KM Weiland
1.) First off, thank you so much for agreeing to do this. Its authors like you, Jennifer Blanchard-Williams, Jenna Moreci, Nicholas Sparks...ect that have given me the confidence to write. Are there any authors who do the same for you?
As a novelist, I am inspired by countless excellent authors and filmmakers. Specifically, Brent Weeks’s epicness, Margaret Atwood’s prose, and Patrick O’Brian’s sheer genius speak to me and urge me on. As a blogger, I’m inspired by the professionalism and creativity of people such as Joanna Penn, Porter Anderson, and Jody Hedlund.
I love reading authors who are masters of characterization, adept with subtext, and players with their prose. Authors who can put all the puzzle pieces of a story together seamlessly always have something to teach me.
2.) Where does your inspiration come from?
You know it’s something that’s hard to define. The desire to write has been there for as long as I can remember. Honestly, I can’t imagine me not being a writer. In large measure, it’s what defines me as a person. I am a writer. If I’m not a writer, then I’m not quite sure what I am. I’ve always thought in stories. That’s how I see the world. All the world is a story, and I think all of art is just as frame through we which view the world. Stories are just a means for humans to boil the world down to neat little packages that we can understand and digest. So, to be general here, I guess you could say my inspiration to write comes from a need to translate life, to understand life, and to celebrate life. Or, at least, that’s why I am interested in stories. I write in part to get them out of my head, so I don’t go crazy. But also, because I believe that writing is a gift. My love of writing and whatever talent I have for it is a gift from God. And I want to be responsible for that gift. On a more specific level, inspiration’s everywhere. I find inspiration particularly in history. What is history if not one big story? My historical western A Man Called Outlaw was an outgrowth of my lifelong appreciation of the American West and the men and women of strong moral—and sometimes immoral—values who created such a legacy who followed them. Not just in the sense that they tamed the land and made way for civilization, but in the fact that they’re escapades have been a fertile ground for the imagination for a century. My medieval epic Behold the Dawn was a journey through another of my favorite eras—the Middle Ages—and it was inspired by a children’s picture book I happened to pick about a man named William Marshall, who started as one of the most renowned competitors in the tourney battles and then ended up as advisor to the kings of England. And then, of course, I’m also very interested in the endless possibilities of speculative fiction.
3.) Do you have a certain time during the day in which you prefer to write?
Definitely. I’m a bit of a schedule nut, actually. I set aside two hours every day for my writing, usually between four and six in the afternoon. I start out with a quick prayer, asking God to bless and direct my work, then go over research and character notes, and read over what I wrote the day before. Then I choose a soundtrack to listen to and start writing.
4.) What’s your least favorite aspect of the writing process?
Sometimes starting is the hardest thing you’ll ever do. But it only takes five seconds of courage, and it only gets easier from there.
5.) Out of all the characters you’ve created, who are your favorite and who is your least favorite?
Authors aren’t supposed to have favorite stories and characters, anymore than parents are supposed to have favorite children. But I have to admit I have a very special place in my heart for Marcus Annan, the haunted knight in my medieval novel Behold the
Dawn. As for least favorite, it’s not so much that I dislike any of my characters, but more that some of the early ones suffered from my own lack of ability and experience in bringing them to life.
6.) Any advice you’d like to share with aspiring authors?
Don’t write unless you have to; writing isn’t worth it unless it’s an undeniable passion. But if you’re blessed enough to suffer that passion, embrace it wholeheartedly. Read like crazy; write like crazy. Don’t be afraid to take risks; don’t be afraid to break the rules—once you know them. And, especially in the uncertain days of publishing in which we live, don’t allow your worth as a writer to be defined by whether or not you’ve been published. If your words never touch more than a single life, you can still count yourself a successful writer.
K.M. Weiland lives in make-believe worlds, talks to imaginary friends, and survives primarily on chocolate truffles and espresso. She is the IPPY, NIEA, and Lyra Award-winning and internationally published author of Outlining Your Novel, Structuring Your Novel, and Creating Character Arcs. She writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in western Nebraska and mentors authors on her award-winning website Helping Writers Become Authors.
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/about/ (her site to help aspiring authors)
https://www.kmweiland.com/# (her official site)
Twitter:
FB:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1565048540491910/?sw_fnr_id=2624948039 ( Wordplayers group)