Ask the Author: Irene Zabytko
Answered Questions (9)
Irene Zabytko
Not really. Instead, look at today's headlines--that is horrifying enough!
Irene Zabytko
IRome, Italy in the 1830s-1840s to meet the Ukrainian (yes, Ukrainian!) writer and ex-pat Nikolai Gogol. It would be helpful since I am writing about him these days.
Irene Zabytko
I read a lot of books simultaneously and piece-meal. I just finished a wonderful book by Priya Parmar called VANESSA AND HER SISTER--a fictionalized life of Vanessa Bell and her soon to be famous sister, Virginia Woolf in their early days as young women. Excellent prose (much of it in letters and diary excerpts) and a well executed plot focusing on Vanessa's relationship with her mercurial sister. A fabulous book!
Irene Zabytko
There are many exercises--free writing is helpful which is writing anything that comes to mind for five or so minutes to unblock one's rambling thoughts. I have several other unblocking techniques in my writing guide book THE FICTION PRESCRIPTION and also my weekly "Writing Wisdom" advice I send to my subscribers (www.irenezabytko.com)
Irene Zabytko
I love language and playing with it and the power and liberty I have when inventing stories--the people, the settings, the plots and their lives. It's a remarkable thing to write down all your creative ideas onto the page and more remarkable when people read them.
Irene Zabytko
Read. You have to read in order to write. And then write--every day. Even if it's for a few minutes during your lunch break or sitting in traffic.
Irene Zabytko
I am finishing a novel I started many years ago about the writer Nikolai Gogol. He was a Ukrainian writer from the 19th century and I always loved his books. His life was fascinating and tragic and worth a book of its own.
Irene Zabytko
I'm addicted to writing. If I don't write at least an hour a day, I become very irritable and need to at least write, rewrite, or reread what I wrote once a day including weekends and holidays. No vacations for me.
Irene Zabytko
My most recent book--just published on amazon.com is THE MIDWIFE'S TALE: A CHRISTMAS STORY told through the eyes of the first witness to the Nativity--the midwife. I had the idea for many years and wanted to include it in another book I planned to write, but decided to publish it as a stand-alone story.
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