My blog does take some time almost daily. I publish new posts three times a week. I try to write them in groups and usually have seven or eight ready to go. I enjoy blogging and find writing for adults helps keep my mind focused in a different way. In that regard, it’s a worthwhile exercise.
What do you do when the words ‘just won’t come out’? Do you stay and force it until something begins happening on the page?
Free Association is the name of that game for me. I don’t fight writer’s block any more. Rather, exercise or running errands or doing anything not related to writing helps greatly. When I’m disengaged from writing is usually when engagement happens. An idea, a notion, a nugget of a thought will pop into my consciousness and, as if by magic, the block is finished.
Do you have any tips for aspiring children’s authors?
Yes! Don’t write in a vacuum! Join a writer’s group — immediately. It is the best thing you can do for yourself. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is beyond valuable for the new writer, and local groups are everywhere.
Realize you have to promote your own book, and you must do it constantly. The days of sitting back and letting your publishing house do it are over! I have a friend whose name you’d recognize here. She’s had 32 books children’s books published. Recently she told me that she still gives one day a month to marketing.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with my readers?
I’d be delighted to tell you about my website and blog.
You can obtain a personalized, autographed copy of my books there.
Listen to an audio interview audio interview with Nancy.
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