Ask the Author: Danielle Forrest
Answered Questions (9)
Danielle Forrest
I've always loved Jacquelyn Frank's Nightwalkers series. I always imagined myself as a druid who could copy the abilities of others, making her the perfect liaison between the Nightwalker races as she could understand the biological differences that made each culture unique.
Danielle Forrest
"Their hear!"
And the grammar nazi dies of shock, everyone running for cover.
And the grammar nazi dies of shock, everyone running for cover.
Danielle Forrest
I don't think that far ahead. I usually don't know what I'll be reading even tomorrow. It's only September, but I've read over 130 books, I think, this year...
Danielle Forrest
I'm certainly nowhere special, but I would say just keep at it. Decide what your goals are, what you want to achieve, and set yourself tasks to complete said goals. If you make each step reasonable, and don't lock yourself into a rigid schedule that you may not be able to pull off, the end goal will be before you before you know it.
I have started using Asana.com, which I've found really useful for not only keeping myself on track, but also rewarding myself for progress (It feels really good when you can mark a task as complete!).
In closing, just KNOW yourself. If you try to do things in a way contrary to yourself, you will fail.
For example, when I first started using Asana, I got very excited and was creating all these tasks and assigning myself deadlines. Little did I know, I was sabotaging myself. Once I missed each deadline, it became harder to reach the next one, and eventually I just gave up. It took ages to pick back up on editing Mila's Shift. Now that I have learned from my mistakes, I've edited 38% of Draft 3 of Mila's Shift in 4 days. I've never been that productive before.
I have started using Asana.com, which I've found really useful for not only keeping myself on track, but also rewarding myself for progress (It feels really good when you can mark a task as complete!).
In closing, just KNOW yourself. If you try to do things in a way contrary to yourself, you will fail.
For example, when I first started using Asana, I got very excited and was creating all these tasks and assigning myself deadlines. Little did I know, I was sabotaging myself. Once I missed each deadline, it became harder to reach the next one, and eventually I just gave up. It took ages to pick back up on editing Mila's Shift. Now that I have learned from my mistakes, I've edited 38% of Draft 3 of Mila's Shift in 4 days. I've never been that productive before.
Danielle Forrest
My ideas tend to pop out of seemingly nowhere. Sometimes from dreams, but mostly at random. My entire world feeds my imagination, and people often say I'm "full of ideas." This is invaluable (and dangerous) for writing, and surprisingly valuable in my day job as well.
Danielle Forrest
That's not really the challenge for me. My bigger challenge is keeping myself to only a couple projects at a time. I usually have about 50 books in various stages, but for the last few years, I've restricted myself to writing one book and editing one book at a time, that way I can actually get things done.
That being said, I do have trouble with keeping a habit of working on my writing. I've had a lot of stress in the past few years, a lot of stuff going on including 2 bouts of unemployment, a stressful job, and 2 family members dying. It has really thrown me for a loop but I am working at creating a ritual around writing career tasks, specifically, I do something writing related after eating.
Each time after I sit down to eat at home, I sit down to write, edit, or work on something else related to my writing career. So far, it has energized me to continue as I start working while fully fueled. It also gives me a trigger independent of time since in the past I had trouble with constantly shifting schedules that made setting timed reminders impossible.
That being said, I do have trouble with keeping a habit of working on my writing. I've had a lot of stress in the past few years, a lot of stuff going on including 2 bouts of unemployment, a stressful job, and 2 family members dying. It has really thrown me for a loop but I am working at creating a ritual around writing career tasks, specifically, I do something writing related after eating.
Each time after I sit down to eat at home, I sit down to write, edit, or work on something else related to my writing career. So far, it has energized me to continue as I start working while fully fueled. It also gives me a trigger independent of time since in the past I had trouble with constantly shifting schedules that made setting timed reminders impossible.
Danielle Forrest
I am currently working on the 3rd draft of Mila's Shift and the 1st draft of Terra's fate. They are the 1st and 3rd book in Darkest Day series, which will be the first series I publish.
Danielle Forrest
That's a tough one. I love world building. I love coming up with all the little details that make something unique and fully fleshed out. I'm a scientist by trade, so getting the little facts right gets me really excited (like almost bouncing in my seat).
Danielle Forrest
This is probably not going to be the most helpful answer to many, but I walk away. The worst thing you can do to yourself when you're feeling writer's block is pressure yourself. Most likely, you're already feeling pressure, so it just makes it worse.
I also don't tend to call it writer's block. I may say I'm stressed, not motivated, not inspired, but I don't say I'm blocked. I'm not. If I absolutely HAD to write something, I could. It would be terrible. I might have to delete it later, but I could write SOMETHING. Rather, it just isn't the best time for me to be writing.
Often, shifting my focus to other things like editing or self-promotion (or reading a good book), even ranting on blog posts, are better uses of my time. My subconscious often works on problems while I've consciously moved on, so it often doesn't take long before I'm racing back to the keyboard.
So give yourself a much needed break. Your muse will thank you for it.
I also don't tend to call it writer's block. I may say I'm stressed, not motivated, not inspired, but I don't say I'm blocked. I'm not. If I absolutely HAD to write something, I could. It would be terrible. I might have to delete it later, but I could write SOMETHING. Rather, it just isn't the best time for me to be writing.
Often, shifting my focus to other things like editing or self-promotion (or reading a good book), even ranting on blog posts, are better uses of my time. My subconscious often works on problems while I've consciously moved on, so it often doesn't take long before I'm racing back to the keyboard.
So give yourself a much needed break. Your muse will thank you for it.
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