The blog of a girl who's looking for God's plan for her life. In the mean-time, she's knitting books and writing scarves ... or something like that.
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Monday, March 20, 2017
Q&A with J.J. Francesco
I have J.J. Francesco here today to answer any questions that you might have about writing, his writing, his writing process, or anything else you can think of.
I'll be checking this frequently so ask away. I wanna say nothing held back but somebody might challenge that. Yet, I'll say it anyway. See what happens.
Sometimes. Usually after I see a good movie/read a good book on the topic. I'm not sure I have it in me. Maybe I just haven't quite found the right story for me and the genre. I've always been drawn more to the dramatic side of things and keeping things "in our world" always seemed the best choice. Plus, I like crossover characters.
That said, I don't rule it out. Especially in regards to religiously-based supernatural fantasy type stories. It's not currently in the mental queue, so to speak, but that doesn't preclude it from being in the library.
Does your Italian background influence your writing in any respects? Do any of your characters have a specifically identifiable ethnic background, in particular Italian?
I grew up as a bit of a half-breed so I never was too immersed in any particular culture beyond the basics, and of course the food. That said, every part of my upbringing influences me to some degree.
As for my characters, in my head Patrick has some Italian in him even if it's not prominent/important/obvious by his last name. Most of the characters in my published books tended to not have any important reasons to reveal much of their ethnicity. In a book I finished a draft of but never went back to (as of yet), several characters are identifiable Italians (surname Moretti, a guy named Guido). One even runs an Italian Pizzeria.
There IS a character I want to write into my Julie Martel series named Constantine who is based on an Italian guy I know. So maybe that can count too.
I'd be remiss to completely exclude the "A priest with a gun?"/"A priest with a mission." exchange from Death Scene. There are several silloquies/monologues I love. I love so many lines. Tooting my own horn now? lol
If I had to pick one presently, and I definitely cannot single this out as my ONLY favorite line, there is this line from my WiP (which is pretty much ready to go to the next phrase in being released) called "Because of Austin." Basically this one character had lost his father years back, and now he's again thrust into loss and all these old wounds are open. And in the midst of all of this, he meets this slightly older character who knows what pain he's going through and he sort of catches/holds/embraces him at one point. And the character has this internal line, "His arms aren’t strong like Dad’s were but they hold me up."
During a revision, this one spoke to me a lot. I think anyone who has "lost their rock" can identity with the notion of finding somebody else. They can't replace the loss, but maybe they can help you stand so you can keep going. I think that's such an important thing in life and the moment is really precious to me because of it's power despite the quiet going on around it.
What is the name of your favorite character that you've written? (I'm probably going to end up asking every author this - characters are my favorite part of a story, and I love hearing about the characters of other authors :D)
Patrick Martel. He's just a kid for the first book but I can't deny he's the one who seems to have stolen the most of this writer's heart. But really, I have other favorites too. :P ;)
But in all seriousness, I watch a movie, or a good TV show, or I spend some time eavesdropping on strangers. ;) Good fiction or even seeing some real life can just make me want to dive back into my world and my characters. But I think the biggest key is not forcing it. I'm not a big advocate of writing even if you don't want to unless you're actually making money doing it and it's a source of income. Since I make next to nothing, I essentially take the approach of keeping my writing something rewarding and I don't want to turn it into a chore. So I also think there is something to letting the inspiration strike before absolutely forcing yourself to write. I think a lot of writer's block is cured by your own natural curiosities if you don't try too hard to force it.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'll be checking this frequently so ask away. I wanna say nothing held back but somebody might challenge that. Yet, I'll say it anyway. See what happens.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever considered writing in the genre of fantasy?
ReplyDeleteSometimes. Usually after I see a good movie/read a good book on the topic. I'm not sure I have it in me. Maybe I just haven't quite found the right story for me and the genre. I've always been drawn more to the dramatic side of things and keeping things "in our world" always seemed the best choice. Plus, I like crossover characters.
DeleteThat said, I don't rule it out. Especially in regards to religiously-based supernatural fantasy type stories. It's not currently in the mental queue, so to speak, but that doesn't preclude it from being in the library.
Does your Italian background influence your writing in any respects? Do any of your characters have a specifically identifiable ethnic background, in particular Italian?
ReplyDeleteI grew up as a bit of a half-breed so I never was too immersed in any particular culture beyond the basics, and of course the food. That said, every part of my upbringing influences me to some degree.
DeleteAs for my characters, in my head Patrick has some Italian in him even if it's not prominent/important/obvious by his last name. Most of the characters in my published books tended to not have any important reasons to reveal much of their ethnicity. In a book I finished a draft of but never went back to (as of yet), several characters are identifiable Italians (surname Moretti, a guy named Guido). One even runs an Italian Pizzeria.
There IS a character I want to write into my Julie Martel series named Constantine who is based on an Italian guy I know. So maybe that can count too.
What is your favorite line that you have written thus far, in a novel or short story?
ReplyDeleteI can't do it!!! lol Okay, let me try.
DeleteI'd be remiss to completely exclude the "A priest with a gun?"/"A priest with a mission." exchange from Death Scene. There are several silloquies/monologues I love. I love so many lines. Tooting my own horn now? lol
If I had to pick one presently, and I definitely cannot single this out as my ONLY favorite line, there is this line from my WiP (which is pretty much ready to go to the next phrase in being released) called "Because of Austin." Basically this one character had lost his father years back, and now he's again thrust into loss and all these old wounds are open. And in the midst of all of this, he meets this slightly older character who knows what pain he's going through and he sort of catches/holds/embraces him at one point. And the character has this internal line, "His arms aren’t strong like Dad’s were but they hold me up."
During a revision, this one spoke to me a lot. I think anyone who has "lost their rock" can identity with the notion of finding somebody else. They can't replace the loss, but maybe they can help you stand so you can keep going. I think that's such an important thing in life and the moment is really precious to me because of it's power despite the quiet going on around it.
What is the name of your favorite character that you've written? (I'm probably going to end up asking every author this - characters are my favorite part of a story, and I love hearing about the characters of other authors :D)
ReplyDelete~ Savannah
scattered-scribblings.blogspot.com
Asking me to pick a favorite child, eh? :P
DeletePatrick Martel. He's just a kid for the first book but I can't deny he's the one who seems to have stolen the most of this writer's heart. But really, I have other favorites too. :P ;)
What's the #1 way you defeat Writer's Block?
ReplyDeleteSee my Brainstorming blog here. ;)
DeleteBut in all seriousness, I watch a movie, or a good TV show, or I spend some time eavesdropping on strangers. ;) Good fiction or even seeing some real life can just make me want to dive back into my world and my characters. But I think the biggest key is not forcing it. I'm not a big advocate of writing even if you don't want to unless you're actually making money doing it and it's a source of income. Since I make next to nothing, I essentially take the approach of keeping my writing something rewarding and I don't want to turn it into a chore. So I also think there is something to letting the inspiration strike before absolutely forcing yourself to write. I think a lot of writer's block is cured by your own natural curiosities if you don't try too hard to force it.