Ask the Author: Iffix Y. Santaph
Answered Questions (7)
Iffix Y. Santaph
Sorry G.G. It was perhaps a poor decision on my part. Some readers had told me there were format issues in the Kindle versions of my books. I knew what I wanted them to look like, and I didn't feel I was giving my readers my best work with Kindle Format. So I opted to release them in Hard Copy only.
Iffix Y. Santaph
If there's a writer's block, I take a step back and ask myself if there's some reason the story doesn't work. Usually that is my greatest block. Something isn't quite right.
Along with being a writer, I have spent some time in my history as a table-top roleplayer. So I have come to see that just because the narrator wants something to happen doesn't mean the character always agrees. If I let the character guide the story, usually it gets the job done far beyond what I would have hoped for as a narrator.
Actually, the decision I made to publish a novella series was a character-driven decision. I had been in the process of finishing a narrator-driven novel and my characters essentially said they didn't like where their story was going.
I took a step back and found out I had essentially written two completely different stories into one novel. (If you're a Brandon Sanderson fan like myself, imagine Elantris if the three main characters' paths never crossed. That was essentially what was happening with books 3 and 4 of my series.) I concluded that splitting the story into novellas would make the story more easy to follow and the overall product would be more coherent.
I'm pleased with the result so far. I hope you will be too.
Along with being a writer, I have spent some time in my history as a table-top roleplayer. So I have come to see that just because the narrator wants something to happen doesn't mean the character always agrees. If I let the character guide the story, usually it gets the job done far beyond what I would have hoped for as a narrator.
Actually, the decision I made to publish a novella series was a character-driven decision. I had been in the process of finishing a narrator-driven novel and my characters essentially said they didn't like where their story was going.
I took a step back and found out I had essentially written two completely different stories into one novel. (If you're a Brandon Sanderson fan like myself, imagine Elantris if the three main characters' paths never crossed. That was essentially what was happening with books 3 and 4 of my series.) I concluded that splitting the story into novellas would make the story more easy to follow and the overall product would be more coherent.
I'm pleased with the result so far. I hope you will be too.
Iffix Y. Santaph
I love being able to go on vacation in my own little world of my own design. It's a blast to see something appear on the page that I didn't expect would be there. (I free-write most of my main-drafts and it isn't uncommon to still add new fun things to my stories into later drafts.) I am not one of those authors expecting to be on the best seller list. But I'm okay with that. Writing is fun for me, so I do it, and if someone takes up my book hoping to be entertained, I'm certain they'll be surprised what they find, and hopefully pleased with the journey.
Iffix Y. Santaph
I spent 21 years writing. I had intended fully to attend creative writing courses years ago, but life never seemed to go that direction, so I finally decided that if I wanted to share this story I was going to not rely on the Bachelor's degree most authors have hanging on the wall at home to remind themselves they can write. My advice to you? If you're a writer, believe you are a writer. Take the bull by the horns and don't let anyone tell you no.
Iffix Y. Santaph
I am currently in the editing stages of Deception, book 2 in my novella series. I had Deception mostly prepared prior to publishing Impulse, to give myself a head-start. It has a deadline in July. I also am writing early drafts for Conspiracy (due in November) and Retrospect (due in February, 2016). And I am working on storylines for books 5 and 6, which will complete the basic series. I have Forgotten Princess slated to become an expanding universe series, so after 6 I will likely continue on with new stories, though the major arc will be completed by book 6.
Iffix Y. Santaph
It depends. For me, one of the keys is to cut out the distractions. I have discovered that I am an internet junkie. So unless I shut off my router, I don't get my writing done for the day. That being said, there are some scenes that absolutely require me to play some kind of cinematic music for inspiration. In particular, I crank Pandora for a little while before taking on an action scene like you'll find in Impulse.
Iffix Y. Santaph
I have been writing the Forgotten Princess series for quite some time. Back in 2010 I had this idea that it would be fun to take a familiar fairytale and make it more proactive and exciting. And I've always loved sci-fi, so I figured a sci-fi fairytale would be neat to experiment with.
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