As a young girl in my early teens, I wrote detailed (and I mean very detailed) descriptions of characters and setting. In my late teens, I wrote different types of day-to-day life stories. Both helped me to write what I had envisioned in my head to paper. It also helped me to develop a strong foundation for storytelling. Throughout the years as I've honed my writing skills, (taking classes, learning from others, reading, and continually writing), I found that I love to write about strong characters and what they need to do to overcome the unexpected.
I haven't had writer's block where I couldn't write for periods of time. I have been stumped when writing about a particular problem or predicament that my character has to overcome. When that occurs, I'll stop writing and do something else for the day. The solution will usually come to me while I'm working on a puzzle, taking a shower, or lying in bed trying to sleep.
I learned a lot when publishing my first book. I was pretty green. I had no idea what was involved or how time-consuming it would be. I was shocked when I received my first edits back from the editor. I was embarrassed by how many corrections she and I had to make (which she assured me that it was common and not to worry). After the first book, I studied what my editor corrected, so I wouldn't make the same mistakes when I wrote and self-edited future books. It's helped considerably.
