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Front Row Lit wanted to see what makes?writers tick.? Our most recent installment of ?10 Questions With?? features author Kira Snyder
- Tell us a little about yourself.
Dead Letter Office is my first book, but I?ve been writing for pretty much my whole life. I currently live in Los Angeles, where my full-time job is as a TV writer on the Syfy show ?Alphas.? I also wrote on ?Eureka? and the cult hit vampire drama, ?Moonlight? ? obviously I love sci fi, paranormal, and fantasy! Before transitioning into screenwriting I was a playwright and a computer game designer, and I?ve really enjoyed getting to use all the various elements of my background in writing Dead Letter Office. I?m also an avid videogame player, newbie ukulele player, and soon-to-be bride? I?m getting married in August to a fantastic guy.
- When did you first decide that writing was in your future?
Right after I realized that Princess Leia wasn?t a real person. Once I understood that someone created her and gave her those great adventures, clever lines, and kisses with Han Solo, that was it ? I knew that?s what I wanted to do with my life. So thank you, George Lucas and Carrie Fisher.
- Describe the process of finding the right publisher for your work.
This was actually serendipity. I had been developing Parish Mail as a TV pilot and a feature when a mutual friend put me in touch with Lisa Rutherford at Coliloquy. We clicked immediately. A couple of long phone calls and one slightly boozy brunch later, we were in business on Dead Letter Office! Speaking with Lisa and Waynn Lue, Coliloquy?s other founder, I saw instantly how much fun it?d be to tell these stories through an interactive, episodic series of books. Readers get to drive the story with the heroine Celia, choosing how she solves the mystery and the emotional choices she makes. Only in this kind of interactive book can a reader shape their own reading experience. I love that freedom as a reader, and the creative challenge it poses to me as a writer.
- How would you describe your writing style?
Coming from TV, my natural instinct is to write in a snappy, economic style. I love quippy turns of phrase and banter, no accident since I?m a fan of Rob Thomas and Joss Whedon: Celia has the DNA of both Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. On the other hand, one of the great luxuries of writing fiction is getting to take your time to set the scene and get into the characters? internal state of mind. In TV, you?re constantly under pressure to keep things short, since we have hard and fast rules for how long an episode can be. But in a book, you have all the time you need. I?ve been told that my writing is visually lush, sensuous, and imaginative, and that readers really feel that they?re in New Orleans?which I take as a huge compliment.
- What inspires your creativity?
Gosh, everything. Books I?m reading, music, a stray comment overheard on the street, the odd bits of research I?m doing ? getting to learn new things is one of the best side benefits of being a writer! Like most writers I have a long list of ideas labeled ?Stuff To Write One Day.?
- How often do you get writer?s block and how do you combat it?
While I don?t really get writer?s block ? a carryover from TV, where you have to get a script out on a strict deadline or the whole machine grinds to a halt ? I definitely get periods of not feeling inspired or not wanting to write. In those moments sometimes I usually coax myself, ?Okay, just write a page.? And then suddenly I realize I?ve written three pages. And even if it?s just one page, or one scene, and it?s totally awful, that?s progress I didn?t have yesterday, and it?s always easier to rewrite than to write. I?m also a believer in outlining. I see an outline not as a list of instructions, but rather a map? you can change on the fly how you get there, but you always know where you?re going. And knowing that keeps me moving forward.
- Along with praise for your art, rejection and negative criticism is inevitable.? How does that affect your focus and momentum?
Ugh, it?s hard. Writing is so deeply personal that it?s impossible not to feel hurt when someone has negative things to say about your work. I just let myself feel bad for a moment then try to let it go and move on. I often turn to Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott?s fantastic book on writing. She never fails to cheer me up with her earthy, relatable advice on dealing with rejection, envy, self-doubt, and all those other gremlins we live with.
- If you weren?t writing, what career path would you choose?
Computer game design, my earlier career which I still love and have never fully left ? I still consult and write for games from time to time.
- Please tell us a little about your next project.
The episode of ?Alphas? that I wrote will air this summer on Syfy when the show?s second season premieres, but Parish Mail Book 2 is the next book I?m writing. I?m super excited to get to put to use all I?ve learned from my publisher about what readers enjoyed in Dead Letter Office. PM2 is a little more gamelike than DLO: there are ?right? and ?wrong? clues the reader can have Celia pursue along with making personal choices for her. The book picks up right where Dead Letter Office ends, with Celia facing the dramatic new direction her life has taken, and the central mystery ? a very creepy one dating back to the Civil War ? will make her question her newfound abilities.
- What advice can you offer to aspiring writers?
Spend more time writing than aspiring. Finish things. Find people to read your stuff who will give you honest, constructive feedback, and be fearless about rewriting. I can?t stress that last point enough: I?m a big fan of the ?vomit draft.? Just get everything out onto the page, telling your internal editor to shut the hell up, until it?s finished. Then go back and make it great.
For more on Kira, visit http://kirasnyder.com/?and http://www.coliloquy.com/products/dead-letter-office/
Dead Letter Office is available on:
All Amazon E Ink Kindles
Amazon Fire
Nook Tablet
All Android Tablets
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Check out the latest from Front Row Monthly at www.frontrowmonthly.com
Source: http://frontrowlit.com/?p=2639
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