This writer’s exercise originally comes from toasted-cheese.com. One of the hardest things for most people to write about is themselves, so this exercise is one that pushes you to really have to think about things.

This practice exercise comes in handy later when you are writing a good author’s bio, or when you need to put out a press kit. Some writers have people who can do that for them, but if you are not yet one of the James Patterson’s of the world, you have to learn to be your own press writer!

I do this exercise every six months to check my status on my comfort level writing about myself, and test my growth.

Feel free to do this writer exercise yourself, leave it in the comment section below, or if you post it on your own website, Goodreads or wattpad, leave a link in the comment section so I can read it! Let’s get creative together!

An Interview with Inara

My guest today is author, Inara Reynolds. She and I will discuss what makes one a real writer, what challenges writers my face, and where inspiration comes from.

Hello Inara! Are you ready to get started?

Hello, Inara! I am as ready as I will ever be!

Q. Are you a “real” writer?

IR. That would depend on your definition of a “real” writer. Am I making millions and have best sellers? No. Do I write every day and enjoy it? Yes. My definition of a “real” writer is one who actually writes.

Q. So what exactly do you write?

IR. I write short stories, poems, comic books, satire, fiction of all types, gaming modules, worlds, races, and character classes.

Q. Where can I read your work?

IR. You can read my works on my website, wattpad.com, and by getting my ebooks and print books. If you live close to me, you can read the stuff I have in various notebooks and on my computer.

Q. Do you have a day job?

IR. Yes, I have a day job. I also have a home and family to care for every day as most people do.

Q. So writing is a hobby?

IR. Writing is more than a hobby to me. Writing is my other day job, the one that I actually love to do.

Q. Have you published anything?

IR. I have published poems and short stories in various magazines, written free eBooks for my websites, and currently have two print books dropping this year. I also have a magazine blog that I publish articles on at least once a week.

Q. Do you want to be published?

IR. Of course, I want to be published, don’t you? I am published, just not in the traditional sense with books you can buy.

Q. Does your family know you do this?

IR. My family knows I write. I am lucky they give me the time and space to write 2000 words minimum a day on my current works in progress and to do random writing on the side. They are very supportive of my writing, even on holidays and their birthdays.

Q. How do you find the time to write?

IR. I sit down somewhere, look at my clock and yell “I FOUND IT!”

Q. Where do you write?

IR. I can write anywhere. I write lying in bed at night, I write something in the bathroom, I write in the parking lot. Anywhere I can safely find a moment to jot something down, I do.

Q. Are you one of those people I see at Starbucks?

IR. If you are referring to the ones that are over-caffeinated and pulling their hair out… Then yes… That’s me! Of course, I have an unsweetened coconut venti latte in my hand.

Q. What’s your biggest challenge as a writer?

IR. My biggest challenge as a writer is dialogue. Those are not my best points but they are a work in progress. Another challenge for me when writing in the first person is to do less tell and more show. I find that easier to accomplish in the third person literal or omniscient. I also have major issues with writing in the second person. Not that I don’t like writing in the second person; I just really suck at it.

Q. What is your creative process?

IR. I really don’t think I have a creative process as in a ritual type thing. Creativity can hit me at any time; a photograph I just found or taken, a person walking down the street, an idea that pops in my head and pushes me awake at 3 in the am. I write those ideas down to flesh out later. Sometimes I do write out an outline or synopsis of what I want to happen in a story or novel to help me stay on track. Otherwise, I can go off on a tangent in a total mind flow.

Q. Do you have a good luck charm?

IR. My old answer last year was “No, I personally do not. I believe ‘luck’ is one’s perception of circumstances going on at the time.” My beliefs have changed on that. My granddaughter Courtney gave me a little plastic Pikachu when she moved to Washington so I wouldn’t be lonely without her. It sits on my desk and when I find myself in a block, I look at it and ask myself “what would my bitty girl do?”

Q. I got this great idea for a novel. Maybe you could-you know-ghostwrite it with me?

IR. Maybe, ask me after I drop Rise of Orelium to the world.

Q. Do you write about people you know?

IR. Yes, I do write about people I know at times. There are times when I realize a character in one of my stories fits someone close to me or someone that I am upset with at the time of their creation.

Q. Can I be in your story?

IR. You already are.

Q. What writers do you read?

IR. I read many writers from many eras and genres. Poe, Tolkien, Patterson, and George R.R. Martin to name a few.