Today I’d like to introduce you to my dear friend and writing buddy, Lina Langley! She has published a novel, The Whole Trying Thing, several shorts, and has an upcoming game that she developed, Talk to Me! She also has a book coming out on September 12 – Welcome to Crash!
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?
Writing isn’t talent, it’s a skill. You wouldn’t go up to someone who has just picked up a violin and expect them to be able to play beautiful music, so placing the same expectation on yourself is an easy way to undermine your work. The more that you write, the better you’ll get–and you should always be trying to get better.
What’s your favorite emoji?
Has there ever been a more artsy, more expressive emoji? I love the idea that an emoji was lifted off a painting. Whenever I see it, it makes me happy.
What does your writing space look like? (Can be a photo or a description)
What are your favorite writing tools?
Lately, it’s a bunch. I used to love Scrivener but it doesn’t take dictation, so Word has become my choice tool. I use my laptop along with Google Sheets to outline and Lilyspeech to dictate. I use NaturalReader to edit.
What is your favorite description of your books?
Most people compare my work to Skins. Every single book I’ve ever released, someone says “oh yeah it’s a lot like Skins in tone” and I’ve never seen Skins. I love it so much! It’s really interesting to me that work I’ve never seen has managed to influence my own work that much in a roundabout way. My second favourite is the quote I have on my site “When I read Langley’s work it feels like my brain is itchy and kind of foggy. But it’s also beautifully light”
What is your biggest struggle in writing?
Trying not to make everyone an emotional mess. Every protagonist in my books is so emo. I’ve tried my best to write a good, strong, responsible protagonist and it works almost never. It’s hard because I know that my characters can be kind of frustrating.
What other projects are you working on?
I’m currently working on a bunch of contemporary romances and a visual novel called Talk To Me, which was successfully kickstarted about a year ago. We’ve had lots of issues with production but we’re hoping we can release it by the end of the year!
What do you to break out of writing slumps?
I try to think about what’s causing them. Most of the time, whatever’s going on with a slump is related to something else in my life, maybe I’m tired, maybe I need to go out and get in touch with nature, maybe I need to reconnect with the people around me. For actionable steps, I try to step away from the manuscript I’m working on and try to work on another one, have a shower or do some cardio. If that doesn’t work, I cut myself some slack and remind myself that everything comes in waves.
Where is the best place to contact you?
Twitter, probably! http://twitter.com/linalangley. You can also always email me at lmlangleyauthor@gmail.com
What should readers know about you before reading your work?
It’s probably going to be quirky and a little odd and not like many things you’ve read before. I’m heavily influenced by lit fic but write romance (kind of) and I’m bad at genre, so if it’s not your cup of tea, don’t worry about it! You might just find something that you totally love, though.