Doreen’s Blog
About Writing
About Writing
Practical tips and gentle encouragement for new and seasoned writers. Doreen Mierau shares advice on craft, discipline, voice, scene structure, and maintaining momentum, plus reflections on faith, family, and the emotions behind fiction. A brief, warm read reminding writers that every story begins by showing up.
First Published July 21, 2015
Questions & Answers About Writing
I Answer Questions From Gretna Poet, Mick Friesen.
MF: Could you describe the mundane details of writing: How many hours a day do you devote to writing? Do you write a draft on paper or at a keyboard (typewriter or computer)?Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
DM: I have seldom found writing mundane, except for an occasional hard news story on a topic that held no interest for me. It was easy to write for hours at a time during those years I freelanced and our children were in school and later when I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. It wasn’t uncommon for me to spend eight, sometimes nine, even ten, hours each day when I wrote my novel. I found it energizing. A first draft was and is always written on paper, a second draft was done on a typewriter and now on a computer.
MF: Where do you write? Can you describe the space?
11040882_412979152195523_4143888245943413567_n DM: In a 40-square-foot space with two windows, one of which is of glass blocks. There’s a file cabinet and two bookcases on either side of me, all within easy reach of my chair. I am privileged to write at my maternal grandfather’s drop-leaf, pigeon-hole desk. Above it hang framed copies of a Celtic prayer, the prayer of St. Francis, a scene of the shore line at Saint Martins, NB, and a reproduction of Van Gough’s Sunflowers that I bought in Amsterdam. A coloured glass ball, a gift from my dear friend, hangs from the ceiling near the window. There are photos of our grandchildren on nearby shelves; it’s a cozy place.
MF: Any writing rituals?
DM: I prefer to have a cup of coffee nearby and classical music playing in the background.
MF: This is something of a stereotype, but it seems people often consider writers to be solitary and nonsocial. Agree? Disagree? How would you describe yourself?
DM: I agree to a point, but I can only speak for myself. I enjoy socializing, preferably one on one, and know when I’ve had enough. I love solitude and I don’t fear silence.