Ask the Author: Gin Jones
Answered Questions (4)
Gin Jones
Three things: 1) join the author support group for your genre, like Sisters in Crime is for mystery; 2) follow the old Nike slogan: just do it, and 3) get some feedback.
The last one is really important. Just do it is great to get started, but at some point, you need to know what your weaknesses are so you can improve. Otherwise, you just keep on making the same old mistakes, and it's hard to see them in your own work. So find someone to point out ONE thing you can do better, and work on that as you keep writing. Mine was getting conflict into each and every scene, and once I understood that, my storytelling improved exponentially. Master that issue and then find one more thing you can do better, and work on that. And keep writing as you're learning and improving.
The last one is really important. Just do it is great to get started, but at some point, you need to know what your weaknesses are so you can improve. Otherwise, you just keep on making the same old mistakes, and it's hard to see them in your own work. So find someone to point out ONE thing you can do better, and work on that as you keep writing. Mine was getting conflict into each and every scene, and once I understood that, my storytelling improved exponentially. Master that issue and then find one more thing you can do better, and work on that. And keep writing as you're learning and improving.
Gin Jones
I complain sometimes that writing is hard, but really, it's kind of like breathing for me. I've tried to quit, but it never stuck. So, in a philosophical sense, EVERYTHING about being a writer is the best, because I'm miserable when I don't write. In a more practical sense, I love how part of being writer involves spending hours and hours and hours looking at kitten-rescuer accounts on Instagram (research!) or going down other rabbit holes to learn more about various topics that I might (kitten fostering!) or might not (woodworking) include in a future book.
Gin Jones
SIX CLOVES UNDER was inspired by my own garlic-growing and learning that there are indeed garlic farms in Massachusetts. Add in some experience with app development (not doing it myself, but working with the developers), and a cranky cat (who looks like a cat I had years ago, but has the personality of a cat my neighbor had), and a preliminary title of Peggy Sue Got Buried (which quickly got buried itself, since it didn't work for the unfolding story, although I did keep the victim's name as Peggy, just not Peggy Sue).
Gin Jones
I update my website monthly with a "fresh start" post, theoretically to share what I'm currently working on, but it's probably more for my own benefit to keep me from getting confused. At any given moment, I'm preparing for the release of a finished book, working on a proposal for a project that may not be released for YEARS, and writing a manuscript that will be due in a few months. At the moment, I'm finishing up the third book in the Garlic Farm Mysteries while preparing for the release of the first book in the series!
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