genres.
Secondly, stay organized. Not only work on an outline for the story you want to write, but write out a schedule to stay on track with your writing. It is so easy to become distracted with life. You may have the best story outline, but it means nothing if you are not organized to write on it.
Thirdly, write and rewrite and rewrite and … I think you get the point. A good story is not going to be the first one you write. The story gets better and better each time you rewrite it.
Fourthly, when in doubt, cut. Writers by nature love the sound of their own words, and the hardest part of becoming a professional is learning to accept that what you find incredibly droll is oftentimes uninteresting to others. It’s a bitter pill to swallow but a necessary one. Most of what we write is going to be bad. (Hemingway said that he wrote one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pieces of trash. The trick was to put the trash in the wastebasket.) The key here is learning to evaluate your own work with the same critical eye you bring to a stranger’s work.
J. Steven Spires
The best thing about being a writer is that the world of adventure is unlimited. So, if I want to ride a rocket to the moon and back, I can. If I want to go back in time and meet President Abraham Lincoln, I can.
With writing, there are no boundaries to the imagination. Being a writer rocks!
With writing, there are no boundaries to the imagination. Being a writer rocks!
J. Steven Spires
Writer's block is a tough situation for writers.
I found that when I have writer's block I have to take a break … a long break, like a month or two. In that time, I try not to think about the story at all. I will focus on my family, a hobby or even another story. The less I think about the story that caused writer's block, the better.
When I return to the story, I have a fresh mind that allows me to continue writing.
I found that when I have writer's block I have to take a break … a long break, like a month or two. In that time, I try not to think about the story at all. I will focus on my family, a hobby or even another story. The less I think about the story that caused writer's block, the better.
When I return to the story, I have a fresh mind that allows me to continue writing.
J. Steven Spires
The idea for THREE LITTLE SHRIMP came to me after I had done a lesson on prey/ predator for my third graders using shrimp.
It was such a huge success that a writer friend of mine thought I should make it into a story for other children to read.
It was such a huge success that a writer friend of mine thought I should make it into a story for other children to read.
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