Meet Mindy McGinnis, YA librarian and author of NOT A DROP TO DRINK coming Fall 2013 from Katherine Tegen / Harper Collins. Mindy blogs at Writer, Writer Pants on Fire, contributes to the group blogs From the Write Angle and The Lucky13's. She also serves the writing community at AgentQuery Connect as a site moderator and tweets from @bigblackcat97. Mindy is represented by Adriann Ranta of Wolf Literary.
Mindy blogs
Mindy Writes
Mindy Chats
Why do you write?
Because my brain makes me. No seriously, I figured out a long time ago even if I wasn't putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) my brain was writing anyway. I might as well make it official.
What are you currently working on?
I'm actually not writing at the moment. I finished up an ms on January 1, and I'm taking a break while I read for my crit partners and catch up on the TBR pile.
What is your creative process (from start to finish)?
Inception of the idea (from wherever that came from), then I tend to do a quick jot - usually only a paragraph or so, enough to sketch out the idea and know that my brain won't look at it later and go, "Uh... huh?" After that I set down and actually write, I type Chapter One and write linearly until the story is over. I don't plan or outline. I just do what I call a "word vomit," and get that story out. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to six months.
How do you tackle writer’s block?
I don't usually suffer from it. Writer's Procrastination? Yeah, that I suffer from. How do I combat that? You know those weight loss banner ads that say, "I found a simple way to lose 30 pounds in a week?" Well, I found a simple way to make your ms longer. Sit your ass down and write.
What inspires your writing?
Depends. Sometimes it's a fragment of a dream that I remember, something random someone said to me, or the very basic question of, "What if?"
Describe your workspace.
I actually write lying down in my bed, so if I describe too much it could get pretty weird, pretty fast.
Pen & notebook or laptop?
Laptop
What’s the best cupcake you’ve ever eaten?
Ooooo. I actually ate a Sweet Potato cupcake with some kind of orange icing this past fall. I wanted more. It made me want to dig up sweet potatoes and eat them raw. With dirt.
Love it! It's nice to get to know more about the woman behind the cat...or is it the cat behind the woman :p
ReplyDeleteAnd-really? A sweet potato cupcake? Wow, I'm going to have to look for a recipe for those....
I love how you make your ms longer. It's funny. I think my ms is on the same plan and doesn't know it! I really wish it would stop growing and start getting edited darn it.
ReplyDeleteAnd sweet potato cupcake... mmm. Makes me think of pumpkin pie. :D