Meet Joachim Heijndermans

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joachim Heijndermans a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Joachim, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

During a period after some writing success, I experience a time where I wrote less frequently and I became more critical of my short fiction writing output, feeling I’d gotten into a rut and retreaded grounds I’d already covered. It wasn’t until, on a dare by a friend, when I started writing stories outside of my comfort zone (that of erotic and romantic fiction) that I rediscovered my joy in writing. Embracing this also gave me the energy to begin on longer work, building on the methods that I learned from the novella work, to finish manuscripts for novels.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I am a writer, artist and designer of a series of erotic novellas under my Beautiful Beasts imprint, each of which features a story of erotic romance with a monstrous partner in a fantasy, horror or science fiction. I self publish these books and commission artist to provide cover art for them.
I have several upcoming books, including a set of novelettes and plans for a series of short stories.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Don’t be afraid to either ask or consult tutorials on how to produce the work you’r planning getting into (be it art, writing, designing or film). But don’t strive for perfection. You’ll make mistakes because you’re human, and striving for perfection might delay your project for a while (perfection is the opposite of done).

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I have been struggling with that myself, and the most basic lesson has been to take breaks. Step away from your project, allow yourself more time to make it if you need it and don’t beat yourself up, especially if you miss self-imposed deadlines.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Author photo: ©Joachim Heijnderrmans
Beautiful Beasts Logo: ©Joachim Heijndermans
Art Beautiful Beasts 1, 2 & 3: Man Carot
Art Beautiful Beasts 4: Andrea Iula

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