Enjoying the Process with Gwendolyn N. Nix

Gwendolyn writes science fiction, fantasy, and horror, and has currently published four books: I Have Asked to Be Where No Storms Come, Sharks of the Wasteland, The Falling Dawn Book 1 of the Celestial Scripts series, and Seams of Shadow Book 2 of the Celestial Scripts series. She’s also featured in several anthologies, including Pileaus Symphony No. 1, Apex: World of Dinosaurs Anthology, Where the Veil is Thin, and Sisterhood of the Blade.

Today, we’ve sat down to discuss her thoughts on her career so far, and what we can look forward to from her this year!

Q: Who has been your biggest supporter(s) throughout your writing career?

A: Definitely my mom and my husband. I’m pretty sure my mom would secretly buy all my books to make sure I sold out of an event and wouldn’t tell me until years later. And my husband for taking the kids so I can write, edit, and sell imaginary film rights so he can one day be a stay-at-home dad.

Q: What does it mean to you to be an author?

A: It used to mean book deals, book tours, books on shelves, many royalties. But now that I’m older and a bit wiser about the industry, being an author means enjoying the process and getting your words out to readers. Internet serialized stories? Sure. Self-publishing? Yup. Indie press? Absolutely. Being an author means continuing to write and keep producing your work and art, despite hurdles in the industry.

It’s so easy to fall into the social media rat race that it’s easy to forget the joy of writing, finishing a book, and being persistent despite setbacks or books not selling as well. So getting back in the saddle and writing and publishing the next thing is important to be an author.

Q: What is your writing process like? Do you listen to certain music, snack, make loads of phone notes when inspiration randomly strikes?

A: My writing process is all over the place. With kids, family, and career, I’ve struggled with consistency and schedules. I still, despite many attempts, cannot get up at 5 a.m. and write. I’m just so tired! Even right now, I’m typing this interview while contact napping with my child. His face is just under my chin and I’ve got chicken winged arms, but I am still managing to type.

But I do know my brain can’t hold and remember the perfect sentence or sudden plot twist or brand new idea.

So I keep notes. So many notes. The amount of notes is staggering. I have a physical notebook. I have the Novelist app for my phone. I have Scrivener. And, I try to color code or make up some little phrase to link them all together so it’s easy to pinpoint what exactly the note was and which project it reference. My system is all over the place, but I ultimately compile the first draft in Scrivener. I do write better with the exact kind of mood music, but it’s a luxury at this point in my life rather than a necessity.

Q: Is there a genre or subgenre that you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Conversely, are there any that you’ll never write?

A: Ooo, yes. I’m in the research depths of medieval cosmic horror at the moment. It was one of those tsunami ideas that have been building for a while. I would love to write a hard science fiction book, but I know I don’t have the patience for all the true physics and astronomy research that goes into those narratives. Somehow, a space wizard would sneak in…although, I do see that NASA has a helpful online guide for writers trying to write space.

Q: What has been the hardest part of your career as an author so far?

A: Finding my audience. Finding readers who like my kind of writing and wading through the algorithms. I find it so hard to put myself out there on social media and the constant grind of it wears me down. I get so wrapped up in the perception that it ruins my abilities to focus on what matters: the books and the stories. Social media is great for finding agents and editors and readers, but I truly find hardship in creating and maintaining so many accounts and feeling like my worth as a creator is tied up in that content.

Q: What do you consider to be your greatest strength and weakness as an author?

A: My greatest weakness is how scared I get on release day. I want to hide under the covers and never be tempted by the lure of reader reviews. Yet it doesn’t stop me from wanting to have my work out in the world! I keep coming back for more. My greatest weakness in the craft itself is my descriptive writing can be a little much for some readers (or just perfect for others).

My greatest strength as an author is my bravery and perseverance. This industry is hard. It’s hard putting yourself out there and letting people peer at words and stories and characters that you’ve treasured for so long. And it’s hard to continue if the book flunks or doesn’t get the uplift you’d hoped for, if someone wants to squash it online. My strengths regarding the craft is making intense characters and getting deep into their minds and emotions.

Q: At some point in our lives, we’ve all heard the negative comments: “You’re not good enough.” “You’ll never make it.” “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” “You don’t belong.” How do you move forward when faced with negativity?

A: It’s so hard. I let myself have that cry or scream. I don’t push it down because if I do, it will eat at me and poison me. I pick myself up with a couple of questions that I pose to my soul: “Are you really going to let this person rob of you of the art that you love?” and “Sure, let’s say your writing is absolute sh*t. Let’s say your characters suck. Are you really going to look back on 10-year old Gwen and tell her to give up? Are you really going to never ever write again in your whole life? Even if you never get published again, are you really going to stop?”

And the answer is always no. I made a vow to myself when I did want to give up because of outside pressure that I would protect my creativity at all costs. I remember when I was writing my first book and had no publishing pressure or marketing pressure and remembered how much I loved it, was drawn to it, never doubted it. And I try to stay true to that feeling and bring it back as much as I can.

Q: What advice would you give to women who are wanting to write, especially if it’s something others might perceive as “outside of the norm”?

A: There is only one you! You are as unique as your fingerprint. Your imagination, experience, thoughts and ideas can only come from you. And the stories that you make are just as unique. What used to be outside the norm? Everything! Genre evolved because people wrote outside the norm. Protect your creativity, don’t stifle it because you’re making something different. You could be pioneering something completely new.

In the Fall, Gwendolyn has a new novella coming out with DarkLit Press called Bone Knuckles & the Rose Scavenger. This story follows a woman desperate to save her serial killer father and an undead werewolf from the boogeyman, but he’s given her an offer that she can’t refuse. Check out this excerpt:

“Dahlia leaned against her car and gazed at the haunted house, her mouth bitten raw. The car keys glinted silver between her fingers, their teeth digging into her palms. She wasn’t stupid – she’d calculated a high noon arrival despite the risks, gladdened to feel the promised warmth of a spring day. The leather jacket, an old worn maroon that smelled of her, was meant for these kinds of days. The days when the sunlight got longer, and greenery emerged alongside the decay of the past. Even so, it provided zero protection against the frigid wind racing across the prairie.”

If you’re looking forward to Bone Knuckles & the Rose Scavenger like I am, make sure you’re following Gwendolyn and DarkLit on Instagram and check out her website here! While you’re waiting, give the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden a read! Gwendolyn read book 3, The Winter of the Witch, this year and felt it really brought the trilogy together and blew her away as everything comes to a head in a grand finale.