Lena Goldfinch loves a good romance. She's been a past finalist in several national writing contests, including the RWA Golden Heart and ACFW Genesis contests, and has been previously published in short fiction. She lives in scenic New England with her husband/mad inventor, two kids, and a very spoiled black Lab.
Her fascination with stories began at a very young age at the town library, a place where she still loves to hang out. In her not-so-murky past, she's worked as a software engineer and a web designer, and has now found her true passion in writing fiction. A member of RWA and SCBWI, she also blogs on LiveJournal and is a member of The Enchanted Inkpot, a community of writers and readers of middle grade and young adult fantasy.
Find me online at:
- LiveJournal Blog: lena_writes
- Facebook: Lena Goldfinch
- Group Blog: The Enchanted Inkpot
Q&A:
Q: What's the most difficult part of writing a story?
A: Getting stuck. Writer's block does exist (been there and bought the t-shirt). Because I've had to wrestle with this over the years though, I've found ways to demolish the blocks or at least slip around them. I wrote a series of article about these tips & tricks for getting unstuck, so at least something good has come from it! (It's one of those making-gold-out-of-straw things. lol)
Q: What's the easiest part?
A: Wait. There's an easy part?? Just kidding. :) For me, what comes most naturally is a genuine love of language. I love when there's a sort of music playing in my head when I write, when the words hit a certain rhythm. I love when a description sounds just right. I can also get lost in character development and world building, but, since none of this is ever perfect the first time it hits the page, I'm also a vigorous reviser.
Q: Plotter or pantser?
A: Whatever works. I'm not one to just sit down and type up a manuscript from front to back (i.e. someone who flies by the seat of their pants or a "pantser"), but I also find that if I over-plot a story ahead of time, then I lose some of the joy of discovery and feel like I've already written the story. So it's a balancing act. I have to plot enough to keep myself from getting stuck, but not so much that writing the story becomes boring.
And just for fun...
Q: If you could be any animal what would it be?
A: Either a dolphin or a Labrador Retriever. A dolphin, because they're so amazingly joyful and elegant in the water, and they're smart. I mean, who wouldn't want to be amazingly joyful, elegant, and smart? And a Labrador Retriever, because I've closely observed my own black lab's non-stress approach to life and it looks pretty appealing, but then he's also terribly spoiled. :)
Member of the Enchanted Inkpot
...a community for writers and readers of middle-grade and young adult fantasy
