When I write, I try to think back to what I was afraid of or what was scary to me, and try to put those feelings into books.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I have turned away from the thought of writing fiction in the past through what I suppose is, actually, fear. The direct, raw invitation for the reader to come in and explore my imagination is fairly scary for me so I have busied myself with so much else.
I was very afraid to write a novel - it was a dream for a very long time, and it was one of the few things that I was afraid to try.
I don't think I've ever frightened myself before when writing, but there were areas where there was terror, as though I was looking into somewhere that I didn't know existed before, and it frightened me.
My great fear of being attacked or trivialized by my contemporaries made me concentrate on what I was trying to do as a writer. It forced me to draw some conclusions that were my own.
When I was a kid, I read books that made me laugh but also made me shiver in terror. I wanted to make books that made other people feel the same way.
I just sort of write the book I feel like writing given the emotional place I am in my life at the time.
Frankly, I have always dreaded writing - there always seemed to be pain involved, unpleasant self-examination and a lot of fear.
I don't like to get scared - it's not one of the emotions I enjoy. So I have to assume that if there are scary things in my books, they aren't very scary.
I don't write that much horror. People tell me my books are scary, but they're not really; I don't go there.
I don't have the fear I won't be able to think of something else to write. It's what I do.