Tag: aspiring author

Writing spotlight # 5

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I had the chance to talk to an aspiring writer. She took the time to talk about her writing and her WordPress story a little. I was glad to meet her. She goes by the name LevBossBabe.

Hi there! I am a beginning writer from the Bay Area. I write during downtime at my job. I have no books out yet, but that is the dream! Currently, I am writing a satirical, fictional blog called Lev: Boss Babe. It is a comedy that plays on start-up culture and office hierarchies. I reflect often on the drama that comes when we realize how much time we spend working and what that does to how we see ourselves and how we see others. You can find it at Princessmushroom.com.

What are your favourite books?

I am a huge sci-fi nerd even though I am not writing anything related to the genre: I love Neil Gaiman, the Game of Thrones series, Harry Potter, Dune. I love productivity books like Atomic Habits, Getting Things Done, and The Life-Changing Joy of Tidying Up. I am currently reading Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut.

When did you know you wanted to be an author?

There was never a time where I didn’t want to be a writer. As a child, I was a precocious reader, starting with A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.

What is your favourite part of the writing process? What is your least favourite and how do you get through it?

I love those chapters that I just seem to spit out without effort. Dialogue is important to my stories, especially inner dialogue as I jump between perspectives.

Sometimes, it can take a month to write a chapter because nothing seems good enough. I keep it pushing during those times—I made a promise to write at least 20 minutes a day, and I keep it pushing even when I feel I am putting out crap!

What is your writing routine?

I am fortunate in that I have a lot of downtime at work. I write at least 20 minutes a day, but I don’t hold back when I get into a flow state and can write for hours! Professionally, I am an administrator, so I am used to creating systems for work. I do the same with my writing: I have “funnels” for chapters, characters, and the plot in general.

How do you balance writing with the rest of your life?

I categorize goals and create weekly goals within those categories aka Getting Things Done by David Allen. I always bring my kit: my notebook, laptop, calendar, paper container (not a binder!), and fancy pens wherever I go. I try to gamify all my tasks and goals to make them as satisfying as possible to complete. Finally, I am a HUGE list-maker and reflect on my goals once or twice a month to see where I can grow.

What inspires you? How do you beat writers block?

To be honest, I feel that without writing and storytelling, my life is meaningless. I don’t enjoy working and don’t care about having a career. Even if I was the last person on the world, I would write: it gives purpose to my pain and accentuates delight.

How do you keep consistent/write a lot?

See 6. I have a journal where I reflect on my habits everyday. I found that 20 minutes works for me: If flow is going to happen, it will happen in that timeframe. Also, I am incredibly blessed to have a pretty slow and flexible job with a short commute.

Also, I have learned to accept bad writing days for what they are—temporary. On those days, I write on the backs of envelopes or scraps of paper just to get something out. I only require at least 20 minutes a day, so if nothing comes out after that time frame, I don’t torture myself. Self-kindness goes a long way on bad brain days!

Does anyone read or edit your work before publication? If so, how did you find them?

My boyfriend  I am always up to making writing friends!

Can we have a sneaky look at your future plans?

Yes! I plan on developing the backgrounds and plots of the co-workers in the office! There is also a huge drama unfolding in the company… the only hint that I will provide is that it is inspired by true and recent controversies in Silicon Valley.

Finally, what advice would you give to other writers?

I have only 5 subscribers so far so I am not sure I would be considered an inspiration. Maybe one day! 😊 But I can’t imagine spending my free time doing anything else, and I treasure my small and humble beginning right now. I look forward to building a community of people who just love a good story.

https://princessmushroom.com/2021/07/21/1-the-reckoning/

Spotlight author! S.S Frankowska

Posted on by T. Maxwell-Harrison

I’ve managed to have a chat with yet another incredible writer. This time Sandra S. Frankowska is telling me about her writing journey and about her incredibly inspiring fantasy series! I hope you enjoy what she had to say, I know I loved every minute and thank you for taking the time to read!

S.S. Frankowska

Sandra S. Frankowska is the author of the epic fantasy series Heroes Of the Shadow. When she is not writing, Sandra is either working at the ed-tech start-up, reading, painting or rock climbing.

Some of Frankowska’s favourite reads include The Lord Of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Journey to the Center of the Earth by J. Verne, The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, Dark Tower by S. King, Jurassic Park by M. Crichton, The Drift by C. Aufenthie and The Hunger Games by S. Collins.

Where do you live?

Recently moved out from London to a small village in Kent, UK called South Darenth.

Why are you a writer?

