Meet Shawna Fletcher

We recently connected with Shawna Fletcher and have shared our conversation below.

Shawna, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?

Writers block is a very real issue. There are times when the story and dialogue pours out of me and I’m unable to stop it. My mind spins consistently even when I’m in the shower or trying to sleep. The characters appear in my dreams and I wake up with a giant urge to write it down before I lose it. Then writers block hits out of nowhere. My characters are developed, the plot is outlined and it’s crystal clear in my head until I sit down to type it out. I won’t force the story on to paper. It must develop organically. I find myself sitting at the computer listening to music that fits the mood and theme of the story, take deep breaths, and allow my thoughts to flow. I type what flows and stop when it doesn’t. Forcing myself to put words down doesn’t mean it’s quality writing.
I’ve also found that if there’s a specific scene of the story I can’t stop thinking about it, to get that on paper and then go back to where I left off earlier in the story and usually the flow will begin again.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As an independent author I am responsible for every aspect of the publishing process. I develop the story and characters, write the manuscript, self-edit before sending to my actual editor (the one piece I insist on having outside help with), send to beta readers, incorporate their feedback, format the novel, create the book cover, publish the novel and then market on social media. It’s an extremely difficult job- the writing is the easy part.

Currently, I am focused on finishing my third manuscript and getting it published while attending book conventions to get my name and books in front of more readers.

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

The skills that have impacted my author journey are discipline, resilience and stubbornness. For better or worse, being stubborn is needed to be an independent author. My advice to new authors is simply write the story and go from there- piece by piece it will come together if you just keep pushing and believing in yourself.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

For a long time I was not good at dealing with being overwhelmed. I would shut down and stress out in hopes that it would all go away. Through therapy I learned to identify what I was feeling, why I was feeling so overwhelmed, take deep breaths, move my body and one by one focus on the things I could impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ShawnaFletcherAuthor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnatheauthor/#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Shawna-Fletcher-Author/61556550598868/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ShawnaTheAuthor
• Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnatheauthor