Ask the Author: Amy Belding Brown
Answered Questions (4)
Amy Belding Brown
I haven't had to deal too often with writer's block. Over the years, my problem has usually been trying to squeeze enough writing time into my day. However, I have had a few bouts with writer's block and the only thing that works for me is to step away from the writing for awhile and "prime the pump" with reading really good books. Eventually I'm able to get back in touch with the creative, playful energy that prompted me to write in the first place. But it takes some time.
Amy Belding Brown
I'm currently doing research for a new novel, focusing on Emily Dickinson and the people in her circle, especially those who lived in Amherst. I'm still in the early stages, but I'm finding it fascinating.
Amy Belding Brown
Read, read, read and write, write, write. Read the kind of books you'd like to write. Read books that are recommended by booksellers and well-reviewed on Goodreads. Write regularly - every day if you can. Keep a notebook or a journal. Learn the pleasures of revision - it's the real key to success.
Amy Belding Brown
After I wrote Mr. Emerson's Wife, I became interested in exploring the world of the New England Puritans, because I wanted to learn more about what the Transcendentalists and others were reacting to. I happened on a copy of Mary Rowlandson's captivity narrative in a gift shop at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts, and it immediately intrigued me. I soon widened my reading and became absorbed in the drama of King Philip's War. It was a remarkable time that's not covered in many American history texts. That led me to the story of the "Praying Indians" and the remarkable Nimuc man, James Printer. I was also fascinated with how Mary might have negotiated her re-entry into English colonial society after her captivity.
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