Ask the Author: Indi Martin
Answered Questions (2)
Indi Martin
I get asked occasionally whether I enjoy my writer-hat more or less than my artist-hat. It's a hard question. They're both creative pursuits, but they're very different, and they're different in unexpected ways. I find art, which sounds like more the fluid and carefree errand, is much more technical for me, especially if it's a commission. There are times if I'm working on my own original art that it'll feel as fluid as writing, and I treasure those. But having to produce art on a schedule, against deadlines, and with rapidly changing foci makes it something that has to be organized and exact.
Writing is a much freer exercise for me. I feel disconnected from time, from the things that mark day-to-day existence. I forget to drink, to eat when I'm writing - I do, it's a problem. But it's because it doesn't feel like I'm really there when it's good, when it's at its best. It feels like I'm a medium through which the story is flowing, possessed by words that use my tongue. I love it when it's that free. It isn't always, not by a long shot, but I get a glimpse of it every once in a while (before I realize that I need to double-check what Victor said before, or I need to do some research to see how close the Arcadian Cliffs or the Chasm of Nis are to the Mountains of Madness). I've always enjoyed research, too, but it breaks the flow and resets the counter to zero.
So both hats have their feathers I'm partial to - and both have their bad days. Sometimes I go to sketch an idea and my hand rebels completely, refusing to mark down what I see in my mind. Sometimes I stare at that damnable blinking cursor for hours, managing to eke out a word or a phrase before backspacing away the offending text. But that golden moment when you are nothing but a mouthpiece for your story, it's zen, and it makes everything worthwhile.
Also, the first time someone engages you in a conversation about your character? Magical. I swooned.
Writing is a much freer exercise for me. I feel disconnected from time, from the things that mark day-to-day existence. I forget to drink, to eat when I'm writing - I do, it's a problem. But it's because it doesn't feel like I'm really there when it's good, when it's at its best. It feels like I'm a medium through which the story is flowing, possessed by words that use my tongue. I love it when it's that free. It isn't always, not by a long shot, but I get a glimpse of it every once in a while (before I realize that I need to double-check what Victor said before, or I need to do some research to see how close the Arcadian Cliffs or the Chasm of Nis are to the Mountains of Madness). I've always enjoyed research, too, but it breaks the flow and resets the counter to zero.
So both hats have their feathers I'm partial to - and both have their bad days. Sometimes I go to sketch an idea and my hand rebels completely, refusing to mark down what I see in my mind. Sometimes I stare at that damnable blinking cursor for hours, managing to eke out a word or a phrase before backspacing away the offending text. But that golden moment when you are nothing but a mouthpiece for your story, it's zen, and it makes everything worthwhile.
Also, the first time someone engages you in a conversation about your character? Magical. I swooned.
Indi Martin
Writer's block isn't as much of a problem for me (yet) as finding the time to write. I am an artist and an author, both full-time, and I have to clear time away from my freelance art commissions to make progress on my book.
Most recently, I had the opportunity to take a "writer's sabbatical" for a week. It was a week away from the world, no connectivity, no phone service. I accomplished a lot while I was there, but even with all that solitude, only managed 170 or so formatted pages. Writing ain't easy; it takes time and it can be exhausting if you encounter a day you have to force it. Those days come. But I've found that if I can fight through them, and write (especially if I have the availability to do so), eventually the muscles relax a bit and the mind opens to the next word, sentence, chapter. It's a gradual thing.
Most recently, I had the opportunity to take a "writer's sabbatical" for a week. It was a week away from the world, no connectivity, no phone service. I accomplished a lot while I was there, but even with all that solitude, only managed 170 or so formatted pages. Writing ain't easy; it takes time and it can be exhausting if you encounter a day you have to force it. Those days come. But I've found that if I can fight through them, and write (especially if I have the availability to do so), eventually the muscles relax a bit and the mind opens to the next word, sentence, chapter. It's a gradual thing.
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