This month we at Unicheck had a great chance to celebrate National Encourage a Young Writer Day and interviewed the rising stars. Today we would like to bring to your attention another outstanding writer Shannon Lee Alexander, who is fond of young adult, contemporary and romance novels creation, so she is willing to share her experience.
How old were you when you wrote your first story? What was the literary genre of your first composition?
I can’t remember when I began writing short stories and bits of stories, but I was thirty years old before I finally finished a novel length work. I write young adult contemporary novels, which are stories about real teens with real problems set in the right now.
How did you solve your biggest writing struggle (if you had any)?
My biggest struggle is my own mental health, and it isn’t the sort of problem that has one solution. It’s not something I’ll ever solve for good, but something that I have to tackle with many tools and tricks on a daily basis to keep anxiety and depression at bay. Writing is often a great way to keep myself healthy.
What have you learned after writing and publishing your first book?
I’ve learned that you have to be careful to define success for yourself and not look to other’s accomplishments as a measurement of your own. Writing is deeply personal, but the publishing industry is a business. And after publishing my second book, I’ve learned that having a book in a bookstore (or two) doesn’t make the process much easier. Writing is hard work no matter who you are, but there’s nothing quite like seeing your own book on the shelf at your favorite bookstore.
Please, find other young writer’s pieces of advice here.
Bio:
Shannon Lee Alexander is the author of Love and Other Unknown Variables and Life after Juliet (Entangled Publishing). She is a wife and mother (of two kids and one yellow terrier named Harriet Potter). She is passionate about coffee, books, and cancer research. She is a former English teacher and a forever Hufflepuff! Shannon spent most of her time in high school hiding out in the theater with the drammies and techies. Math still makes her break out in a sweat. She currently lives in Indianapolis with her family.
Find her at www.shannonleealexander.com
