JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Jarod K. Anderson and Leslie Anderson, authors of Inklings: 300 Starts, Plots, and Challenges to Inspire your Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Stories
Practical, easy-to-use strategies to combat writer’s block and breathe new life into your science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. Featuring 300 first sentences, plot overviews, and writing challenges, Inklings provides countless ways to keep your prose fresh.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write “Inklings: 300 Starts, Plots, and Challenges to Inspire your Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Stories”?
Jarod K. Anderson: Leslie and I have both taught college English classes and participated in a variety of writing workshops. Over the years, we’ve found that many writers benefit from a little push to get their writing started. Beginning with a prompt or starter sentence seems to lessen the intimidation factor of sitting down to a blank page.
JP: What sets “Inklings: 300 Starts, Plots, and Challenges to Inspire your Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Stories” apart from other books in the same genre?
JKA: Unlike usual prompt books, we decided to include three elements in “Inklings: Plot Overviews, Starts, and Challenges“. The plots section provides kernels of an ideas, basic conflicts to give the writer an overarching sense of direction. The starts section is a collection of first sentences to kick-start writing and suggest a tone.
The challenges section provides a twist, an element of complication to help the writer steer clear of well-worn tropes and keep the narrative fresh and surprising. We hope that writers will find it beneficial to mix and match these three sections for a huge variety of story ideas.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to “Inklings: 300 Starts, Plots, and Challenges to Inspire your Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Stories” getting out to the public?
JKA: Leslie and I have had a variety of short story and poetry publications in markets including Asimov’s, Daily Science Fiction, and Strange Horizons; however, we decided to publish “Inklings: Plot Overviews, Starts, and Challenges” ourselves so that we could offer the book at the lowest possible price and extend the reach of the work. We had a lot of fun writing this and I think we’ve created something that will have real value to aspiring (and established) writers.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish “Inklings: 300 Starts, Plots, and Challenges to Inspire your Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy Stories”?
JKA: Well, “Inklings: Plot Overviews, Starts, and Challenges” was a collaboration with Leslie J. Anderson, so my process was a little different. We wrote most of this book as an extended email conversation, sending each other a plot overview, a first sentence, and a challenge idea at least once a day.
By the end of the process, we had a huge string of emails and we had a lot of fun transcribing the emails into a manuscript and editing/expanding the ideas.
JP: What’s next for Jarod K. Anderson?
JKA: Our work on “Inklings: Plot Overviews, Starts, and Challenges” got the attention of Sterling Publishing, Inc. We just finished a book of 100 Science Fiction Prompts for them. I’ve very proud of that project. The book will be out later this year.
I’m also working on a YA urban fantasy novel, and I continue to write short speculative fiction and poetry. Leslie’s book of poetry “An Inheritance of Stone” was released earlier this year from Alliteration Ink, and her urban fantasy novel “The Cricket Prophesies” will be released by Post Morten Press this May.
http:// twitter.com/JarodAnderson
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