Lori Gottlieb

How did you become a writer?

I think I became a writer by being a reader. Books were my salvation growing up. I never thought I'd grow up to be a writer, though, because I didn't know anyone who did that kind of job. I loved story in all forms--books, TV, film, plays, radio, conversations with friends. After college I worked as a development executive in film and later moved over to network TV. I hung out in the emergency room with the medical consultant for the show ER, and eventually decided to apply to  medical school. While I was looking through my closets in my parents' house for my old high school science notes so I could prepare for the MCAT, I came across my childhood diaries and a friend suggested that they'd make a great book. When that book was published, I started writing for magazines and newspapers and then wrote another book, and another, and after doing that for years, one day I woke up and finally said to myself, "I guess I became a writer." 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I've always admired a masterful memoir, one that made me see myself or the world differently through somebody else's experience. Or one that gave voice to something I'd always felt or thought but hadn't quite articulated to myself in that way. Same thing with novels and their psychological insights and ability to make me feel less alone in my own struggles. It's probably no surprise that eventually I became a therapist, too!

When and where do you write?

I write the weekly "Dear Therapist" column for The Atlantic, and I like the structure of that weekly schedule. I file on a certain day and edit on a certain day and that predictable rhythm suits me. Being a journalist has given me the gift of knowing how to write well on deadline, but also the curse of not being able to write without one! So for my magazine and newspaper pieces, I start early and am very focused on what I need to get done each day to meet my deadline. Writing books is another matter entirely. I generally have a year or more and my mind doesn't really know how to structure my days with such a long time horizon, so in month one, that seems like I have all the time in the world. Then before I know it, it's month six and I start to panic--oh, no! I have a BOOK due in six months! And then I put on my journalist hat and write on deadline, because six months is a more manageable deadline for me than a year or more.  I used to write best at midday. I'd take care of administrative things or errands in the mornings, and then I could write without worrying about what else I needed to get done or whom I needed to call back. But now, since I'm also a therapist with a practice, I don't always have the luxury of writing whenever I want to, or choosing the time of day that works best, so often I'm writing at night after my son goes to bed. 

What are you working on now?

I'm about to go on book tour for MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE, and it seems like every interviewer has been asking that question. I wish I were the kind of writer who finishes one book, takes a couple of weeks off, and then starts working on the next project, but because I have the therapy practice and the weekly column, I can only focus on so much at once and I don't think people who aren't writers understand--or people who are writers talk about openly--that launching a book is a full time job. There's a period leading up to launch and then once the book is published in which you're going 24/7 with interviews and readings and media, and I know some people are able to be working on something else while talking about the book that just launched, but I'm not that skilled. Also, this book was so personal and in some ways the hardest thing I've ever written, and I want to sit with it and savor it for a while longer before I begin to think about where I go next. So what am I working on now? My weekly Atlantic column and my practice and trying to remind my son that yes, I do exist, even though it seems like I've disappeared these past few weeks.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

Absolutely! In fact, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TALK TO SOMEONE was born of writers block, in that I was under contract to write a book that I just couldn't get myself to write. I spent several years staring at a blank page, writing words I didn't care about (when I did write), and pretending I was hard at work on the-book-I-wasn't-writing whenever people asked how it was going. I was like the gambler who kisses her spouse goodbye in the morning and then goes to the casino instead of the office. My casino was Facebook. Eventually, I mustered the courage to tell my editor I couldn't write this book, cancelled my contract, and began writing the book I should have been writing all along--this new one. A lot of people say that if something isn't working, you have to write through it, and while I know that can be true, sometimes it can also mean that you aren't working on the right story. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

An editor once told me that when I feel like I don't know how to start something or fix something and I'm banging my head against the wall, I should go outside and walk around the block and look at something green--trees, grass--and not think about whatever has me stuck. She said that resetting this way would help me get unstuck. And she was right. A lap or two around the block has worked 100% of the time. I always come back from those 10 or 15 minutes with something I didn't have in mind before I walked outside. It works well when writing books, too. Don't go on Twitter--just put on your shoes and walk outside.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Don't compare yourself to other people. Full stop.

Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author who writes the weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column for The Atlantic. She also writes frequently for The New York Times and has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, CNN, and NPR.  Her most recent book is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed.  Learn more at LoriGottlieb.com or by following her @LoriGottlieb1 on Twitter.

Rachel Aukes

How did you become a writer?

