Ask the Author: Stephen Helmes
Answered Questions (6)
Stephen Helmes
Ah yes, the ole stone wall that all writers must face every now and again. Most of the time when I get writer's block, it's when I have been writing for an excessive amount of time or there is something going on in the real world that has me temporarily distracted. I take time off. If you take a day or two and just rest your brain, do things you enjoy doing. Most writers will tell you that they truly love their art. Writing is as addictive as reading. So when you give your mind a rest, it doesn't take long for those imagination engines to start getting restless and firing up again. In fact, I have noticed that if I take a short two day vacation in the midst of writing a story, I usually come back with fresh ideas that make that story even better than it was when the first idea came to my mind.
Stephen Helmes
I love writing for many reasons. Many of my stories revolve around my true world, what happens to me on a daily basis or has happened to me at some point in my life. For those who write this way, it gives you a chance to relive those moments and look at other possible futures by changing the outcomes. But what I really love the most about writing is that you can zone the world out. When I am writing, the world around me disappears and I am in the world I have created. The possibilities of the mind are limitless and so are the adventures you can endure when you are in the writing world. If you want to visit that person down the road you have a crush on or if you want to travel to another galaxy, it's all in the power of the mind and the keyboard is your transportation.
Stephen Helmes
Write it! If you have an idea but you're not sure if anyone will like it, write it! If you are in the middle of writing a story and a new idea comes into your head for another story, either write the idea down while it's still fresh in your mind for later use, or take a short break from your current writing and start a second story. There are no rules to writing. People will tell you there are, but there are not. Write what you feel. Write what makes you happy. Write what you know. Write what inspires you to keep writing. If you are happy with what you are putting to print, your creation will have more feeling than if you are writing what others tell you you have to write.
Stephen Helmes
In spring, 2016, my new book titled, 'From 12 to 6' is scheduled to be released. I have been working toward that goal for the past two years. I have just started a new novel titled, 'The Bite.' I have been fascinated by zombies for many years, and it wouldn't be right not to create my own zombie apocalypse. My zombie world will follow the tradition all zombie fans love, but I have a few different ideas about our hungry dead folks that have not been brought up in other stories. So it will not be a new version of an old tale. It will be a fresh outlook on what the world would truly be like if something like that ever really occurred.
Stephen Helmes
Different things inspire me and I never know when or where they are going to hit or where they are going to come from. I once wrote a complete story after hearing a woman's voice on the radio. She was talking and just the sound of her voice along with her accent set off an idea that had absolutely nothing to do with the subject she was talking about. My mind is almost always acting out scenes, like in a movie. I guess I am always inspired to create new stories.
Stephen Helmes
Ideas can come from anywhere. It's really a matter of mood, I think. Sometimes I have a muse attack when driving down the road. Sometimes I get ideas when I see different kinds of people in crowded places. Most of my ideas however, come from dreams. I have always had a wild imagination and if my dreams could be projected for the world to see, they would have sent me away a long long time ago.
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