Ask the Author: Tia Reed
Answered Questions (6)
Tia Reed
For people who just want to write and are not chasing publication, just do it and enjoy it. If you're not enjoying it, there's no point.
For writers who are aiming for publication, understand the amount of dedication and work that is required to make the standard. You probably trained for your current job, or spent years gaining experience. You need to do the same with writing. Good writing is not just going to happen. You need to write, rewrite, rewrite again, edit a few times, put your story down and look at it again with an even more critical eye. Workshops are invaluable for learning and writers groups, if you find one that suits you, can also be a great asset. To achieve all of this, you need the dedication and commitment to write every day.
For writers who are aiming for publication, understand the amount of dedication and work that is required to make the standard. You probably trained for your current job, or spent years gaining experience. You need to do the same with writing. Good writing is not just going to happen. You need to write, rewrite, rewrite again, edit a few times, put your story down and look at it again with an even more critical eye. Workshops are invaluable for learning and writers groups, if you find one that suits you, can also be a great asset. To achieve all of this, you need the dedication and commitment to write every day.
Tia Reed
It depends on the severity. Sometimes, I change the viewpoint character or change the story I am working on to something as different as I can think of. Other times, I need to step away from the computer and take a few days to relax, as I ften get writer's block when I've been working extra hard on a story. I have found that, ore often than not, there is reason for the block. It may be that I am trying to write a scene from the wrong viewpoint, or that I am trying to push a character into an action which shouldn't occur. Once I work out what the issue is, I usually find the words start flowing again.
Tia Reed
Using my imagination!
Tia Reed
The inspiration for The Darkness of Djinn trilogy came while I was on holiday in Thailand many, many years back and stood at the edge of The Golden Triangle looking out over a valley. The idea of three countries sharing a border which produced a huge amount of drugs was irresistible. The Darkness of Djinn grew out of this, although the story became very different from the original spark of an idea. The drug porrin which appears in the story is decimating the citizens of The Three Realms while necessary for one set of mages to work their magic.
Tia Reed
I'm currently doing one last proof read of Grave Ghost, the second book in the Darkness of Djinn trilogy, which will be available at the end of February, as well as editing the third instalment in the series. Between this and my day job, I'm also snatching in some planning time for my next project.
Tia Reed
I feel like writing is in my blood. I have always wanted to write and hold a published book which I wrote in my hands, to have a cover attached to a story of my imagining, and turn crisp, cream pages with my words on them. I can't imagine not writing, so the inspiration to actually produce a story is something inside me.
My day-to-day writing can require me to remind myself I need dedication, though. Inspiring myself to write when I don't feel like it can be as simple as forcing myself to sit down and achieve my word limit for the day before I do anything else. Sometimes, I need to take my dogs for a walk beforehand. Walks allow me to plan and think about what I'm going to write, and make a simpler task of getting words on the page when I get home, with the added benefit of having two normally boisterous dogs asleep while I do it. And when I'm really not in the mood, chocolate is a great inspirer.
My day-to-day writing can require me to remind myself I need dedication, though. Inspiring myself to write when I don't feel like it can be as simple as forcing myself to sit down and achieve my word limit for the day before I do anything else. Sometimes, I need to take my dogs for a walk beforehand. Walks allow me to plan and think about what I'm going to write, and make a simpler task of getting words on the page when I get home, with the added benefit of having two normally boisterous dogs asleep while I do it. And when I'm really not in the mood, chocolate is a great inspirer.
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