Pretty scant, to be honest. If I write for a couple of hours in a week, I'm happy. Fortunately I write quickly when I do put my mind to it, but it's usually over lunch breaks these days. By the time I get home from work and spend some time with my kids before they go to bed, my brain's shot. I aim to get at least 1000 words down in a sitting, and if they're flowing nicely, I can push that to about 2000. But to say "writers write" is silly nonsense. Writers do so much more than that, and sometimes we don't write at all for a while. I've taken weeks off at a time, giving myself little holidays from writing, and it's good for the creative mind to take a break.
In broad strokes, I don't know... I'm always dumbfounded when I go to conventions to meet new readers, because I almost always have someone stop at my table who says they never read books. It's an odd thing, to not read, and approach an author to say so. What prompts those people to approach an author? Are they proud of their non-reading? Do they feel insecure about it, and need to defend themselves in some way against the literate? I don't know, but I have a feeling it's always been this way. Probably more people read now than they did in the past, with the greater emphasis on schooling in recent generations, but whether or not that encompasses a greater awareness of the literary art, I have no idea.
I focus a lot more on the characters... how they feel and develop. With my first book, I wanted to showcase the world I had created, and the character development was a little thin. As much as a great setting can help anchor a story, it's the characters who bring that setting to life. Seeing the world through their eyes, and having reactions that are true to the characters is so important. My later books are much stronger, because I stick to the characters more.
In small ways, usually. It might be a funny quip, or some inner emotional toil. The most obvious example comes from my short story, Macimanito Moswa, because our van had a brake failure in Northwest Ontario and we pulled into the parking lot of a rundown shop. After I had a dream about a demonic moose in the middle of a highway at night, I knew I had to write about it in that setting, because it was quite creepy.
I do. I've read them all. I've yet to have one that is really bad, but I try not to respond to reviews. If I do, it's always to thank the person for taking the time to say how the story made them feel. Good or bad, it's always nice to get feedback that allows me to grow as a writer. I've seen other writers who get really abusive towards people who leave bad reviews, and I just can't imagine that it helps the writer in any way. No book will ever please all readers.
A positive review. Honestly, hearing that someone liked one of my stories is a huge deal to me. After all, if no one's enjoying the writing, what would be the point of doing it? Sure, I enjoy the creative process in and of itself, but it's hearing back from people who can't wait to get their hands on the next story that really gets me fired up. I have no delusions that I'll ever be a best seller - if that's what you're in it for, you won't last long. You need to enjoy writing for what it is, and not lose sight of that.
I learned so much from publishing my first book. Everything from formatting the document, to creating a plot, developing characters, working with a cover artist, how to price books, how important word of mouth is, maintaining a presence on social media and in the community. It's all so important, and so I would say I learned that a small percentage of writing a book is spent actually writing. There's a ton of research and outreach work that needs to be done, and it's easy to get lost in it all and struggle to find time to actually write. I'm much more economical with my time now, and cut away activities that weren't adding any value to my overall process (like blogging).
I can't pick between starvation pay for new authors, or contracts that heavily favour publishers to the point that they can fire a writer and still keep the rights to the books the writer wrote. There's also the fact that they overcharge for e-books... a large portion of what you pay for a paperback book is for printing. Without that cost, how is it ethical to have ebooks the same price as paperbacks? Traditional publishing just sounds like a scam to bleed writers of their ideas, and pay them as little as possible for the honour.
