Monica Mackinnon
Monica is a passionate writer. I met her on The Write Practice, where I came to know about her work and became fan of her beautiful stories. She has a passionate nature to do what she started. You can follow her on her blog here https://mmackinnonwriter.com/meet-the-author/
Below is the interview I had with her. Enjoy!
1. How did you get into the work of writing?
Monica: I decided after retiring as a school principal that sitting around wasn’t going to work, and it was time to start that writing I’d been wanting to do since childhood. So I began with Fanfiction, writing increasingly longer stories about Tom Branson and Sybil Crawley from Downton Abbey, and feasting off the reviews. Having strangers tell you they love your stuff was exhilarating and addictive! Then I found The Write Practice, entered a writing contest and workshopped my story. Didn’t win, but received good feedback from the judges. Two more contests, and then I went to Scotland for a month and came back determined to write about this wonderful land that held so much history and mystery. Thus was born the Highland Spirits trilogy. I workshopped the first book and drafted the second in 100 Day Book. Now I’m writing the last book in the series. What a journey!
2. What do you like most about writing books?
Monica: Hmm, mainly the high I get from putting words on paper that tell a story and finding that people like it. Don’t all writers want to be loved? But a very important thing is the connection I’ve found to other writers through Write Practice. Critiquing others with the same passion is unbelievably fulfilling, and I call people I’ve never met and might not recognize on the street are my friends.
3. What do you like least about writing?
Monica: Marketing. I’m a writer, not a salesman, and throwing my stuff out there crying “Look at me! I wrote a book! Please buy it and read it and review it!” is very difficult. But people have been wonderful, and it’s just something I have to get used to doing.
4. What do you advise to new writers?
Monica: The Write Practice is your starting place, of course, but there are lots of Facebook author pages, and Twitter can be a great resource for finding other writers. If you get a Twitter account, post news about your writing journey to #WritingCommunity and #amwriting, and you’ll find a huge group of like-minded artists from around the world. Get yourself an author page on Facebook, and of course keep your website up to date. (That’s been hard for me because I hate being tied down to blogging, but I’m getting better at it.) If you’re lucky enough to live in or near a city, look for writing groups and conferences to attend. I went to the Philadelphia Writers Conference last year, before I published anything, and learned so much. This year I’ll be going as a twice publish author! Whoever would have guessed?