About Clabe Polk:
I grew up in central Florida near Tampa, hunting in the Florida woods and fishing and sailing along the Florida West Coast. Holding a degree in Marine Biology and Natural Science and loving the woods and water I served for more than thirty years as an environmental management and law enforcement professional including specialized criminal law enforcement and chemical emergency response.
After retiring, I supported my two daughters while they home-schooled and traveled playing USTA Junior Tennis and, later, varsity college tennis. When they started college, I did what I’d always wanted to do; exercise my imagination writing fiction!
What inspires you to write?
Creative visualization is beginning of all things. Everything begins its existence as a thought. I love to use imagination to create images and turn the images into stories; and then the stories into books. As a life long reader to whom books have brought endless adventures, I get pleasure out of creating literary adventures for other readers.
Tell us about your writing process.
My story ideas come from my subconscious mind. Once I have the idea I turn the idea over in my head like BBQ on a skewer and watch the action flesh out over period of days. I write notes as a reminder, and then begin writing the story a little at a time fleshing it out logically and through meditation as I go. I do many corrections and changes as I write, but rarely change anything significant to the story.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I place myself in the center of the dialog but as an observer reather than a participant. I've heard it said that people should learn to see them selves as observers of dreams, like watching a movie, rather than as participants. That's the way I see dialog. Is it logical? Is it what that person would be likely to say in those circumstances? Does it help develop the story line? I put my self into the story like a movie director, not as an actor.
What advice would you give other writers?
Writing is the hardest work you’ll ever do.
Don’t quit your day job.
Write. Nothing beats “ass in the chair” time. The more you write, the better you write.
Have a plan. Even a bad plan is better than no plan at all. If you don’t plan for success, how are you going to become successful?
Find a good editor. A good editor is worth their weight in gold. You will learn a LOT from a good editor.
Read. Nobody ever became a good writer without being a good reader first. I suggest reading and writing reviews for others as a great window into the world of self-publishing.
Be patient. Nothing happens quickly or easily; it’s a struggle, requires persistence and ultimately writing may be the hardest work you’ve ever done.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
There was no decision to be made for me. It was either commit to self-publishing or not write. Self-publishing offered unique opportunities, but demanded commitment beyond anything I expected. Be prepared, being successful requires relentless effort and long term determination, but that is where persistence pays off.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I've heard it said there is has never been a better time to write a book. In some ways that is true; but the changes in the industry are not without problems of their own. The dynamics of the market make it tough to survive as an author, but as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Crime action, mystery, adventure, Christian fiction
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Clabe Polk Home Page Link
Link To Clabe Polk Page On Amazon
Link to Author Page on other site
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Instagram
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
