Beastmomma

I got the chance to ask Jolly Good Fellow author, Stephen Masse questions about the writing process.  Partner to-be reviewed the book on my behalf.  I hope that you enjoy the questions and check out his book.

1. Before writing, do you have any special rituals or practices to get into "the zone"?

Sometimes I wish I had bizarre practices that could enhance my cachet in the world of readers – consorting with vampires, holding a séance, or saying prayers to Borgonna the Plutonian Space Goddess. But alas, I am much more businesslike in my writing practice. I just apply seat to adjustable office chair and use those old-fashioned typing skills, and get the story moving.

2. How do you contend with writer's block?

There are two kinds of writer’s block for me.

One is true writer’s block, where a story line comes to a blank page without any clear future. My solution to that is to back up and do some re-writing and polishing of what I already wrote. In a really tough situation, I will put the project aside and work on something else for a while. With A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW, I remember the first draft came to a screeching halt about two-thirds of the way through, and I actually thought I would be scrapping the whole book idea. But then one night I had a dream which came like a movie scene, showing me exactly what I needed to bridge the first part of the book with the second part.

The other kind of writer’s block is much more difficult to deal with, and that is finding time to write when the day job, running and maintaining a house, and managing sales on the previous book suck up all your time. I’m not as fortunate in dealing with this kind of writer’s block – so I’m afraid the world will have to do without a few world-changing masterpieces.

3. What has surprised you most about becoming a published novelist?

How many people have really enjoyed A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW.

I had been forewarned by many very credible sources that “nobody cares about somebody else’s book.” That may be true in general, but when I started getting comments such as, “This is reality fiction at its best,” and “I know all the people in your book!” and “it’s the best ending I’ve read in a long time,” I was very encouraged.