Guest Author Post~ Jeffrey Blount

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The Trouble with Writing

Jeffrey Blount

The trouble with writing is that it requires a lot of time and much effort.  I always have the desire and effort is not an issue, but finding time is indeed a dilemma.  I have a full-time job and an amazing family that I love to spend time with.  I like tennis too.  I play at least twice a week.  And don’t stand in front of my television during football season!

Over the years, I have tried to put my writing aside because there was just no space in my life, and the game of agents and publishing got tiresome.  I put the desire and the dream up for adoption.  But the kid just kept finding his way home and pretty soon, I just had to let him stay.  I had to find a way to make it right between the two of us.

I set aside some time.  In the morning, after dropping off my son and daughter at school and my wife’s departure for work and also late at night, after everyone was in bed.  But the times weren’t absolute.  Changing family schedules and work demands often imposed themselves.  The question arose, how do I link the erratic moments together to create some kind of flow or rhythm to my writing which I believe is so very important when trying to maintain an even voice throughout a novel?  In the end, I found I had to link them together by keeping the characters alive and with me at all times so that when I did find the time to sit down and write, they didn’t have to be conjured up.  They were already with me.

They lived in my head all day long, growing, changing, reacting, failing and succeeding.  As I drove, whole scenes developed.  On my lunch hour and while in the carpool line, new characters appeared and plot lines came to fruition.  When I first started, I carried notecards with me or I wrote on napkins and the corners of newspaper pages.  Then I got smart and realized my smartphone had apps for this.  After a while, it seemed like I was always writing.

When I finally found the time to sit down and physically write, transferring the notes from the phone to the computer became part of keeping that flow alive.  Also, because time was short, meaning I didn’t have time to walk around the block and commune with myself to create the proper mood for writing; I had to find ways to get my head immediately into the process in order to maximize the use of the time I had set aside.

After transferring my notes, I always read the previous chapter before moving on.  Then I turned on the music.  Music has always been a part of my moods, both good and bad.  Certain songs make me happy, certain songs make me sad and certain songs make me contemplative.  So if I was planning to write about a very sad event, I would listen to appropriate music while reading the previous chapter and many times I would continue listening as I began a new scene or chapter of my book.  Sometimes one grouping of songs could take me through the whole manuscript.  For instance, much of Hating Heidi Foster was written while listening to the soundtrack from the movie Road to Perdition. 

Also, if your writing time is short, enhancing focus can be critical.  I write in a darkened room with only the light from my laptop and a desk lamp.  Everything else around me falls away.   No visual distractions lead to great moments of concentration.

And finally, I leave each writing session with an idea of where I want the story to go next.  It gives my characters places to go while I’m going through the daily business of my life.

Bio

Jeffrey Blount is an Emmy award-winning television director and an award recipient for scriptwriting on multiple documentary projects.  Born and raised in rural Virginia, he now lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Jeanne Meserve. They have two children, Julia and Jake.

Author Interview with Carolyn Frank

Welcome Carolyn Frank today and her new release PROMISES!

 

Tell us in one sentence about your book.

It’s about a timid girl growing up next to Bryce Canyon 100 years ago, who learns there’s a difference between complaining and standing up for herself.

Sounds interesting!

What made you want to be a writer?

I’ve liked to write since I was a kid, but I buried my desire when I had an overly critical teacher in college. But six years ago I read a book about a woman who went through a mid-life crisis and had an affair with a monk. The story bothered me so much it made me think, “I can write something better than this.” The next day I decided to write a novel, and I began the process. What kept me going was the desire to produce uplifting literature and provide a wholesome choice for readers, especially children.

I'm glad you're writing better stuff than a mid-life crisis affair! 

Any other books in the works?

*Another historical fiction is scheduled for publication in early 2014 with Covenant Communications. It’s about a Mormon boy who was a Hitler Youth against his will.

* An upper middle grade speculative/historical fiction is finished and is in the final stages of editing.  It’s about a boy who travels through books by means of a Literary Loom to aid him in his school assignments, experiencing the lives of historical greats like George Washington and William Tyndale while learning about freedom and God’s hand in the shaping of America.  

* A YA dystopic/speculative fiction entitled Bonded is finished and is in the early stages of revision. It’s set in a future time when the U.S. no longer exists as we know it, and slavery has returned. It deals with a young slave girl’s quest for freedom as she discovers the mysteries of the past.

* A middle-grade science fiction novel is half-way written. It is entitled Tree Boy, and it’s like a Superman meets Spiderman, meets the Ents (tree people) from the Lord of the Rings. (I got my degree in botany—what can I say?)

