About Jane Elton:
Jane Elton retired from the University of California, Berkeley after more than twenty years. She became interested in writing after several years of critiquing English Literature for students, and preparing administrative reports for general and academic staff. She is currently the author of eight novels and one weight-control book.
I’m 73, widowed 4 years ago after 34 years of marriage to my second husband. I struggle with the fear of going to places alone but I’m trying hard to overcome this. I write for pleasure and to raise funds for a project I created to inspire the homeless and unemployed to generate income.
What inspires you to write?
I write because I can’t help it. Stories, characters, events flood my mind and I try to put the right character in the right novel, the right event in the right story. It’s a mish-mash that I’m compelled to create. I have four incomplete novels, and while working on one of them, another new one pops up.
Tell us about your writing process.
The end comes first. Sometimes the event comes first and I want to write about it and create characters to help me tell the story. Other times the characters come first. Absolutely nothing gets written down except the title until I determine how the story will end. Otherwise, I’d be chasing aimlessly. The title and ending are subject to change, but that is seldom the case, so far. I don’t outline, and I don’t sketch characters.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Once I create characters they become real beings. When I write I feel like I’m spying on my characters. They have personalities that don’t rely on me to explain or describe them. In essence, I feel detached from my characters but at the same time responsible for their story to be told. I don’t look ‘loose and fancy.’ I want complicated, earnest, and intelligent characters.
What advice would you give other writers?
Make consistent time to write, or you’ll flounder and lose interest and then convince yourself the story wasn’t good, and later find that you should have continued.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I was working on creating a website ad heard about Amazon’s Kindle program, and joined. Udemy’s class by Tom Corson-Knowles was instrumental in my decision.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
When I think of driverless cars, one wonders if we’ll be reading as our car takes us to our destination. Of course, when we have our own personal wings, reading while traveling must stop!
What genres do you write?: Romance
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
Link To Jane Elton Page On Amazon
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.
