Nancy Pickard Mysteries

Seven Steps on the Writer's Path

The Journey from Frustration to Fulfillment
By Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott

Questionnaire for Writers

This is the questionnaire we sent around to a lot of writers, to gather material for our book. If you want to answer any or all of these questions and send your answers to us, we’d love to hear from you, and–with your permission–we’ll share them here.
  1. 1. Do you remember if there was a period of deep restlessness or unhappiness that preceded your commitment to writing? This could be any time you started a new project or at the very beginning of your writing career.
  2. 2. Do you recall realizing you would have to sacrifice something in order to write?
  3. 3. What does it feel like to you when you don’t want any distraction, when all you want–or need–to do is work?
  4. 4. Please tell us about a moment when a writing dream came true.
  5. 5. In regard to your writing, what does the word commitment mean to you? Can you tell us a story about it?
  6. 6. Would you tell us a story about a time when you were really scared or full of self-doubt about your writing or your writing career?
  7. 7. Do you remember wanting to write or wanting to be published? How much did you want it? What was it like for you, wanting it that much?
  8. 8. When you’re working on a book (story, poem, article, etc.), what’s the hardest part?
  9. 9. How does it feel when everything’s flowing?
  10. 10. When are you most likely to fall prey to self-doubt?
  11. 11. When it’s time to get to work, where would we find you?
  12. 12. If you could give only one bit of advice to readers, what would it be?