Meet Sandra L Rostirolla

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sandra L Rostirolla a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sandra, so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
Writer’s block is the worst. Sometimes it can hit for no rhyme or reason. In my case though, it usually hits when I find myself under a lot of stress and I’m being pulled in too many directions.

If I am actively within a story, I try to stick to make sure I end on a cliff-hanger or incomplete scene, so that the next day, I know exactly where my jumping off point is. Think of it like overcoming inertia. Instead of mustering herculean strength to move a boulder, you only need a finger tap because by leaving a couple of lines of pre-known creative flow, you’ve effectively tipped the landscape, so the boulder is teetering and ready to get moving. This technique amazing how much a couple of lines of creative flow can open up. This technique is preventative and used to stave writer’s block.

If I’m in the middle of a project and I’ve written myself to a dead end and don’t know where to go, then I am faced with true writer’s block. I try to avoid this by having an outline, which will always give my true north. Knowing where my end is, is like having a jack ready to scoop your car out of a ditch.

If I’m between projects and I can’t fathom how to start, then I simply put fingers to keyboard and type. I give my grace and don’t worry if what I’m writing is the best opening or the best way. Writing is re-writing. I know I’ll come back to it one day & change it. Free writing allows you to kick the gears over and let the car take you where it wants to go until you have the wherewithal to grab the steering wheel and determine your own path.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a YA Author with four published books:

“The Cecilia Series” – a YA fantasy/adventure trilogy. It’s an epic love story between a headstrong young woman who refuses to accept the status quo of her fractured world and an emotional bankrupt assassin, struggling to find his humanity.

– “Making Friends With Monsters” – a YA coming of age, that follows 12-year-old Sam on a quest to find out about the monster plaguing his 17-year-old brother. Through Sam’s eyes, readers discover just how sneaky one’s monster can be and how hard it is to get rid of––especially because most people don’t know they even exist. My father died by suicide when I was thirteen and I wrote this book to offer children and parents a language where they feel comfortable talking about feelings and emotions that often get buried because no one knows how to even begin the conversation.

March 3-9, 2024 my ebooks will be FREE on Smashwords! Mark your calendars and add this link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Sandra_L.Rostirolla.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey are: – Tenacity. Writing a novel is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to face the process in daily chunks. The best way to improve this skill is to not focus on the end. If you are at 5000 words and continue to worry about how you will get to 90,000 words, you will drive yourself to writer’s block. Don’t think about the end. Just keep plodding along. You’ll find your rhythm.

– Creativity. Like anything, creativity is a spectrum. While some people luck out, and are born with bucket loads of the stuff, expanding one’s creative scope is possible. I do a lot of research and use images I find online to help broaden the scope of the new world I’m creating. While not financially viable for everyone, traveling can help open up new perspective and ideas. A great way to broaden your outlook is to find a circle of trusted readers. There’s nothing like a fresh pair of eyes to help you see a different path.

– Patience. Publishing is a long, slow journey full of rejection and heartache. Disappointment results from maligned expectations. If you go into the writing world is knowing that things won’t happen overnight, then your spirit will be better for it.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
The book that has played an important role in my development is Stephen King’s “On Writing.” Because I’m a physics, chemistry and math girl, I never imagined writing could be on the cards for me. Reading this book made me realize anyone can be a writer. The most valuable passage I read in this book centers on one’s “tool box.” King talks about how a neurosurgeon will have one set of tools, while a handyperson will have another. They both get their jobs done, just in different ways.

This was my “aha” moment of realizing that I didn’t need to hold myself to the high expectations of what I thought a writer should be. I can write at the level of my knowledge and understanding and there’s nothing wrong with that.

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