Ask the Author: Mary B. Rodgers
Answered Questions (6)
Mary B. Rodgers
When I wrote Project Catchstar, I'd had an idea kicking around for a while that it might be fun to write a contemporary series about a female archaeologist, sort of the love child of Indiana Jones and Veronica Mars with a light dusting of the X-Files. I've always been fascinated by the notion of discovering what lies beneath, peeling back the layers of time to expose the truth of how people lived and loved in a forgotten age. Writing Catchstar gave me the perfect opportunity to delve into that interest.
Mary B. Rodgers
So hard to answer that. Something as simple as a picture or the way that someone walks or talks can trigger part of a storyline in my head.
Mary B. Rodgers
I'm currently finishing up the final edits on a coming-of-age thriller called To Ride The Sky. It takes place 1500 years in the future on a distant planet. My protagonist, Anina, is a genetic outcast who becomes humanity's last hope for survival. It's been a lot of work, but I'm enjoying cleaning it up and fine-tuning everything now.
Mary B. Rodgers
Read! Read everything that you can get your hands on, not just books in your preferred genre. Stretch yourself a little. Even if you only want to write novels, read plays too.
Once you've begun writing stories, find a good critique group and join it. There are lots of online ones; a good one is Critters. You read and comment on other people's work in exchange for them reading and commenting on your own. You learn a tremendous amount from critiquing other people's work. I can't recommend that enough.
And be grateful and humble. I don't care if your teacher/Mom/loved one told you that you were better than Rowling, Hemingway and Tartt combined. Don't cop an attitude. Be receptive and ready to learn.
Once you've begun writing stories, find a good critique group and join it. There are lots of online ones; a good one is Critters. You read and comment on other people's work in exchange for them reading and commenting on your own. You learn a tremendous amount from critiquing other people's work. I can't recommend that enough.
And be grateful and humble. I don't care if your teacher/Mom/loved one told you that you were better than Rowling, Hemingway and Tartt combined. Don't cop an attitude. Be receptive and ready to learn.
Mary B. Rodgers
The freedom, of course. I can write anything I want, any way I want. I answer to no one but me. That, and the joy of being able to create a story that sings.
Mary B. Rodgers
I do what I call "placeholder" writing. I generally have an idea of how a scene begins and how it should end, so when all else fails and my muse deserts me for the hot male model she met clubbing last night, I just plow through and write the action. I get my character from point A to point B. It feels leaden and lifeless, like I'm slogging through a tar pit, but once I have the bones of the scene down, it seems to trigger my creativity and ideas.
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