Ask the Author: Carrie Beckort
Answered Questions (12)
Carrie Beckort
Thank you! And yes, I do. I've been trying to do better at logging in, but still not where I'd like to be :/
Carrie Beckort
I would love to enter the world of The Night Circus, wandering from tent to tent.
Carrie Beckort
My summer reading usually revolves around spending time with my daughter. She's now at the age where we can start reading books together, so that drives my reading schedule over the summer. We are currently finishing the Percy Jackson series. After that, we plan to continue the Chronicles of Narnia series which we started last summer. We also want to read A Wrinkle in Time before school starts back up in August. Don't worry - I'm still able to fit in some books 'for me' as well! I usually select those books based on reading challenges I've joined. I keep my Goodreads account current, so anyone can have a look at my shelf if they want to know what I'm reading at any given moment!
Carrie Beckort
Oh, this is a difficult question for me. I like many fictional couples for many different reasons and it's hard to pick a favorite. I supposed it would sound biased of me if I said Sarah and Marcus from my Kingston books... ;) I suppose the fictional couple that stands out most to me is Don and Rosie from The Rosie Project. They complemented each other in unexpected ways, and they didn't try to change each other. Their entire relationship just made me smile.
Carrie Beckort
Hi Flannery! I actually spent two summers in Anderson when I interned there many moons ago. I believe my old roommate still lives in the area, but I no longer have her contact information. Have you checked with the library there? They may know of some local book clubs. I hope you find one soon!
Carrie Beckort
Hi Gail! I'm excited to be paired up with you this month. Like most readers, I have more books I want to read than I have time to read them! I'll have a look at our bookshelves and try to send you a PM to see if we can come up with a book we are both hoping to read. Can't wait!
Carrie Beckort
I have to let go. If I try to control the story, or push certain ideas that I think are right, I lock up. I have to let the ideas flow and write them as they want to be written. There are times when I don't even know why I wrote a particular part, but by the end of the story it has been revealed to me and it all falls into place.
If the ideas are not coming, then I either have too much else on my mind (like how much I need to get done around the house) or my story's not headed in the right direction. If it's because I have too much on my mind, I get rid of the block by knocking things off my to-do list. It lowers my stress and frees me up to be creative. If it's because I'm not headed in the right direction, I read back over what I've written so far and then I let it marinate. I play the story in my mind and let it find it's own natural course.
If the ideas are not coming, then I either have too much else on my mind (like how much I need to get done around the house) or my story's not headed in the right direction. If it's because I have too much on my mind, I get rid of the block by knocking things off my to-do list. It lowers my stress and frees me up to be creative. If it's because I'm not headed in the right direction, I read back over what I've written so far and then I let it marinate. I play the story in my mind and let it find it's own natural course.
Carrie Beckort
The primary joy I've experienced since I've been writing has been my ability to inspire others.
Many people have told me how I've inspired them to follow their own dreams.
Others have told me how Kingston's Project and/or Kingston's Promise has inspired them to heal in their own lives.
My 8 year old daughter wants to write her own book.
It's amazing to think that my words and actions have the power to inspire so much positive change for others. I'm humbled and honored.
Many people have told me how I've inspired them to follow their own dreams.
Others have told me how Kingston's Project and/or Kingston's Promise has inspired them to heal in their own lives.
My 8 year old daughter wants to write her own book.
It's amazing to think that my words and actions have the power to inspire so much positive change for others. I'm humbled and honored.
Carrie Beckort
Just start writing. Don't wait for the perfect time, or the perfect idea. Nothing is perfect, so if you wait you're just wasting valuable writing time and adding stress to your life.
Also, don't let fear of the unknown hold you back. I didn't know anything about writing a book. I didn't even research the process until I was done with the first draft of my manuscript. I just wanted to write my story without any pressure of doing it 'the right way.' I addressed that during my editing process.
Believe in yourself, be open to feedback, and find people who you can trust that will support and encourage you.
Also, don't let fear of the unknown hold you back. I didn't know anything about writing a book. I didn't even research the process until I was done with the first draft of my manuscript. I just wanted to write my story without any pressure of doing it 'the right way.' I addressed that during my editing process.
Believe in yourself, be open to feedback, and find people who you can trust that will support and encourage you.
Carrie Beckort
I'm really excited about my current project! It's very different than my first two novels. I'm trying to think of how I can describe it without giving too much away, since I'm not yet far enough along to have written the blurb... I'll give it a shot though.
You will follow along with Angel, who has been given an impossible decision to make in only 24 hours. The choice may seem clear, but is it? How does she choose between two devastating options? Would you be able to choose?
You will follow along with Angel, who has been given an impossible decision to make in only 24 hours. The choice may seem clear, but is it? How does she choose between two devastating options? Would you be able to choose?
Carrie Beckort
Oh wow - I think the question for me now is how do I make myself stop writing to do the other million things in my life that has to be done! Which is very strange considering writing was never a passion for me before. Now that I've started writing, I can't turn it off. When an idea comes to me, whether for my current project or a new one, I write it down the first chance I get. I don't have to carry anything with me to jot down notes - I find that if the idea is right, then it stays in my brain long enough for me to get to the computer sometime that day.
The ideas are coming from everywhere at the moment - dreams, comments in everyday conversations, observations, real life challenges...
The ideas are coming from everywhere at the moment - dreams, comments in everyday conversations, observations, real life challenges...
Carrie Beckort
I should start by saying that I never had an aspiration to be a writer. I've always enjoyed reading and I have a love for stories, but writing a novel was not something I had ever considered.
Until a friend told me I could write a book.
Even then, I dismissed the suggestion within seconds with a polite nod of acknowledgement. But fate had other plans for me...
About a month after my friend's suggestion, I woke up on a Saturday with the memory of a dream. My first thought was, "I wonder why that would happen." My second thought was, "Oh crap, I'm writing a book."
It was that clear for me. There was never a, "Could I make this a book? Could I even write a book?" It was clear that I was going to make a story around my dream (which actually happens near the end of the book.) I wrote in any spare time I had over the next year and a half until the novel was complete.
My second and most recently published novel, Kingston's Promise, is the sequel to Kingston's Project. Initially, I thought my first novel would center around much of what is in the second. However, Kingston's Project evolved into what it needed to be and I had to let it grow in that direction. As a result, I already had the inspiration for a second novel if I chose to do a sequel.
Until a friend told me I could write a book.
Even then, I dismissed the suggestion within seconds with a polite nod of acknowledgement. But fate had other plans for me...
About a month after my friend's suggestion, I woke up on a Saturday with the memory of a dream. My first thought was, "I wonder why that would happen." My second thought was, "Oh crap, I'm writing a book."
It was that clear for me. There was never a, "Could I make this a book? Could I even write a book?" It was clear that I was going to make a story around my dream (which actually happens near the end of the book.) I wrote in any spare time I had over the next year and a half until the novel was complete.
My second and most recently published novel, Kingston's Promise, is the sequel to Kingston's Project. Initially, I thought my first novel would center around much of what is in the second. However, Kingston's Project evolved into what it needed to be and I had to let it grow in that direction. As a result, I already had the inspiration for a second novel if I chose to do a sequel.
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