Ask the Author: Mark Nelson
Answered Questions (6)
Mark Nelson
Activity helps. If the words don't come, I'll take a walk, read a book, let life sweep me along for awhile. Discipline helps keep the word flow going for me. If I set myself down at the keyboard, relax, let the questions percolating in my hind brain come forward, let the characters who have to deal with those questions start talking to me, then words come. Sometimes they take me in unexpected directions, and THAT is when things get interesting. I recall pausing for a whole year after finishing an early draft of Poets. I knew book two would have to be bigger and more complex, and I wasn't sure I could pull it off. I had a handful of characters rattling their chains in my sleep. One day in the middle of a rain interrupted vacation in Idaho, I borrowed my daughter's laptop and wrote 3000 words and was off and running. Great fun.
Mark Nelson
I've met some wonderful people who share my love of words and story. Having folks respond to my writing has been a real joy. It has made a huge difference in how I teach. Confidence is its own aphrodisiac in that regard. I have found I have a voice and something to say. Having the chance to share, and confronting the risks that sharing brings with it, has been a huge growth experience for me. I am proud to call myself 'author'.
Mark Nelson
Let your story find you. Don't try and write "the next great trendy tale" because all you wind up doing is falling prey to cliche. Write the truth, even if it is made up, make it plausible and clear, push the envelope of your fears and take your readers along with you. Don't be afraid of criticism. The delete key can be your friend.
Mark Nelson
I am currently working on the fourth book of my Pevana cycle, which I fully intend to be the last with these characters. My editor is still dealing with the draft of book three: Path of the Poet King. Hopefully, we will get it in shape for publication soon. The working title for book four is Pevanese Mosaic, and it seems to be growing into something cataclysmic for the people involved.
Mark Nelson
I'm inspired by those things that come at me from odd angles of vision; those things we see out of the corners of our eyes that force us to turn and look. Colors, shapes in nature, the nuances of sound I hear in music, history, people, the sounds of words on the tongue and in the mind...these are things that get to me and force me to find ways to describe them. Stuff will bubble up from some other place like methane escaping through water, and when the bubbles collect, words happen.
Mark Nelson
Poets grew out of an online interaction with folks who originally gathered together to geek out about our favorite band, Styx. But the group morphed into a diverse community that went far beyond the original intent, and I found myself intrigued by the variety of personality types, political ideas, musical tastes and overall intelligence of the group. A friend in that group and I started finding common ground regarding poetry. Eventually, we started poetry challenges that we posted back and forth on the message board. The community members seemed to enjoy, and the thing took on a life of its own. Eventually, I began seeing the experience as a seed for a story, started messing about with words, and the end result was a story about small lives, big words, bad politics and false religion. Simple!
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