Ask the Author: Marilyn Reynolds
Answered Questions (7)
Marilyn Reynolds
Read, read, read. Write daily. Find a writing group that stirs your creative juices. If you feel less like writing when you leave the group than you did when you got there, find a different group. I recommend "Bird By Bird" by Anne Lamott, and "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert.
Jack Smith, a columnist for the "L. A. Times" from the 60s until his death in 1996, said something to the effect that there is no such thing as writer's block. If you're a writer, you write. If your toilet's stopped up and you call the plumber, he/she won't tell you, "so sorry I can't help you. I have plumber's block."
I love the creative side of writing, but if I didn't treat it as a job, my 13 books would still be living just in my head. I guess the short version of my advice is just to keep at it.
Jack Smith, a columnist for the "L. A. Times" from the 60s until his death in 1996, said something to the effect that there is no such thing as writer's block. If you're a writer, you write. If your toilet's stopped up and you call the plumber, he/she won't tell you, "so sorry I can't help you. I have plumber's block."
I love the creative side of writing, but if I didn't treat it as a job, my 13 books would still be living just in my head. I guess the short version of my advice is just to keep at it.
Marilyn Reynolds
My most recent teen novel, "Shut Up," is about a ten-year-old boy who is being molested by his aunt's boyfriend. I wrote it because molestation of boys is all too common, and is seldom discussed. My hope was to bring this issue out of the shadows.
Marilyn Reynolds
If I sit writing at my computer every day, inspiration sometimes drops by.
Marilyn Reynolds
I'm currently in the process of writing a memoir that deals with my husband's descent into frontal temporal dementia.
Marilyn Reynolds
Write at least five days a week.
Marilyn Reynolds
Hearing from readers that something I've written has affected them in a positive way.
Marilyn Reynolds
In my professional life I was first a teacher, then a writer. I never skipped school because I had "teacher's block." I don't skip writing because I have writer's block. I sit at my computer and get to work. That's what professional writers do. There are days when the writing moves along easily, and other days when it approaches drudgery. But I stick to my writing schedule.
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