Ask the Author: Alison Beard
Answered Questions (6)
Alison Beard
For me, life itself, fills the inkwell. As I quit smoking, I spewed my guts onto the pages of my journal. From my journal, my memoir, QUIT OR DIE TRYING, was born. My current story, OLD DOG, is a work of fiction, but is based on a true story of destruction when a stereotype in the hands of a tyrant is acted on, and the duty bystanders have to see it, and stop it. Every day, observing life and getting caught up in it gives me great material to work with.
Alison Beard
I am currently working on a fictional story about pit bulls, and a man who hates them. It is a terrifying, yet rejoicing, tale to create, as tyranny meets innocence at the crossroads of compassion. I can't wait to share it with the world!
Alison Beard
I am inspired by my own stereotypes. I am aware that they exist within me and within others. I know what stereotypes I personally harbor, and I hope to challenge them through my writing.
Alison Beard
"Aspiring" writers? My advice is to read...a lot! WRITING DOWN THE BONES, by Natalie Goldberg, is a great resource, too, for someone who has never written "anything" but desires to, and lacks confidence. Just get it all down, first. Capture the raw thoughts, and work out all the bugs later. Have faith that after it is polished to the best of a writer's ability, there are some really smart editors who will make a writer look even smarter. The take away: just write the first draft as thoughts flow onto paper. Whether it begins in the middle of the story, or at the end, or at the end to the middle and back to the end of the story, trust that it can be straightened out later. What is important is that you gather all of the pieces.
Alison Beard
I don't typically experience writer's block. It warrants mentioning, however, that I don't churn out books like a production line, though, either. I don't have a writing routine, so I go to the table (I write at my kitchen table) only when I am moved to say something about life. If I happen to be "stuck" on a word, or a phrase, or how to proceed, I get up and leave the table knowing that it will come to me. When I leave the table, I live life, and life "is" my source; it always gives me the answer, and it never lets me down.
Alison Beard
While writing QUIT OR DIE TRYING, I was distracted from the urge to smoke, and therefore, it was on a daily basis...and sometimes even moment to moment...my savior from an almost constant desire to smoke. During the writing process, I'd forget that I wanted to smoke without even being aware that I had overcome each urge. So I guess, writing became my means to cope, and it truly saved me from cigarettes and the tremendous power that they once had over me. Writing became the lifestyle that replaced cigarettes.
As I write other works-in-progress, I get so caught up in the action of my characters and their environment, that I am taken to another place, or another time. It's like being transported into their life, and it happens so fully, that I have to sometimes force myself to stop writing to enjoy the fun of my own life -- which this morning, is surrounded by an excited Mastiff named Maserati who is marching in place, awaiting impatiently to be taken outside where...as he sees through the window...snow is falling.
As I write other works-in-progress, I get so caught up in the action of my characters and their environment, that I am taken to another place, or another time. It's like being transported into their life, and it happens so fully, that I have to sometimes force myself to stop writing to enjoy the fun of my own life -- which this morning, is surrounded by an excited Mastiff named Maserati who is marching in place, awaiting impatiently to be taken outside where...as he sees through the window...snow is falling.
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