Ask the Author: Janey Mack
Answered Questions (14)
Janey Mack
You make your own reality. At least for someone you really like, after torturing them for months on end.
Janey Mack
Writer's block to me is based on one of two things:
1.) Heavy personal issues/concerns which make it impossible to concentrate or bring your most thoughtful self to the table.
2.) I screwed up in the last scene or chapter. I'm stuck because I'm trying to force the storyline down a chute that doesn't feel right.
My solutions:
1.) If I'm unable to concentrate, I find this is the best time to work on log lines (single sentence story ideas for other projects), because I don't become immediately invested enough to overthink them.
2.) For a stuck story, I start reading from the beginning of and stop at the place I feel most happy with. Because the mistake is in the pages right after that. So I restart there and force myself to move the story in a different direction.
Hope this helps!
1.) Heavy personal issues/concerns which make it impossible to concentrate or bring your most thoughtful self to the table.
2.) I screwed up in the last scene or chapter. I'm stuck because I'm trying to force the storyline down a chute that doesn't feel right.
My solutions:
1.) If I'm unable to concentrate, I find this is the best time to work on log lines (single sentence story ideas for other projects), because I don't become immediately invested enough to overthink them.
2.) For a stuck story, I start reading from the beginning of and stop at the place I feel most happy with. Because the mistake is in the pages right after that. So I restart there and force myself to move the story in a different direction.
Hope this helps!
Janey Mack
Nick and Nora Charles from Hammett's THE THIN MAN.
It takes an extraordinary man to maintain a level of alpha independence when living off his wife's money. And if I was an heiress, I'd have spent my life looking for Nick.
I love male characters that are tough and complex enough to deal with intricate, clever females. In a relationship where neither is diminished by the other's strengths or their own character flaws.
Other favorites in no particular order:
Ned Beaumont and Janet Henry from Hammett's THE GLASS KEY. (They're a darker start to Nick and Nora.)
Kelly Hughes and Roberta Cranfeld from Francis' ENQUIRY.
Wayne and Carmen from Leonard's KILLSHOT.
Mr and Mrs Fox from Dahl's FANTASTIC MR. FOX.
Henry and Clarissa Hailsham-Brown from Christie's THE SPIDER'S WEB.
Flora Poste and Charles Fairford from Gibbons' COLD COMFORT FARM
The sick and twisted relationship:
Rhoda Penmark and LeRoy in March's THE BAD SEED.
And because I'm a sap:
George Emerson and Lucy Honeychurch from Forster's A ROOM WITH A VIEW
Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
It takes an extraordinary man to maintain a level of alpha independence when living off his wife's money. And if I was an heiress, I'd have spent my life looking for Nick.
I love male characters that are tough and complex enough to deal with intricate, clever females. In a relationship where neither is diminished by the other's strengths or their own character flaws.
Other favorites in no particular order:
Ned Beaumont and Janet Henry from Hammett's THE GLASS KEY. (They're a darker start to Nick and Nora.)
Kelly Hughes and Roberta Cranfeld from Francis' ENQUIRY.
Wayne and Carmen from Leonard's KILLSHOT.
Mr and Mrs Fox from Dahl's FANTASTIC MR. FOX.
Henry and Clarissa Hailsham-Brown from Christie's THE SPIDER'S WEB.
Flora Poste and Charles Fairford from Gibbons' COLD COMFORT FARM
The sick and twisted relationship:
Rhoda Penmark and LeRoy in March's THE BAD SEED.
And because I'm a sap:
George Emerson and Lucy Honeychurch from Forster's A ROOM WITH A VIEW
Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Janey Mack
Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?
Many authors adopt pseudonyms privacy and security. Some don't want to alienate their fans if they write something out of genre. And some opt for a pseudonym to garner representation for a new project if their past sales were less than stellar.
Many authors adopt pseudonyms privacy and security. Some don't want to alienate their fans if they write something out of genre. And some opt for a pseudonym to garner representation for a new project if their past sales were less than stellar.
Janey Mack
Know your genre inside and out. Know the industry standards.
Everyone has a story. If you want it bad enough, you can do it!
Everyone has a story. If you want it bad enough, you can do it!
Janey Mack
TORN UP, #4 in the series as well as a thriller.
Janey Mack
This article inspired TIME'S UP:
http://www.thewire.com/business/2010/...
The city of Chicago sold their parking meters for a 75 year lease. It has the most expensive parking in the United States.
http://www.thewire.com/business/2010/...
The city of Chicago sold their parking meters for a 75 year lease. It has the most expensive parking in the United States.
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