Fighting Prose Interview with E A Carter!

Welcome to my in-depth writers series Fighting Prose. Where I talk to authors in the industry on what their process is like and what it takes for them to keep on creating, through all the odds.

How long have you been writing?

Since I could put crayon to paper

If you’ve written several books, which is your favorite?

The Rise of the Goddess

What's your favorite genre to read? Write?

Mashups of scifi, high-fantasy, and historical fiction, which is...surprise...what I write!!

How do you get in the mood to write?

Music, film, dreams, walks, thoughts, it's constant....the need to release the stories that pile up inside me...

How do your characters come together?

It's a funny thing, but they sort of fit together on their own. I can dream of them, or 'see' them in my mind, they are just there, really I just feel like a transcriber sometimes....maybe I am...

How do you get your ideas?

Reading science articles on quantum physics has a big impact on my imagination. Dreams. Smart sci-fi concepts. Driving and imagining complex love affairs that cross time and space...'normal' things like that

Who do you admire in the writing world?

Carl Sagan for his inspiring words. Donna Tartt for the sheer perfection of her work.

If you're not busy writing, what are you busy doing?

Reading, learning, absorbing information, thinking, occasionally washing the dishes...

Have you always been creative?

Yes. Always writing, although for a time I did a lot of drawing. I liked to draw horses, and powerful warrior women.

Have you ever had writers block? If so, how did you get out of it?

Yes, of course! I just let myself be, like having the hiccups, the less your dwell on it the faster it goes away. Usually watching a really powerful film kick-starts the juices again (Collateral Beauty is my go-to when I am really stuck).

When you sit down to write, is it easy or hard? If it's hard, what makes you keep showing up?

It depends on my personal life at the time. If things are hard, it's hard, and I fight not only with the words, but with doubt, fear, and feelings of inadequacy. What makes me keep showing up is the story is desperate to get out. It's like a pressure inside me, so even if it's hard to go on, it's worse to keep it inside.
Some scenes are easier to write than others, but in general, I am a slow writer so it's a case of grit and determination and never, ever giving up...in the end it's worth it. When I look at the finished product and see how smooth it reads, it looks so easy, but trust me, it wasn't. It was hard. Really hard.