Interview with:Kimberley Linstruth-Beckom [authorkimberleylb]
CREATIVITY
 | How and why did you begin to be creative? I was horrible in math and tried to anything I could to make up for that fact in the fourth grade. My teacher, Miss McCarthy, at the time was excepting creative writing pieces as extra credit work. I started writing poems and stories for her, loved it, and I have been writing ever since. |
| Your mind is your work tool. How do you take care of it? I try and get enough sleep, eat well, meditate, and exercise regularly. |
| How do you avoid repeating yourself, or falling into formula? How do you stay fresh? I will go back to a piece if I have to in order to get a fresh perspective. Sometimes putting the work down for a little while helps. |
| Do you have a ritual like retiring to a lonely place from time to time to cleanse your mind? I am pretty ritualistic when it comes to the mundane chores of life, I'm not when it comes to writing. Writing is my release from the mundane, it's what keeps me sane, so I don't like to be too ritual with it. |
| What cultural sources do you draw from the most? My own upbringing and background. |
| Who have your teachers been? I tend to feel that everyone who crosses my path is a teacher, but as far as my writing is concerned, my Fourth Grade teacher, my Sophomore and Junior High School teacher, and a visiting college professor were my greatest influences. They helped me realize that my talent was beyond the plain and ordinary. |
| When you accept a job, how much value do you place on each of the following? Money, creative liberty, visibility, and to work with the best. My creative liberty is really the only thing I think about. I write for the sheer desire and I don't think about fame, money, or who I get to work with. That's probably why I'm a staving creative artist. |
| Have you ever had a job that was so stimulating that you could not get your mind off of it? I very recently went back to writing romance and that project has held my interest for a full year and I'm still stimulated by it. I didn't realize how much I missed writing fiction until I went back to it. |
| "To give birth to ideas." Is this only an expression, or are there really parallels between giving birth and creativity? Ideas tend to come to me from out of the blue. All of the sudden, they just pop right into my head, or I have a dream about them. I even had an idea for a book that was "born" from a conversation with my husband and the book turned out to be successful. In that case, I believe that I gave birth to the book. The idea is like conception and then you have to raise the idea from infancy (your thoughts and outlines) to adulthood (a finished book). |
| Does spirituality contribute to your creativity? Oh yes, definitely. I incorporate much of my writings on a spiritual level. I truly feel that God gave me these talents to help people. |
| It is possible to fall in love with a bad idea simply because it is yours. How do you avoid this? Oh yes, I believe so. I wouldn't say that the idea is a bad one if it helps you to grow, though. I've had a book idea that I've been kicking around for about 15 years and it's an idea I don't want to let go of, but it's a bad one for a book. The idea has helped me grow as a writer, however. If I didn't persist, I would have never had the gumption to take my writing beyond poetry, so for that reason, I don't believe that any idea is bad if you can grow from it. |
| Must someone be the leader or boss in order for a creative team to function well? I don't think so. In the past, I've often been the one who follows from the sidelines and a project still comes out well despite some feeling I should lead the project. |
| The armchair psychologist: Is creativity an act of rebellion for you? Oh, no. It is and always has been a friend I look to. It helps me put meaning back into my life. It breathes feelings back into my empty shell when I need it too. It relieves my stress. But most of all, it's what keeps me sane. |
| Do you work well under pressure? Yes and no. When it comes to writing, yes. When it comes to the rat race of life, no. |
WRITING
| What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? I love Shakespeare. I have read almost every poem and play by him. I used to bring his complete works to the beach for a little "light" reading instead of Stephen King or Daniel Steele.
I started writing in the Fourth grade for extra credit. I was horrible in math and tried to compensate for that fact by writing poems and stories.
