Einstein, Stephen King, and E.E. Cummings—Mr. King and I could pick Einstein's brain and then Cummings could write enlightening, transcendental poetry about our discoveries.
I want to sustain myself as a writer and be able to retire. More importantly, I want to bring fresh and innovative material to readers. I'd also like to explore the world more.
I think it's fabulous. The more formats to find good reading material the better. Some folks have an easier time reading large print or like having font options. That being said, nothing will replace the thrill of having a good book in my hands to discover.
I would tell my younger self to take life less seriously and to not cater too much to the people who tell you, "no." Let that be the fuel that drives you not the thing that cripples you from advancing your goals and dreams.
Illusions by Richard Bach, or the Way of the Peaceful Warror by Dan Millman. Those books led me on a powerful journey to self-discovery. I also relish The Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery) and Little House on the Prairie books (Laura Ingalls Wilder) because I can escape to a simpler time in life and get back to nature.
I sleep three and four hours a night when the muse takes over. But having an organic brain disorder (ADD) helps me sustain those kind of hours since I only require 4 to six hours on a regular basis.
It's become more focused and refined. The best thing I did for my work was to get certified in proofreading and editing. Really discerning the language itself has elevated my writing.
Always! Since I could read and talk I was play acting and writing little poems. I knew I would either become an actress or a writer. When the first didn't pan out I turned to writing. I have never given up. I've always been doing something. But life often gets in the way of fulfilling your dreams and it wasn't until I discovered indie publishing that I realized nobody is stopping me other than myself.
There's a little bit of me weaved into all that I do. I've had a colorful life. My debut novel will be highlights of my life weaved into a fictional tale, because let's face it, unless you are a celebrity, memoirs can get boring.
It's everything! That's the first look and can either pique a potential reader's interest or drive them away. I tend to over complicate things and make stuff busy. I had lots of hardcore feedback to simplify my cover (to Why Be Eye Candy When You Can Be Soul Food?) and get it to a place of simplicity and elegance.
What writer hasn't? After our TV show got shelved two weeks after it had the greenlight to get packaged, and my screenplays didn't go anywhere but garner a few accolades and rankings in film competitions, and a book I was solicited to adapt into a screenplay all got tanked, I became depressed and stopped writing for several years. I finally realized writing had to be for me, not what I think people wanted because that is so arbitrary. I can't look for validation outward. It is an inward journey. If you want it, others will too. So might as well do what moves you and you are passionate about.
I am so glad I published my poetry collection before my debut novel. I started publishing low content books without much success. Each book sank to the bottom of the algorithms on Amazon. Publishing this shorter work first taught me how to callaborate and work with deadlines, neither come easily, but it was a joy and paved the way to better prepare me to write my debut novel and to think about the publishing aspects as I'm working through it.
Some degree of structure, rich characters, and interesting arcs, and of course the language and syntax itself. The latter elevates everything, and if you have rich characters readers are more willing to forgive a weak plot point.
Make sure that you are pursuing what you love because it's a lonely hard road. If you are trying to impress anyone or get accolades this is not the outlet. That may come later as a result of blood, sweat, and tears, but shouldn't be a main goal. You have to like yourself as a person to spend that much time alone behind closed doors. And if you write for yourself, about what you desire and are passionate about, you will attract those like-minded readers and then the accolades will happen naturally.
