Tess Quinn

Thank you for joining me today for my Writers on Writing series! Today we have Laurie Edwards telling us a little bit about her writing life. Let’s see what she has to say…



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



Usually I “see” the story in my mind. The characters talk to me or to each other, then after I’ve eavesdropped a while, I write down what I’ve been seeing and hearing. Most of the time, I see several isolated scenes—usually the first one, a few in the middle, and the ending scene. Then I need to dig for the rest. That involves character interviews, where I ask various characters what comes next, or asking myself “what if?”



Can you explain your typical work week day?



I write (&/or edit) all the time, generally 10-12 hours a day. Unfortunately, most of it isn’t my own novels, but fortunately, that writing does pay my bills. I consider myself lucky to be able to support myself with my writing. And unless I have other things planned, I even write on the weekends. Umm, does it sound as if I enjoy writing??



When I’m under tight deadlines, I try to set aside 10 minutes a day for my personal projects. That may not sound like much, but two things generally happen. The first is that I’m less likely to skip my personal writing time when I know it’s only for a short time. The second is that 90% of the time, I end up getting involved in what I’m writing and write for longer than 10 minutes. I’ve also found that knowing I only have 10 minutes forces me to start writing immediately; there’s no time for fooling around. That discipline comes in handy when I have longer stretches of time to write.



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



Let’s see…I believe it was when I had 5 kids under the age of 8. At the same time, I’d just opened my own business, and we’d just moved into our first home, which we were painting and decorating. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. Or maybe I had to do something to maintain my sanity?



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Believe in yourself. Call yourself a writer even before you get published. Stay away from people who try to shoot down your dream. If you have the desire and determination, you will get published. Don’t be afraid to start small; no one (or almost no one) becomes a NY Times Bestseller overnight. Expect the process to take a long time; it’s not unusual for authors to write for 10-20 years before they get published. You wouldn’t expect to become a concert pianist in a year or two, so why should you expect to be a published writer in that amount of time? Put in your time learning the craft; it will pay off in the end.



Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.



I have several romances in the works. They’re all adult books—a bit different from my usual YA. Two of the romances are inspirational. I also have a YA fantasy in rough draft form that I want to work on and finish. It’s part of trilogy. I’ve jotted down scenes and ideas for the other two books, but need to find time to write them. And I have hundreds of ideas knocking around in my head… Oh, and quite a few picture books, including one in free verse that I illustrated, Jungle of the Night. I’d love to illustrate picture books, so I hope to make that a part of my future too.



That sounds great, Laurie! Don’t we all have so many projects we can’t tear ourselves away from? For those of you who want to know more about Laurie, you can check out her site here. Thanks for joining us! Until next week!

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