Jay Lake: Writer

melting spring lake
myriad floating ideas —
scooping the perfect blossom?

Jay,
After reading many of your shorts and probably half of your novels to date I would say I have a pretty good feel for your “style” or “niche”. Some things I’ve been curious about regarding individual style:
A) Is a unique style something you’ve intentionally set out to develop or is it something that’s evolved organically?
B) Is it something you consciously think about as you develop a particular story or not at all?
C) Has your approach to style changed during the course of your writing career?

Cheers,
Matt

Three related writing questions:

1. When did you get the idea for Original Destiny, Manifest Sin?

2. Did you instinctively know you weren’t ready to write that novel yet, or did you only find out by trying to write it first?

3. How can a newbie writer tell the difference between “I’m not skilled enough yet to write this particular novel” vs. “I’m too scared to try and keep pushing until I’m finished”?

Writing in a vacuum isn’t good for those who aim for publication one day. Sooner or later, the work has to pass before someone else’s eyes for critique/helpful pointers. Regardless, and for any variety of reasons, I often find myself stuck without a single soul to bounce ideas off of or a pair of educated, trust-worthy eyes to evaluate the work (trust-worthy being key here).

Other than throwing up one’s hands and yelling, “Don’t give up looking for a writing community that fits!” What would be your advice to us vacuum-dwellers? (Or have I already answered the question?)

Thanks!