Ask the Author: Ali Mignonne
Answered Questions (7)
Ali Mignonne
I'm working on the sequel to Tangled Fates. I'm so excited about what the characters are doing, I can barely keep it myself! Charley makes his way out of the cave, Mrs. Snow faces an unthinkable decision, and Herr Wolf ... well, I can't say, but I think readers will approve of what happens to him!
Ali Mignonne
Bringing people, places, and things into existence that didn't exist before. I love being the creator!
Ali Mignonne
Writer's block is unbearable! Writer's block is inevitable! So, when writer's block comes-because it will-I've learned to walk away from the computer and immerse myself in some other endeavor for a while. I paint, or hike, or do household chores for hours, or days, or however long it takes until I feel a flicker of inspiration. Then I return to the computer and attack the block. Sometimes this works right away, but other times I have to repeat the process two, three, or ten times. But eventually the blockage WILL break free and the creative floodgates will open spilling new, inspired words onto the page.
Walk away. Come back and attack. It's as "simple" as that.
Walk away. Come back and attack. It's as "simple" as that.
Ali Mignonne
She never knew he loved her. She married someone else.
Ali Mignonne
1. Write. Don't wait until you're educated enough, inspired enough, or have enough time or money. It's life - there's never enough. If you have a story to tell, tell it. And if it sucks, fix it, or tell a different one.
2. Enjoy writing. Don't dwell on word count, pleasing the market, or who will publish you. If you love to write, then writing itself is your reward. Savor the private, intimate moments with your characters. Relish the trips to the far reaches of your imagination that no one else can go. Take pleasure in your gift of creation.
3. Employ Grit. Despite my number 2 word of advice, authoring a book can feel like a long, gut-wrenching, journey with a vast, rugged expanse between the trailhead and your destination. Turning an idea into a polished publication is going to more than positivity and determination; it's going to take grit. Once you begin, you can't look back and you can't stop moving. As Dory told Nemo, "Just keep swimming." - If you don't have kids, you may need to rent Finding Nemo;)
2. Enjoy writing. Don't dwell on word count, pleasing the market, or who will publish you. If you love to write, then writing itself is your reward. Savor the private, intimate moments with your characters. Relish the trips to the far reaches of your imagination that no one else can go. Take pleasure in your gift of creation.
3. Employ Grit. Despite my number 2 word of advice, authoring a book can feel like a long, gut-wrenching, journey with a vast, rugged expanse between the trailhead and your destination. Turning an idea into a polished publication is going to more than positivity and determination; it's going to take grit. Once you begin, you can't look back and you can't stop moving. As Dory told Nemo, "Just keep swimming." - If you don't have kids, you may need to rent Finding Nemo;)
Ali Mignonne
I'm inspired by anything and everything: ideologies, mythology, the moon, music, blue, mushrooms ... I have an overactive muse who endows me with ideas day and night. I don't know "how" I get inspired any more than I know how I breathe. I was born inspired.
Ali Mignonne
My book grew from a single idea seed. I was thinking about World War II - I had probably recently seen a documentary or read something about it - and I wondered how many family treasures, hastily hidden by Jewish families fleeing for their lives, still lay entombed around Europe: Tangled Fates sprouted from this single curiosity. Shortly my first character, Ruby Goldberg - a 16 year-old Jewish refugee - appeared. She took off running and I followed.
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