Ask the Author: Madison Scott-Clary
Answered Questions (6)
Madison Scott-Clary
It's tough to answer a question that far out given the current state of things. For now, though, I'll say that I want to make my way through Only Revolutions soon, I'm also looking forward to some more China Mieville, Jeff VanDermeer and Catherynne Valente, because I want to work on honing my style and have learned a lot from them.
Madison Scott-Clary
I'm currently serializing a science fiction novel to my patrons! I'm about 3/4 of the way done with the initial pass, after which I will edit and publish, hopefully in a few months. Keep an eye out for some far-future nonsense~
Madison Scott-Clary
Graphomania.
I'm only partially kidding. When I'm not writing, I honestly feel kind of awful. I -have- to write, there's nothing I can really do about that.
Inspiration is a different matter. For inspiration, I draw almost entirely on my past and my own experiences. That's why so much of my work is about queerness and struggling with identity. When I feel like I have to write but don't have anything to write about, I'll start poking at memories, good and bad, and see if there's anything there that I can leverage in order to build up a story.
I'm only partially kidding. When I'm not writing, I honestly feel kind of awful. I -have- to write, there's nothing I can really do about that.
Inspiration is a different matter. For inspiration, I draw almost entirely on my past and my own experiences. That's why so much of my work is about queerness and struggling with identity. When I feel like I have to write but don't have anything to write about, I'll start poking at memories, good and bad, and see if there's anything there that I can leverage in order to build up a story.
Madison Scott-Clary
As frantic and perhaps neurotic as ally feels, its construction was approached in a very straightforward and intentional fashion. When I began writing it, I was working at Internet Archive, so I was surrounded by nostalgia on all sides. The Archive's whole purpose is to amass things that deserve not to be forgotten (which includes just about everything).
In the process of working with archival material, I got the idea to start archiving much of my own stuff via some of the tooling, so I began collecting old things of mine to add to the archive. I began with [adjective][species], a furry blog I ran, then a conlang i made back in high school, and then my old LiveJournal.
This, by necessity, sort of rubbed my face into my past. At one point, I came into contact with a (literal) conversational style of writing that I had latched onto in high school, and from there began just asking myself questions to answer. It flowed surprisingly easily!
In the process of working with archival material, I got the idea to start archiving much of my own stuff via some of the tooling, so I began collecting old things of mine to add to the archive. I began with [adjective][species], a furry blog I ran, then a conlang i made back in high school, and then my old LiveJournal.
This, by necessity, sort of rubbed my face into my past. At one point, I came into contact with a (literal) conversational style of writing that I had latched onto in high school, and from there began just asking myself questions to answer. It flowed surprisingly easily!
Madison Scott-Clary
1. Read a lot. Read stuff you love. Read stuff you hate. Read stuff where you like the style but hate the plot. Read stuff where you like the plot but hate the style. All these will give you ideas and inspiration for coming up with your own style and stories.
2. You will write stuff you read later and cringe at. This is a sign that you've grown as a writer, and it should make you feel good! Learn from your own works as well as others'.
3. When you plan a work, also give some thought to style. Do you want it to feel brisk, fast paced, and dynamic? Or would the story be better served by something slow, stately, and introspective? Once you've settled on a style, keep that in mind as you work, and your writing will feel more cohesive in the end.
2. You will write stuff you read later and cringe at. This is a sign that you've grown as a writer, and it should make you feel good! Learn from your own works as well as others'.
3. When you plan a work, also give some thought to style. Do you want it to feel brisk, fast paced, and dynamic? Or would the story be better served by something slow, stately, and introspective? Once you've settled on a style, keep that in mind as you work, and your writing will feel more cohesive in the end.
Madison Scott-Clary
I have a three-tier approach approach to dealing with writer's block:
1. Go for a walk. Changing one's viewpoint - literally - can do an awful lot to clear one's mind, and you should be moving regularly, anyway!
2. Write flash-fiction. Find a prompt, come up with your own, just something to get words down. 200 words is still 200 more than 0, after all. If you're working on a longer piece, you can even set your flash fiction in the same universe, but importantly it shouldn't be the same story.
3. Stop writing, but keep working. Keep working with words and playing around with them! Do some editing. Do some layout. Record yourself reading your work. Organize your blog. Keep moving, but give yourself permission to set your project aside for a bit - just make sure you come back to them!
1. Go for a walk. Changing one's viewpoint - literally - can do an awful lot to clear one's mind, and you should be moving regularly, anyway!
2. Write flash-fiction. Find a prompt, come up with your own, just something to get words down. 200 words is still 200 more than 0, after all. If you're working on a longer piece, you can even set your flash fiction in the same universe, but importantly it shouldn't be the same story.
3. Stop writing, but keep working. Keep working with words and playing around with them! Do some editing. Do some layout. Record yourself reading your work. Organize your blog. Keep moving, but give yourself permission to set your project aside for a bit - just make sure you come back to them!
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