Ask the Author: Charles J. Shields

“Ask me a question.” Charles J. Shields

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Charles J. Shields Witness by Whittaker Chambers; The Cold War by John Lewis Gaddis; I Chose Freedom: The Personal Political Life of a Soviet Official by the Soviet Ukrainian defector Viktor Kravchenko; Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill by Sonia Purnell.
Charles J. Shields It's a job; it requires discipline. I don't wait for inspiration.

“To be a serious writer requires discipline that is iron fisted. It’s sitting down and doing it whether you think you have it in you or not. Everyday. Alone. Without interruption. Contrary to what most people think, there is no glamour to writing. In fact, it’s heartbreak most of the time. --Harper Lee, in Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee

Charles J. Shields Final proofs for Lorraine Hansberry: The Life Behind 'A Raisin in the Sun'.
Charles J. Shields Don't write for free. You can't respect yourself, or your work if you do. Second, don't drink. As actor Bill Nighy said, "Drugs are the enemy of art."
Charles J. Shields Doing good own work in isolation.
Charles J. Shields I've never experienced it. When I get stuck, listen briefly to an audio book— lately Joyce's Dubliners— to prime the pump again.

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