Ask the Author: Alex Bugaeff
Answered Questions (6)
Alex Bugaeff
The debt I feel to our Founders is deep. As I have learned about them and their struggles, I have become curious about the life they led and what I have found out is that they were no different than we are. Their stories are fascinating to me as I picture them, their everyday lives and the thoughts they had about what they were doing and sacrificing.
My writing is not confined to early American history, though. I write whatever I please and I have projects in various stages in short stories, journal, memoir, and opinion. So, I suppose I am inspired by wanting others to know what's on my mind.
My writing is not confined to early American history, though. I write whatever I please and I have projects in various stages in short stories, journal, memoir, and opinion. So, I suppose I am inspired by wanting others to know what's on my mind.
Alex Bugaeff
My new book is "American Amazons: Colonial Women Who Changed History." It is the second in my Grandfather Series and should be released around the first of 2015.
While researching my last book, "Pilgrims To Patriots," I came upon the stories of a number of heroic women, some of which fit into that book and some which did not. All of these stories needed to be told and I undertook to tell them.
I continued researching to find others and came up with over 60 women who were part of our Founding. Some are well known, but they did much more than is commonly recognized. Others are known only to a few historians, but who made valuable contributions just the same.
This book is the second in my Grandfather Series. In it, the grandfather tells his grandchildren these histories in a series of story times. As such, it can be read by all ages above 8 or so.
While researching my last book, "Pilgrims To Patriots," I came upon the stories of a number of heroic women, some of which fit into that book and some which did not. All of these stories needed to be told and I undertook to tell them.
I continued researching to find others and came up with over 60 women who were part of our Founding. Some are well known, but they did much more than is commonly recognized. Others are known only to a few historians, but who made valuable contributions just the same.
This book is the second in my Grandfather Series. In it, the grandfather tells his grandchildren these histories in a series of story times. As such, it can be read by all ages above 8 or so.
Alex Bugaeff
My advice for aspiring writers is to write, then to submit your work to someone who is willing to tell you the truth about it, then accept the truth and take action accordingly.
Ideally, the person you want telling you the truth is someone at arms length who you will pay for their service, if you can afford it. Never a relative or friend (although they can be a Beta reader, if they're willing to tell you the truth, too). A professional editor is best.
As with any art, fulfillment comes with hard work over a long period of time. If you don't love it, do something else and write just to please yourself.
Ideally, the person you want telling you the truth is someone at arms length who you will pay for their service, if you can afford it. Never a relative or friend (although they can be a Beta reader, if they're willing to tell you the truth, too). A professional editor is best.
As with any art, fulfillment comes with hard work over a long period of time. If you don't love it, do something else and write just to please yourself.
Alex Bugaeff
After months of research, I enjoy having my writing come out the way I had hoped - to go back over it and revel in its beauty.
Then, to submit it to my editor and have her beat the hell out of it. Having to struggle to "kill my darlings." Having to find and correct/incorporate the edits and to rewrite to make it better.
I guess you'd say I like everything about writing...and little about the marketing, but that's the lament of most of us.
Then, to submit it to my editor and have her beat the hell out of it. Having to struggle to "kill my darlings." Having to find and correct/incorporate the edits and to rewrite to make it better.
I guess you'd say I like everything about writing...and little about the marketing, but that's the lament of most of us.
Alex Bugaeff
I guess I'm lucky or hard-wired somehow, but I've never had trouble writing. When it's time to write, I sit down and the words come.
There are times when I get stuck midstream, but I have found that if I just write something, anything almost, and just keep writing, sooner or later the words get around to the project I intend them for. I wrote a shopping list once and, little by little, project-relevant stuff came forth and away I went.
For some reason, I am able to avoid self-judgment as I write - that may have something to do with it. I write and worry about fixing it some other time...or deleting it altogether.
When I stop for the day, say, I always take care to stop at the place easiest to finish. Writing to a good stopping place is death; I will never be able to pick it up the next time I sit down. Rather, I force myself to stop at the point where I want most to continue on, at the point where I know exactly what I will write next, whether it's a word or sentence. Mid-sentence is best. If I think I will need a little reminder the next time I sit down to it, I space bar a few spaces and enter a key word that will remind me my train of thought and tone/mood.
But, mostly I feel lucky and just try not to abuse the privilege.
There are times when I get stuck midstream, but I have found that if I just write something, anything almost, and just keep writing, sooner or later the words get around to the project I intend them for. I wrote a shopping list once and, little by little, project-relevant stuff came forth and away I went.
For some reason, I am able to avoid self-judgment as I write - that may have something to do with it. I write and worry about fixing it some other time...or deleting it altogether.
When I stop for the day, say, I always take care to stop at the place easiest to finish. Writing to a good stopping place is death; I will never be able to pick it up the next time I sit down. Rather, I force myself to stop at the point where I want most to continue on, at the point where I know exactly what I will write next, whether it's a word or sentence. Mid-sentence is best. If I think I will need a little reminder the next time I sit down to it, I space bar a few spaces and enter a key word that will remind me my train of thought and tone/mood.
But, mostly I feel lucky and just try not to abuse the privilege.
Alex Bugaeff
In researching for my last book, "Pilgrims To Patriots, A Grandfather Tells The Story", I came upon the stories of many women who did amazing things in Colonial and Revolutionary history. Some of these stories were crucial to our Nation's Founding and I included them in that book. Others were so powerful that they deserved telling on their own merits. So, "American Amazons: Colonial Women Who Changed History" was born.
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