I wrote stories as a kid and even won a contest, but then life got in the way. I went to college and earned a degree in computers so I could make a living. It wasn't until I was in my late thirties and miserable at my job that I considered doing some I wanted to do for a living rather than do for the money. It was during that time of introspection that I read one of Sherrilyn Kenyon's books (titled Dream Chaser, ironically) that struck a chord. It had a storyline similar to a story I had, and I thought, "Why the hell not?" I started writing my first novel that day. That was eight years ago. Last year, I quit the day job to write full time. For the first time in my love, I absolutely love my job. 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I grew up on comic books and science fiction novels, so those as a whole shaped my mindset and passions the most. I've always found the "what if" of speculative fiction fascinating, and so the stories I write are always in the genre I want to read. After I began writing professionally, I found an understanding of the writer's life in Stephen King's On Writing. 

When and where do you write?

I'm a full-time writer, so I write Monday through Friday and sometimes on the weekends. I usually take the evenings off to spend time with my family, though writing deadlines sometimes get in the way of that. 

What are you working on now?

I'm writing the first book in a new series coming out from Aethon Books in late 2019. The Flight of the Javelin series is a spin-off of the Fringe series, with Throttle, the kick-butt, paraplegic captain playing the lead role. I'm having so much fun with this series!

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

To me, writer's block is the same thing as procrastination. I'm very, very good at procrastination and often find myself working long hours the week before a deadline. I need to get much better at protecting my writing time. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Jonathan Maberry once said that writers should help other writers. We're all in this game together, and helping another writer doesn't mean we'll lose our spot in the game. Being a writer can feel like a solitary career choice, but it doesn't have to be. Connecting with kindred spirits and helping others are the best ways to stay sane and to network in the industry. You never know when a writer you helped two years ago invites you to be a part of his latest anthology. 

What’s your advice to new writers?

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. It's an old phrase, but it didn't really stick with me until I read it in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. TANSTAAFL essentially means that if you want to write a book, you have to work at it. It takes a lot of words to fill a novel, and that equates to many hours at a keyboard. Talking about writing a novel is never going to get it written. Writing the novel is the only way to get it written. 

Rachel Aukes is a science fiction writer with over a dozen books in print, including 100 Days in Deadland, which made Suspense Magazine’s Best of the Year list. She is also a Wattpad Star, her stories having over six million reads. When not writing, Rachel can be found flying old airplanes with her husband and an incredibly spoiled 50-pound lap dog over the Midwest countryside. Rachel lives in Iowa.

Kelley Armstrong

How did you become a writer?

I've been writing since childhood.  I was an early reader and very quickly wanted to start writing my own stories. In my twenties I started working on novels, and would sporadically send out query letters and sample chapters, but never got anything more than a form letter rejection. So I gave up and concentrated on improving. In 1999, I sold Bitten, which became my first published novel, but wasn’t my first novel.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I've been a voracious reader all my life, and I'm sure every novel influenced me in some way, but the biggest conscious influences were Stephen King and Anne Rice. From King, I learned how to make the supernatural seem natural, and from Rice came the idea of making the "monster" the protagonist.

When and where do you write? 

I can write anywhere—I’ve learned to do that—but most of my work is done in a cabin at the back of our property. Complete quiet, no cell phone or internet to disturb or distract me. I do my best writing in the morning. Afternoons aren’t bad, but evenings are horrible. By seven, my brain is too tired for anything but business work.

What are you working on now? 

I’m editing a standalone thriller. I have one coming out in June (Wherever She Goes) and I’m putting the final touches on a follow-up before I deliver it to my publishers.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

My writer's block is two things.  One: fear. Fear that what I write today won't be as good as what I wrote yesterday or in the last book.  I get over that by reminding myself that nothing I write is cast in stone.  If it’s terrible, there's a nice "delete" button to fix that tomorrow!  The important thing is that I write something that day, or the fear will only get worse. The second reason for my writer's blocks? Not knowing where the story is going. If I don't know what happens next, I'm liable to sit there, lost and panicking, maybe realizing that I've written my story into a corner. That's why I always have an outline--so I always know what happens next.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Sadly, what I remember most is the bad advice, and I got a lot of that—people genuinely trying to be helpful by suggesting changes to my writing that probably worked for them, but led to some serious frustration for me. The best advice, then, would be when someone told me to follow the dictates of my own story and not worry about conforming to anyone else’s rules.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Keep writing. It’s boring advice, but it really is the most important thing. Do it for the love of story-telling, and likelihood of publication will rise exponentially as you perfect your craft.

Kelley Armstrong is the author of the Cainsville modern gothic series and the Rockton crime thrillers. Past works include Otherworld urban fantasy series, the Darkest Powers & Darkness Rising teen paranormal trilogies, the Age of Legends fantasy YA series and the Nadia Stafford crime trilogy. Armstrong lives in Ontario, Canada with her family.