Conversations with Em (Part 3)
My writing process; books I've reread; handling criticism; and have I read my older books again?
Welcome to part 3 of my article series, “Conversations with Em.” This is where I answer your questions regarding my writing process, my characters, my plots, and whatever it is you ask (within reason.)
In our first conversation we covered questions about my most challenging character to write, and the character I feel closest to; what I wish I knew before I published; the strangest or most interesting research I’ve done for a book, and what I’m working on now. You can find that here, in Part 1. In Part 2, I answered questions about my visions of the story vs. reality; if the path is different; and how I developed the clans of the Allegheny Chronicles series.
In Part 3, we’re going to talk about my writing process; handling criticism; other authors’ books I’ve read many times; and whether I’ve gone back and read my older novels.
Let’s get to it!!!
Q: How would you describe your writing process?
Every writing class/course I have ever taken beats it into you that “YOU MUST OUTLINE BEFORE YOU WRITE!!!” You have to know where you are going with the story before you write it.
I imagine for some people it works quite well to gather thoughts and be organized —Like when you write an essay or a report. But I’m not writing essays or reports. I’m writing a book. My writing process can be summed up in three memes:
I don't plot out every detail of my stories because my characters and I often have disagreements in the way the story should go….which sounds weird because:
And if I don't listen to my characters, there are dire consequences…
And so I have learned to listen to my characters… and the story… and go where it takes me. Even I am surprised at where everything ends up. I supposed you can call it more ‘exciting’ when it’s done that way. I must confess that I don’t even write the story in order. Sometimes I start in the middle, other times I’m working on the ending at the same time as the beginning. It’s…organized chaos.
That’s my style. That’s how I’ve always done it. It works for me. Maybe your mind works differently and your characters are more agreeable.
Do what works best for your style of writing.
Q: As a reader, what books have you read more than once?
A: I’ve read “Ride the Dark Trail” by Louis L’Amour about a dozen times and read “The Hogfather” by Terry Pratchett about ten times. I will always sit down and reread any book by those two authors. For “Ride the Dark Trail,” Logan Sackett has always been a favorite character. I also like the MT Ranch, Em Talon, and how he brings in the characters from his other books. As for “The Hogfather,” I read it for the wit and humor… and because “Death” is my favorite Disc World character.
My bookshelves contain the books I will read more than once. If I’m not going to read it again, well, I don’t want it on my shelf. Quite frankly, I believe you should read books more than once because you get something different out of them at different points in your life. Sometimes you’re reading it too fast and miss things. Sometimes you are reading in a distracted environment. And sometimes the experience of life just makes a scene or dialogue in the book hit differently. And when you read as an author, you learn something from the way the book is written. So… Don’t be afraid to dust those books off on your shelf and reread them.
Q: How do you handle criticism or bad reviews for your books?
A: I am my own worst critic. I’ve picked apart my own work, voiced so many doubts, and have thought of every bad thing anyone can say about my work. Been there, done that. I’ve always done it. In fact, I recall a time from my teen years where my brother found something I was working on, saved on a floppy disk on the computer, read it, then mercilessly teased me and critiqued it. He then said, “Well, if you don’t want someone to read it, don’t write it down.”
Yes, written words are meant to be read. And what is written isn’t going to draw the same responses.
I am vastly aware that people are different. What they enjoy, their ideas, their views— it’s all different. Ten people can read the same book and have different opinions on the book because EVERYONE has an opinion and a different taste. Some see the positives, the thriving, and love seeing others succeed. Others prefer to find every little error, pick apart every little detail, and enjoy making others feel less. Some just like to live in the moment, read, then move on. That means, my books, my writing, won’t satisfy everyone. I’m okay with that. If someone doesn’t like my work, and they decided to live a low rating for the book, I only ask that they also leave a review so that I am aware of why they rated it that way. Obviously I’d prefer to only get 5-star reviews, gushing over how brilliant my work is but…it’s impossible to please everyone.
And I have to add that authors have to be used to criticism and rejection of their work. That’s how this ‘business’ works. You hear more “no’s” than “mmmm, okay.”
Q: Have you read your older books again? How do you react to your work now?
A: I have reread my work, both the published and the unpublished. Of course during the various editing processes, I’ve read/listened each of my books several dozen times. But outside of editing, I’ve been writing since I was ten years old, so I can see the growth and phases in life that I’ve been through.
With my published work, often times I get so focused on my work-in-progress that I do have to go back and look for a name of a character or place so I end up re-reading the published book. It impresses me because I don’t plot out my books. I often don’t know what is going to happen in the story, to my characters, as they go so I’m always surprised that I have put ‘Easter Eggs’ in some of the books that later have some kind of importance later in the book or series.
For instance, in my Oscar Company Novels, some of the characters are minor, tertiary characters in the beginning, yet become secondary characters of importance later on. I do the same for events, relationships, etc. in many of my books. In fact, I did find that I have a name of an actor that crosses two books from different genres.
Since publishing, I’ve also read books by other authors then reread one of mine. I have marveled that my work is “just as good” as their work. (Told you I’m my own worst critic.) People have told me they like to read/listen to my books more than once because they catch things they missed the first time through…because they always turn the pages too fast on the first reading. And would I recommend my books to other people as a reader? Without hesitation.
Stay tuned for the next installment of this Q&A article series. I will answer more questions on my process and my work! Please subscribe, comment, and/or share these articles to help this grow! If you have questions, please ask!
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