Today I had the honor of visiting Ms. Christine Carroll’s 10th grade English
class at Millard North High School. The students were bright and
alert. It amazed me how self-confident they were and the excellent
questions they asked. One of the students had even read the prologue for
my book and drawn out a picture of one of the characters on the computer.
She brought it to the class and I was highly impressed. This girl is going
places! One of the questions that were posed to me by both classes I
lectured was, “Do you ever have writer’s block?” I answered that I don’t
in the conventional sense because I always know what I am going to write before
I sit down. You see, I work out my writing ahead of time in my mind.
I storyboard it sometimes on paper or in my head so that conversations and
events flow in a logical sequence. Do I ever get struck? Sure I
do. With me, though, the problem is more transitional. “Ok.
I’m here in the story. I need to get to there. What do I do to fill
that void? How can I bridge that gap? Sometimes I do some character
development and other times I like to use comic relief. Even in an
action/adventure like “Quest for the Red Sapphire” you need to have comic
relief. Imagine a story with no breaks in the action or suspense.
You just can’t keep a reader walking the razor’s edge like that for very
long. It’s exhausting for the reader and it’s hard on the writer.
There need to be breaks when the reader can breathe easier. Humor is a
wonderful way to give that break and add a little levity to the serious
storyline. That’s not to say that you need to write a stand-up routine but
something light and frothy can make it a more enjoyable book for everyone
involved. Another question I was asked was, “Do I draw on my own
experiences for my writing?” The answer was “Absolutely yes!” When
one is creating characters the best place to look for inspiration is from people
or situations we know. How many singers have written songs about
heartbreak? Some of them have made their name just by doing that.
You can bet they experienced those emotions at some point in order to write the
song. It is no different as a book writer. It is the experience you
have that inspires you to write. No matter how imaginative the story is,
there will always be some real life inspiration behind it. The group today
was alert and intelligent. I was deeply honored to have the chance to
visit with them. KEEP ON READING
class at Millard North High School. The students were bright and
alert. It amazed me how self-confident they were and the excellent
questions they asked. One of the students had even read the prologue for
my book and drawn out a picture of one of the characters on the computer.
She brought it to the class and I was highly impressed. This girl is going
places! One of the questions that were posed to me by both classes I
lectured was, “Do you ever have writer’s block?” I answered that I don’t
in the conventional sense because I always know what I am going to write before
I sit down. You see, I work out my writing ahead of time in my mind.
I storyboard it sometimes on paper or in my head so that conversations and
events flow in a logical sequence. Do I ever get struck? Sure I
do. With me, though, the problem is more transitional. “Ok.
I’m here in the story. I need to get to there. What do I do to fill
that void? How can I bridge that gap? Sometimes I do some character
development and other times I like to use comic relief. Even in an
action/adventure like “Quest for the Red Sapphire” you need to have comic
relief. Imagine a story with no breaks in the action or suspense.
You just can’t keep a reader walking the razor’s edge like that for very
long. It’s exhausting for the reader and it’s hard on the writer.
There need to be breaks when the reader can breathe easier. Humor is a
wonderful way to give that break and add a little levity to the serious
storyline. That’s not to say that you need to write a stand-up routine but
something light and frothy can make it a more enjoyable book for everyone
involved. Another question I was asked was, “Do I draw on my own
experiences for my writing?” The answer was “Absolutely yes!” When
one is creating characters the best place to look for inspiration is from people
or situations we know. How many singers have written songs about
heartbreak? Some of them have made their name just by doing that.
You can bet they experienced those emotions at some point in order to write the
song. It is no different as a book writer. It is the experience you
have that inspires you to write. No matter how imaginative the story is,
there will always be some real life inspiration behind it. The group today
was alert and intelligent. I was deeply honored to have the chance to
visit with them. KEEP ON READING
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