Ask the Author: Cristel Orrand
Answered Questions (4)
Cristel Orrand
It's tiny details, a single word or moment that inspires me to write and it's more often a mood I want to explore more than a particular idea for a plot.
This week I was moved by witnessing a particular kiss (not that interesting of a kiss really, except the angles changed the perception of dominance which struck me as symbolic) and the Arabic word for shadow/darkness- Khayal. Now Khayal is a new character but I've not found space yet for the kiss.
This week I was moved by witnessing a particular kiss (not that interesting of a kiss really, except the angles changed the perception of dominance which struck me as symbolic) and the Arabic word for shadow/darkness- Khayal. Now Khayal is a new character but I've not found space yet for the kiss.
Cristel Orrand
I was asked this recently and described it as an author's coma. I got about 75% of The Amalgamist written and couldn't figure out how to end it. I spent about 6 months in that black hole waiting for the perfect ending to come to me. It didn't.
I just sat down and forced myself to write. The first hour was a lot of typing "I don't know what to do" but once I got that negativity out, the block was gone. Within 2 hours, I was back to writing. My advice is to write, work through it. There's no sense wasting 6 months when the odds are you're blocking yourself.
I just sat down and forced myself to write. The first hour was a lot of typing "I don't know what to do" but once I got that negativity out, the block was gone. Within 2 hours, I was back to writing. My advice is to write, work through it. There's no sense wasting 6 months when the odds are you're blocking yourself.
Cristel Orrand
Write. No matter what. And know that the less you plan, the more you'll have to edit. ;)
Cristel Orrand
I'm currently working on historical fiction set in Revolutionary War era North Carolina, a series of mini-biographies about the broad experiences of African-Americans in the early "Freed" South, as well as various articles and blogs.
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