Becoming A Writer

I've avoided this question because I have nothing new to add to the conversation. When I think about my answer, the first thing that comes to mind is the online classes about writing that I took on Masterclass.com. James Patterson taught a class. Walter Mosley, Margaret Atwood, Neil Gaiman, and Malcolm Gladwell did as well. James said that you may not have done enough research on your character or subject whenever you are stuck. That rang true for me. In my first novel, CAKEWALK, I had to lean on the words of James Baldwin to articulate my experiences as a black person on a deeper level. The lover in my novel is a transgender woman. I often found myself stuck not knowing what was most important to her as a trans woman, so I called my friend Lucy.

I forget which author made this suggestion, but you should edit your earlier work whenever you have writer's block. This could generate ideas you never considered. I often added more profound thoughts or further a specific event because an earlier edit had broken down the block.