Ask the Author: Spencer Dryden
Answered Questions (6)
Spencer Dryden
I wish I had a better answer that would make me appear to be a talented and mysterious guy. I have no idea where "Bliss" came from. It is quite different from the main body of my work. It came to me with an urgency, jumping ahead in line of several other WIP's and wouldn't leave me alone until it was finished. Does that sound mysterious? That's what happened.
Spencer Dryden
Most of the time it is a nugget of an idea, then I sit down and start writing. I am a panser so its not unusual that the story heads off in another direction.
Spencer Dryden
Temporally working on developing my writer's platform, which I completely ignored prior to receiving a publishing contract. I could use 50,000 friends right now who would recommend my book to their closest 10000 friends and receive the blessing of angels, fairies, vampires, zombies or whatever-but don't break the chain.
Spencer Dryden
I don't have enough lines on my CV to be dispensing much advice. Here's what I did: I decided I would ignore the conventional wisdom of read, read, read, study Chicago Manual of Style, learn the fine points of submitting your manuscript, avoid -ly adverbs and bla bla bla. I decided I would just write and get comfortable with my voice and style, then go out and compare my work to the field at large.
Spencer Dryden
The times when the words are flowing so fast you can't keep up, especially when it is dialogue. While writing an all dialogue story, "The Dude", my wife and son kept interrupting me with all kinds of banter. It was all I could do to keep from screaming, "Be Quiet! The Dude and Tommy Boy are talking."
Spencer Dryden
I get writers block when I skip ahead thinking about publishing. I do my best stuff when I am simply entertaining myself and don't often get stuck. When I do I just change the water in the think tank.
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