My passion for writing comes from my passion for reading. For as long as I can remember, I always enjoyed discovering other worlds and losing myself in them. Writing was about the same, just on the brand new levels. I plotted my series in my head long before I wrote the very first word on paper. I drew places and creatures that existed nowhere but in my mind to get them out of my head. Drawing soon wasn’t enough. I painted, sculptured, and tried other forms of expressing it, but with time, nothing worked. My characters began to appear to tell their stories, and I found myself plotting it all on paper before I even realised that this was what I was doing.

Eventually, writing became a coping mechanism for me. It was a way to take a step away from the crazy world we live in and immerse myself in the new place, which only I could explore. It became a way for me to process things I found difficult to process otherwise. To express things that matters to me, that I often felt no one else cared about.

As the first chapters formed, I realised I have a story to tell. A story that I couldn’t find anywhere else, and that I enjoyed. A story that I was looking for in other books, but it wasn’t there. How could it be there? It was inside me this whole time.

What do you enjoy about writing?

There are many things I love about writing.

First one is plotting. I spend a lot of time daydreaming, with my mind travelling across different worlds and timelines to see how the story will develop. I treasure these moments a lot. Being able to see all of that in my head makes me to realise how gifted and lucky I am. Detaching myself from excel tables, grocery planning and paying bills to figure out how the world with dinosaurs and dragons living in one place could look like makes me feel complete. I may be physically still here, but with my mind, I can be just anywhere. Isn’t human brain amazing?

Second thing I love about writing is how it makes me feel the emotions that not only are not mine but also belong to a fictional character. Yet, they are real to me. I write a scene and I catch myself smiling. I write a scene and suddenly realise that my heart is speeding up. My characters are somewhere high up and I feel dizzy. None of this happened, and yet I felt it all.

Finally, writing is self-discovery. My plot and my characters force me to ask myself questions I wouldn’t ask myself otherwise. To understand the complexity of thousands of different experiences that impact the smallest decisions we take. To see how resilient and brave I am. Writing and publishing isn’t an easy process. Many of us experience self-doubts on regular basis, struggles to be seen, and receive little to no support on the way. Realising how much strength you have to continue, nevertheless, should be a huge thing. It was for me. I never knew I had it until I started to write.

Tell us about your most recent works

My debut epic fantasy novel came out last year. “Heroes Of the Shadow. Blue Scar Indeabinito” is a first book in the 24-books-long planned series. It’s a story of a soldier, Thomas McCartney, who was taken to another world called the Indeabinito. It’s a world filled with mythical creatures and other humanoid races, some of which remind him of things he knew (like mermaids and centaurs), some are completely new to him.

While the Indeabinito world has a lot to offer, Thomas actually spends most of his time trying to find a way back to his home. His father is a soldier, and so is he. Taken to another world, he’s worried that people will consider his disappearance a one thing that he would never do: a desertion.

If you could write a book in a new genre, which would you choose?

Based on books that I love, my first choice to try something new, would be a dystopian fiction.

Do you have any role models or people who inspired you to write?

I rarely take people for role models (too easy to get disappointed). There are, however, authors whose art inspired me to write. The two key series that made me to write were The Chronicles of Narnia and Jurassic Park + Jurassic World. The first one, for the simple reason: I loved the idea of the portals that existed in our world and could take you to somewhere else. Exploring Narnia made me to fall in love with fantasy and limitless possibilities it offers. That was my “what” to write.


Jurassic Park and Jurassic World made me to realise the impact of a good story. While I enjoyed the movies, these books carried so much more in them. Particularly Jurassic Park has this one scene that explains how systems used in the park were designed with logical error, and how simple and easy to miss that error was. Everything that happened later was just a huge consequence of one wrong assumption. The way M. Crichton plotted important messages into the world that didn’t exist but felt as if it could be real, was my “why” to write.

Are you working on anything at the moment?

I’m currently working on getting my second book in the series ready to publish later this year, while also outlining book #3.

Where can people buy your books?

My books at the moment are only available on Amazon.

What advice would you give to an aspiring writer?

First of all, you are only aspiring until you start to write. As soon as you started, you are a writer, and never let anyone take it away from you. Other than that, treat anything you hear regarding the writing process as an advice, not as a rule. Writing is an art. There is no such a thing like one size fits all. We all do it in different ways. That’s why our stories are unique. Try different things, experiment, but never force yourself into something that doesn’t work for you.

Writing is not easy, but you should enjoy it. Otherwise, what’s the point?

http://getbook.at/HOS – FIND HEROES OF THE SHADOW HERE

It was incredible to speak to such a talented author. I thank you for your continued support and for reading, so if you liked, like, comment and follow and reblog!