Um, you're busy, Carolyn!

What are your future writing goals?

To write until I am too senile to write anymore.

Are you a night owl or early bird?

Definitely an early bird.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Near my family. (I just wished they lived in Star Valley, Wyoming so I could move up to our cabin and live there amongst the aspen, fresh air, and un-crowded streets).

*sigh* Sounds nice.

Favorite season?

Spring. I love to see my perennials poke their heads out of the dead foliage of winter.

I just found a little, purple crocus popping up in my yard the other day!

What is the best piece of advice anyone has given you?

I love the quote by William Shedd, (I don’t even know who he is, but the quote was on a calendar I got from my insurance agent over ten years ago).

“A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships were made for.”

 I've never heard that one. Nice!

What advice do you have for an aspiring writer?

Believe you can do it, be prepared for a lot of work, and don’t give up—and you’ll get published.

 You're a great example, Carolyn! Thanks for stopping by today!

Author interview with Cindy Bennett

Give us your elevator pitch:

Geek Girl is a contemporary young adult novel about a teen Goth girl who bets her friends she can turn a geek boy bad. She soon finds that hanging out with a geek isn’t such a bad thing.

Do you have a snack you eat while writing?

I always have ice water and I almost always have Hershey’s dark chocolate to munch on.

Do you have trouble with distractions while writing? What are they?

 Games on my phone. It’s terrible but as soon as I feel the slightest writers block I pull the ‘Droid out and start playing games.

How do you combat distractions?

I try to put the phone down (lol) and then close my eyes for a minute while I try to get back into my characters head. I picture what point I want to get them to in the scene then start writing them to that.

Do you eat or listen to music while writing?

I sometimes eat while writing if it’s lunchtime or something, but usually it’s hard to eat while typing. I only listen to music if I’m looking for a particular mood for a scene and am having a hard time getting there. I might put on a movie that conveys that mood. Honestly, I’m usually watching TV while writing. I need the background noise.

What would your character do if they spent the day together? (Star Trek marathon? :))

A Star Trek or Star Wars marathon would likely be included, or any number of geek movies. One would have to sneak in there somewhere. They might take Trevor’s brother bowling, or jump on the trampoline. They would definitely spend a lot of time talking, because they really enjoy talking to each other.

Are you a night owl or early bird?

Definite night owl. I do most of my writing between midnight and 4 a.m. I might go to bed anywhere between 4 and 6, and sleep until noon. Nighttime is my most creative time. I’m pretty useless in the mornings. Mornings and I don’t get along at all.

What was your favorite TV show as a child/teen?

Oh, man, this is going to totally date me, but as a kid I loved The Brady Bunch—probably because there was a character who shared my name. And Sesame Street, which I have to admit I still watch on occasion. As a young teen it was all about The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. What great concepts they were. One was about people on a cruise boat. Who wouldn’t want to be on a cruise all the time? How exotic that seemed. And the other, you went to this beautiful, tropical island and had your fantasy granted. I mean, wow. I’d take that any day—even if it meant listening to Tattoo yelling “De plane, de plane.”

Do you have a favorite comfort food?

Chocolate, as cliché as it is—dark chocolate, particularly. Almost any kind of junk food really—cookies, brownies, doughnuts, chips. I only wish I were comforted by carrots and celery.

Any other books in the works?

I’m nearly finished with my newest called Immortal Mine. It’s a little different than the others as it takes a dip into the paranormal pool, though at heart it’s all about the romance—small town girl whose life is disrupted by stranger moving into town, there’s something unusual about him, something she can’t begin to imagine (he’s immortal, but not a vamp or werewolf). And of course it wouldn’t be one of my characters if something tragic didn’t happen to the poor heroine.

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring writers?

Let the negative stuff roll off. You’re going to get a lot of rejections, you’re going to get bad reviews. They’re heart breaking, but you have to let them go or you’ll get so bogged down by depression that you’ll never be able to succeed. But along with that, learn from the negative stuff. Sometimes bad reviews actually have something constructive within them (:o)).

Anything else you want to add?

I want to send a gigantic thank you out to all of my readers, and to all of the reviewers and book bloggers who have helped my books to have the success that they’ve had. I absolutely love writing; it’s a huge source of joy to me. But if there weren’t people willing to actually read what I write, then I’d be spending way too much time on a hobby (lol).

Thank you thank you Cindy! It was a pleasure having you here! Good luck on your book launch!