Miss McCarthy, my fourth grade teacher, my Mom, and my Grandmother were the first to read my poems and stories. |
| What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it? I have always loved to write poetry, but I also like romance, paranormal, and non-fiction writing too. My website is the best place to read some of my work. I have excerpts of my books and links to published articles there. http://www.kimberleylinstruth-beckom.com |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? It depends, but I usually mull a book idea around for quite some time in my head. It will keep me up at night and I've been known to keep a pen and paper on my nightstand because pieces of work tend to come to me in dreams. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? Lately it's been paranormal romance, but I also write when an article in a magazine, or something in the news hits me too. |
| What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story? The main character has to be believable. If he/she is not, the story doesn't even hold my interest enough to write it. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? I like to write third when I'm pondering something in a character's mind. It helps me think about the character more easily. I love first person when I'm drawing on or embellishing something from my own past. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? Shakespeare, Yeats, Keats, Poe, Sylvia Browne, Stephen King, and Amanda Ashley. |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? If your character sounds like she has been hiding under a rock for 100 years, and your plot has nothing to do with time travel, you may need to rethink your story. For instance, a romance about a modern day female virgin must have some naivete, but not so much that you make the poor gal seem like the past 100 years has escaped her. Technology today would prohibit a lot of innocence, so the gal can't be as innocent as an angel if she's in her 30's, it's just not believable. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? I'm very long winded to the people that listen to me, so I'd have to say no. |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? I write for the person/people who can benefit from it. I write for the ones who can learn something or feel better after reading it. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Oh, yes. I write so I don't go insane and internal conflicts have always been a creative force for me. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? I think I should clarify my take on feed-back. To me, feed-back is from another fellow writer because a fellow writer might suggested how to write a piece differently. A reader who is not a writer is a little different. They will read the piece and give their opinion on it. Some are nice about it and some are not so nice. If the not so nice try to influence others into not reading your work, well then, no--that doesn't help anyone. It only feeds selfishness. But if the reader is giving their opinion without malice then it does help. I don't have to agree with it, but it does help. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? I have in the past and have received various awards which include a nomination for one of the best poets of the 90's. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? No. Not even my husband. I just can't do it. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? My voice tends to change as I grow. So, no, I haven't found my voice yet. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? I don't because writing is my release from the mundane of life. I do set goals for myself but I tend to be lenient. I've learned as a Mom of young ones and as a Fibro sufferer that lenient is not always a bad thing. Sometimes it can relieve pent up stress. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? Coffee and a dictionary. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I love pen and paper because it's so portable. Last Christmas, though, my family gave me a laptop as a gift so I've been writing on there and doing edits on there too. |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? |
| What has been your experience with publishers? I published a few on my own and absolutely loved the experience. Lulu is a wonderful site that has allowed me to fulfill my dream. I have always wanted to be a published author, but I also wanted to be a publisher too. |
| What are you working on now? A romance, a paranormal novel, and a non-fiction book on Fibromyalgia. |
| What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone? I remember being terrified of showing people my work. I finally was forced by one of my teachers in high school to share a poem with him because it was an assignment.
He read it and wanted me to publish it. I was taken aback by that statement and said, "It can't be that good." He said, "Kim, something is good when they (the students) don't understand it."
If it wasn't for him, I probably would have never had the strength to publish any of my work. So my advise is to force yourself to do it. You never know what can happen and you just might be surprised by the outcome. |
BLOGGING
| What is your blog address? What subjects do you deal with? |
| What was it that made you create your blog? On what date did you start it? I started blogging for a good cause last year. It's called Blogging for Invisible Illness Awareness and it's for the month of September. |
| What blogging system have you adopted and why? I change it up, but lately I've been giving my take on articles I come across that have to do with health or Fibromyalgia. |
| How many visits a day do you get? What type of comments do you receive? I receive comments from many people all over the world. The comments are wonderful because the are very encouraging. Most tell me to keep up with my writing because it helps them with their illness.
I have no idea how many visits I get a day. I'm not that tech savvy. |
| How has 'having a blog' contributed to your life? I love having a blog because it's like being able to chat with your girlfriends anytime you want. Writing keeps me sane, so it helps with my sanity. |
| Have you created relationships with other bloggers or readers of your blog? Oh yes, I have many new friendships from readers around the world. |
| How often do you post? Does regular posting of your blog require a lot of effort on your part? I try to post a least once a week, but that doesn't always work out. It can be hard to come up with topics at times because I post often. The kids, hubby, and other things in my life can also make it difficult to post. Life can sometimes get in the way of writing. |
| Does blogging bring in income for you? Can one make a living from posting? For some I guess it could. For me? No. I do it for others and I don't think about profiting from it. |
| How do you promote your blog? I don't do much actually. My readers found me actually. |
| How would you define your readers? Have you got a faithful audience? My audience is very faithful and I am grateful for that. I love to know they are reading because it lets me know that they are doing okay. Chronic illness is hard to deal with at times and can make simple things like reading hard. So if my readers are reading, it makes me happy because I know they are having an okay day. |
| Are there any blogs you follow daily or regularly? I follow a lot of blogs on writing and on illness and health. There are just too many to list here. |
| How do you see your blog evolving in the future? I'm not sure yet how it will evolve. I will say that I am writing a book entitled Fibro and Fabulous. The book will be set up like my blog postings are with the trademark "Stay Fabulous" ending. Some of the book will contain favorite posts of mine, but a lot of it is new stuff that never made it to the blog.
You will see a bit of my temper in this book because I lash out at the big businesses, the health care industry, the drug companies, Congress and the Senate, and even your run of the mill selfish people. The book will also expand on some of my favorite topics like relationships and intimacy. There is even a few surprises for my readers in the book too. I talk about a few topics that I've never discussed in my blog before.
I'm in the final writing stages of the book as we speak so it won't be too long before it's ready for the public. I will keep everyone updated as far as when it will be released on my websites, www.kimberleylinstruth-beckom.com and www.fibroandfabulous.com. |
| What advice would you give to someone who wishes to begin a blog? Do it because it's fun and you never know who you will meet and become friends with. |
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