Author interview: Overcoming Writers Block & Other Obstacles Wk 2

Last week I interviewed T.C. LoTempio about her experience writing.  This week I have the pleasure of interviewing Christine Verstraete, author of The Witch Tree and In Miniature Style.  Coming Spring 2008 her new book is titled: Searching for a Starry Night.  It's about a nosy Dachshund digs up a family curse... is Sam's quest to find the missing miniature art, and save her longest friendship, doomed?  Christine's website is http://cverstraete.com/.  The pubilsher is Quake/Echelon Press - http://www.quakeme.com/

A. My inner critic is always at work whispering in my ear. I have to ignore it and with the positive comments of other writing friends, I am able to move on. I've been trying new marketing avenues as I gear up for the release of my first young adult mystery, Searching for a Starry Night, coming in Spring '08 from Quake/Echelon Press, http://www.quakeme.com/. The book combines several of my favorites: mystery, miniatures and dogs.  I also have a nonfiction ebook, "In Miniature Style," with projects, interviews and photos from Writer's Exchange. Links for available books are on my website, http://cverstraete.com/.

I've also just started a blog, Candid Canine, http://candidcanine.blogspot.com/, with authors Lee Barwood and Lydia Filzen, which will feature dog and book news, features, dog short stories, miniatures, and other guest bloggers - anything dog related as a tie-in  to my  fictional Dachschund, Petey, in Searching for a Starry Night. I have some neat things lined up, so it should be a lot of fun!

Q. Tell us about how writing has empowered you in life, not only by becoming a published author, but in other ways?  What successes in your life do you attribute to being a published author and how are they connected?

A. I've been writing for as long as I can remember, getting a degree in journalism and writing nonfiction for newspapers and magazines. I then began to write fiction and so came the urge to write a book. (Well, of course, I have several in the works, who doesn't? :>) ) My fiction ebook, The Witch Tree, won the first Fast and... contest from Echelon Press and really gave me a boost. Finishing my young adult mystery, Searching for a Starry Night, having expanded it from its initial 20,000 words to 50,000 words was a valuable lesson in adding story lines and expanding the plot. Writing, to me, is more than work; it is something I feel I need to do. When a story comes out as I wanted, it's a great feeling.

Q.  Tell us about the most mortifying experience you've had as an aspiring and/or published author, how you've gotten over it, and what you learned from it.

A. Luckily I haven't been too embarassed - yet. ha! I did have a string of rejections, with no end in sight. That really made me question what I was doing, but the key is perserverance. You simply can't let one or 10 or 50 rejections stop you from what you want to do. 

Q.  What are your current and future dreams and goals as an author?  Why did you pick those goals and dreams?  What is your plan to accomplish them?

A. My goals are to keep learning and improving. I hope to next finish a nonfiction book project, I need to query it again, and finish my adult mystery. I believe a writer should always have goals, meaning you always have projects to finish. You always need to look ahead.

Q.  Tell us about your writing habits.  Do you know your story or concepts ahead of time, or do they just develop and evolve as you write?  Do you wait for the muse to strike or do you set a regular appointment with your self to write?  If the latter, how do you make sure you keep the appointment?  Do you structure the book ahead of time and fill in the blanks, or free-write and put it together later, or use some othe method?  Do you ever get writers block?  If so, what do you do to get through it?  How long does it take you to write a book, on average?  What else what you like us to know about your writing habits?

A. I write daily, a lesson I learned long ago from newspaper work. There is no such thing as waiting for inspiration to strike or "writer's block." You simply write. If one thing is not working, there are always other projects, other sections, other stories to work on and then go back to the project you were "stuck" on. I am an outliner. I like to know where I am going in a story, although that doesn't mean I don't get stuck sometimes. Ten what helps is to mull it over in my sleep. Usually a new idea or a way to fix something comes to me by morning.