Ask the Author: Tammie Painter
Answered Questions (8)
Tammie Painter
Find a way to do what you love.
Tammie Painter
I don't write; I rewrite!
Tammie Painter
I honestly don't believe in writer's block. The days when I sit down to write and nothing comes out, it's not "writer's block," it's more a feeling of "Gee, I'd like to be doing something else right now." But I can't just get up and do something else otherwise nothing will get written.
Writing takes self-discipline and I think the lack of that discipline gets interpreted as writer's block. The only way to deal with it is to get the butt in the chair and write anything to get the juices flowing. The first couple paragraphs may be horrible, but as the story starts playing out in my head, the writing improves.
To be a writer, you can't just wait for inspiration to arrive out of the blue and you can't make excuses when you don't write. You need to sit down (preferably every day, if possible at the same time every day) and write. There are so many stories out there, I can't imagine not having anything to write about.
Writing takes self-discipline and I think the lack of that discipline gets interpreted as writer's block. The only way to deal with it is to get the butt in the chair and write anything to get the juices flowing. The first couple paragraphs may be horrible, but as the story starts playing out in my head, the writing improves.
To be a writer, you can't just wait for inspiration to arrive out of the blue and you can't make excuses when you don't write. You need to sit down (preferably every day, if possible at the same time every day) and write. There are so many stories out there, I can't imagine not having anything to write about.
Tammie Painter
Loving my job. Don't get me wrong, there are some days I hate writing, but to be honest, this is the only job I've had in my life where I am glad to wake up early to get started on a project. Second to loving my job, getting to hear from happy readers is very rewarding.
Tammie Painter
Write! Don't just talk about wanting to be a writer or jot down ideas, write!
You also need to evaluate yourself with a very critical eye. Writing well is not easy, creating a book that will resonate with people takes skill, getting your name out there is time consuming, and some reviews can be painful.
If you aren't the sort of person to see things through, have a thin skin, can't stick to a regular writing/revising schedule, aren't willing to learn how to improve your craft, and aren't tenacious, you may want to rethink that writing career.
And finally, accept that first drafts are horrid things. They should be. DO NOT think you can write a single draft and throw it out to be published (unless you are some sort of savant). Remember, you are not a writer; you are a reviser!
You also need to evaluate yourself with a very critical eye. Writing well is not easy, creating a book that will resonate with people takes skill, getting your name out there is time consuming, and some reviews can be painful.
If you aren't the sort of person to see things through, have a thin skin, can't stick to a regular writing/revising schedule, aren't willing to learn how to improve your craft, and aren't tenacious, you may want to rethink that writing career.
And finally, accept that first drafts are horrid things. They should be. DO NOT think you can write a single draft and throw it out to be published (unless you are some sort of savant). Remember, you are not a writer; you are a reviser!
Tammie Painter
In addition to gearing up for the release of The Trials of Hercules: Book One of The Osteria Chronicles on 18 October 2014, I'm working on the second book in the six-part series. It's titled The Voyage and just as Book One was a re-imagining of the Hercules legends, this book is a re-telling of the Jason and The Argonauts stories. I completed the very rough draft in June and am now sorting out what work needs to be done. The Voyage will be released sometime in 2015.
Tammie Painter
Unfortunately, I get TOO inspired to write. Because I love historical fiction and re-telling old legends, I have thousands of years of inspiration to sift through and an entire file of Books To Be Written. Most often, though I'll see an article or a documentary and wonder how that could be fictionalized, told in a new setting or told from another person's view.
Tammie Painter
I’ve always been fascinated with Greek mythology and came across a documentary series about the historical basis of many of the characters and stories in Greek legends. One of the episodes was on Hercules’s Twelve Labors and I thought, “How would that play out if this was set in modern times?”
I played around with the story trying to force it into a modern setting, but couldn’t get it to fit. About fifty pages into that draft, I realized it just wasn’t working (cue heavy sigh), but didn’t want to give up on the idea.
After thinking it over, I considered how the story could work if I set it in a post-apocalyptic future society that has adopted Greek (and some Roman) ways of life. And what if the gods were real players in this world? The idea took hold quickly. The outline and character sketches for the book flowed out in less than a couple hours and I had a rough draft in about six weeks
I played around with the story trying to force it into a modern setting, but couldn’t get it to fit. About fifty pages into that draft, I realized it just wasn’t working (cue heavy sigh), but didn’t want to give up on the idea.
After thinking it over, I considered how the story could work if I set it in a post-apocalyptic future society that has adopted Greek (and some Roman) ways of life. And what if the gods were real players in this world? The idea took hold quickly. The outline and character sketches for the book flowed out in less than a couple hours and I had a rough draft in about six weeks
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