Ask the Author: David A. Taylor
Answered Questions (3)
David A. Taylor
I don't believe writer's block exists as a syndrome but it's true that any writer's energy and confidence in their storytelling has ebbs and flows. The best way to deal with that is to show up every day, preferably in the same place, and write - if not on the project of the front burner, then one on the back burner. Creativity is like a muscle and it needs an exercise routine.
David A. Taylor
Samuel Beckett's advice was, “Try. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” I'd say a bit more in 5 suggestions:
1. Read a lot.
2. Make the time. Hoard your best hours for your writing. Are you most creative when you wake? Schedule an hour then. Late at night? Stay up.
3. Find creative people and listen to them. Your peers are priceless for feedback and self-imposed deadlines that help motivate. I don’t always agree with their feedback but I suspend judgment until the next day.
4. Know when you’re drafting and when you’re revising. Don't try to edit while you write. I think of it like a train: To get started, unhook the drafting engine from the editing brakes. The brakes work best later when the trian is underway.
5. Follow the links from small to large. Post this motto where you see it: “By the yard, it’s hard. By the inch, it’s a cinch.” Allow yourself to take small bites. Writing an article may not capture the entire epic that you see in your mind, but getting an article published can help focus it.
1. Read a lot.
2. Make the time. Hoard your best hours for your writing. Are you most creative when you wake? Schedule an hour then. Late at night? Stay up.
3. Find creative people and listen to them. Your peers are priceless for feedback and self-imposed deadlines that help motivate. I don’t always agree with their feedback but I suspend judgment until the next day.
4. Know when you’re drafting and when you’re revising. Don't try to edit while you write. I think of it like a train: To get started, unhook the drafting engine from the editing brakes. The brakes work best later when the trian is underway.
5. Follow the links from small to large. Post this motto where you see it: “By the yard, it’s hard. By the inch, it’s a cinch.” Allow yourself to take small bites. Writing an article may not capture the entire epic that you see in your mind, but getting an article published can help focus it.
David A. Taylor
Inspiration comes in different ways. Sometimes a story starts from a single line, or an image that beings a scene. But often -- whether it's fiction or nonfiction -- writing starts with a character, and a question about how that character would react in a situation, what they would see and do. So inspiration can come from reading, or from a conversation (interviews are great for that) or from life.
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