What do the words “writer’s block” mean to you?
When one gets to a spot in the writing process where nothing comes out of the brain to put on the paper. I call it my "freeze zone."
How do you process and deal with negative book reviews?
I have learned not to take it personally. Knowingly, negative people do exist. With that concept in mind, negative reviews come with the territory of being a writer. Seemingly, whatever profession one has chosen in life the realization is: “can’t please everyone.” There are times one has to take the good with the bad. And through the course of writing, that would be one of those times.
When the comment is a negative one, it is that person’s feedback to the author; so I take it as constructive criticism. And that’s a good thing. Also, their feedback is a way to learn about my writing strengths and weaknesses. Criticism can be seen as a means of becoming a better writer. Negative reviews are a two-fold element. Although it can dissuade others from reading; it encourages others to read the book.
What is the most challenging part of your writing process?
When I finally found a publisher that was willing to take on the story, it was very challenging and painful to break through those raw and unsettling emotions. I hand to turn my dairy into a story for others to follow me through the journey. But she (my publisher) was nurturing along the way. I knew I had to struggle and push very hard to let go of the pain, get it all out, and down on paper.
Must say that it turned out as a well-written story 'cause the literary creation (i.e. "Not a Blueprint It's the Shoe Print,") has won numerous book awards.
How long have you been writing, or when did you start?
It was never my intention to be a writer. I was a Customer Service Guru. I didn't know I had a book inside of me until I started therapy journaling. I was trying to figure out those dysfunctional relationships and define where I was in life. Considering the journaling process, it has been since the early 1970s.
What advice would you give writers working on their first book?
1) Be true to yourself; 2) be willing to pump out lots of time and energy; and some late nights; 3) keep the journal full of thoughts and ideas; 4) do not have fear of letting it all hang out (it is just the start of the project); 5) don't feel like what you write has to be perfect at the onset that is why we employ editors; 6) be a reader yourself, and write, write, write, and read, read, read!
What inspired the idea for your book?
It was about journaling tapping into my darkness and my brokenness – that overflowed with raw and unsetting emotions. I can say, “I was once one of those Humpty Dumpty’s who had a horrific fall, which left me broken and crippled."
Yet, aren’t we all a Humpty Dumpty . . . we fall down, we pick ourselves up, we dust ourselves off, and we start life all over again? For me, journaling was that therapeutic vehicle used to unchain the pain, the brokenness, and a means to break through those barriers. There was nothing more rewarding, refreshing, and regenerating than writing about those events. The process of writing was metaphorically the prescription I needed and its pathway space where I could physically mend my wounds.
When thinking about it, there’s a story to tell inside us all!