About Hunter Mazÿck:
I am the author of Forgive Me Not and a few suspense short-stories. I am from South Carolina and I like writing books that address issues in society as well as in the individual. I love expressing a character’s inner turmoil. My favorite writers are James Joyce, Michael Grant, and EL Doctorow.
What inspires you to write?
My readers. I love the idea that people could read my writing and connect with it. I know that the connection between a reader and a book can be powerful and influential and I am inspired by that. I am inspired by my own relationships to books and I am inspired by the hope that someone could feel that for my writing.
Tell us about your writing process.
I write my first draft in both pen and pencil. I alternate between them each day to track how much I have written. I don’t write my first draft on the computer because I have found that it just doesn’t work for me. I cannot create ideas looking at a blank screen. It may work for some, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work for me.
First, though, I create a general idea and characters. Sometimes, I will outline the plot, but usually I let it come to me while I write. If I do take the time to outline the plot, I typically change it entirely during the process and surprise myself with what comes out. I live for that surprise.
I never know how I will end a book until I am writing the ending. It may not be the most efficient way to do it, I don’t know, but I write what feels appropriate. If I plan the ending from the beginning, I feel constricted. Like the plot has to follow something that leads it to the ending. I like for my plot and for my characters to have freedom to create their own ending.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I do not listen to them or talk to them, but I do interact with them. I feel with them and I try to take care of them. I pity them often. Especially my main girls, Rayleigh and Ana. They have it hard.
I do love my characters and I have a relationship with them that is indescribable. I love imagining my characters from separate books interacting with each other.
What advice would you give other writers?
Write. Write often. Imagine. Dream. Remember your dreams. Talk about your ideas. Even talking to yourself about your ideas can help form them. For me at least, talking helps me sort things out. It helps me to find issues with the story and to figure out what could happen next.
Also, and I find this very important, don’t force yourself to write. If you love writing, write when the time comes to you. Don’t make it a task that you “have” to do. That makes it less enjoyable. If you love writing and you want to tell a story, you will know when the time to write is. You will find it and it will find you.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I originally wanted to self-publish and then I saw that a lot of people didn’t respect authors who self-published, so I looked into traditional publishing. Eventually, I decided against traditional publishing, though I never sent my manuscript to a publisher, because I knew that I didn’t want to lose control of my work.
For new authors trying to figure out what to do, I don’t recommend either one of them because I think it is really up to the individual. There are benefits to both. Do what feels right.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Honestly, I think that self-publishing is going to take over. I think that people will realize that they want control over their manuscript and that they have the ability to do what the traditional publishers can do. I believe that people are moving away from having a “middle man”, and to me, that is what a traditional publisher and an agent are. They are “middle men”.
Not that I think that it is a dying industry or that people who choose to traditionally publish are doing something wrong, of course. I just feel that people are seeking to keep more of their rights to their own work.
What do you use?: Professional Editor
What genres do you write?: Young Adult, Social Issues, Suspense, Literary Fiction
What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Link To Hunter Mazÿck Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
Twitter
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.
