About Lynn Daniels:
I am probably the textbook definition of a reclusive author. I’m very shy, my life is really uneventful and I didn’t care for college or my short time in Corporate America enough to highlight it as some sort of accomplishment. I don’t venture outdoors very often anymore and when I am not spending my time daydreaming I’m writing or working on my art.
What inspires you to write?
Being able to pick up a pen every day and putting my thoughts to paper is my inspiration to write. I attribute writing to helping me cope with the wild emotions that come with coping with severe depression. It is my method of anger management and it is how I keep my thoughts and actions into perspective.
Tell us about your writing process.
I address writing in two different ways. If I need to write something more formal and structured such as a blog post then I will scribble a few notes on a dry-erase board before taking the time to expound upon those topics in greater detail. I absolutely cannot sit down and write a blog post on my laptop without any kind of planning because it will always end in me playing solitaire while having an open word document with a blinking cursor in the background.
When it comes to writing my poetry, short stories and novels, I find I can only write right as I am about to go to bed so it is more of a spur of the moment thing where I write in the dark until I can hardly stay awake anymore. I would not recommend this particular practice to anyone because you run the risk of not being able to read your handwriting later.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
When I am writing my novels and short stories I am often playing out whole conversations and scenarios with my characters before I write them down. I want to be able to capture the playful banter. I want to be able to highlight the sarcasm. I want to be able to establish completely unique identities and pinpoint those quirks we all have as human beings. I find writing about a girl having a crush on a guy to be boring. I want my characters to walk the line between being selfish and thinking about how their actions will affect the people around them and eventually making decisions that may not necessarily be the right decisions. I don’t want to tell one-dimensional stories and in order to do that, you have to give your characters their very own personalities.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write! Write whatever you feel like writing whenever you feel like writing it. If you go back to it later and you don’t hate it then share it with someone even if that sharing is done anonymously.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I decided to publish my own books because it was the only viable option I had and I wanted to be able to control my writing. I write about some pretty deep and dark topics. I write about some complicated topics and quite a few of those topics do challenge some long-held personal beliefs. I don’t want to write cookie-cutter books and I don’t want to water my writing down for anyone if I don’t have to. I’ve followed that practice for far too long and it nearly turned me away from writing. Since I have absolutely no experience with exploring the traditional publishing process it would not be fair for me to suggest new authors to choose one method over the other.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I think the future of book publishing depends on the reader. Do readers want to keep paying for books or are they looking for less expensive alternatives? Do readers want to read books on electronic devices or do they still want to feel a book in their hands? Are readers looking for professionally backed authors or do they wish to seek out indies? As a writer I cannot answer those questions. Only readers can answer that because they are the key to the future of book publishing and as writers we have to do our best to try to appeal to them.
What genres do you write?: fiction, poetry, short stories
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
Lynn Daniels Home Page Link
Link To Lynn Daniels Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on Smashwords
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