World of Writing, Interview

-- World Of Writing, Interview -- 

Hank Kellner is a veteran of the Korean War and a retired associate professor of English. He is the author of 125 Photos for English Composition Classes (J. Weston Walch, 1978), How to Be a Better Photographer (J. Weston Walch, 1980), Write What You See (Prufrock Press, 2010), and, with Elizabeth Guy Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing Prufrock Press, 2013). His other writings and photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications and journals nationwide.

Kellner’s most recent writings include twelve E-books. Included in this collection are: Terror at Mirror Lake, a psychological thriller; I Don’t Wanna Be an Orange Anymore, a coming of age novel; The Lucky Star House of Celestial Pleasures, a satire in the style of Voltaire; The Pokerbury Tales, a satire in the style of Cxhaucer; several works of illustrated poetry; two cookbooks, and two other works of non fiction. To discover more about these works, please visit: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/gnomeo

When we asked about his experience as a professional writer, Hank had this to say: “I can’t say that my published writings have made me rich. Of course, getting paid for one’s work is important. But there’s much more to the writing process than making money. In my case, it’s the sense of satisfaction I feel when I realize that I’ve touched the lives of others through my work.”

A lot of writers have what is commonly called ‘writers block’, where they feel so stuck or overwhelmed that the blinking curser becomes a nightmarish image for them and they can’t seem to break the barrier that prevents them from moving forward. We asked Hank if he’s seen or experienced this - “I’ve never been plagued by writers’ block,” Kellner responded. “Whenever it seems that I’m going to run out of ideas, I sit back, close my eyes, and wait for my muse to inspire me. That seems to work most of the time. And when it doesn’t, the little cursor on my screen that never stops blinking always reminds me that it’s time to move ahead.”

Kellner points out, also, that during the almost forty years he’s been writing professionally, he’s developed a series of eight guidelines that have helped him deal with the many problems that are part of the writing life, and he wanted to offer these to our readers today because he felt they can be useful for writers no matter what their level of achievement is. 

(1) Be positive: banish negative thoughts from your mind.

(2) Be persistent: never stop trying.

(3) Be professional: treat editors with respect.

(4) Be flexible: accept positive criticism.

(5) Be consistent: adopt a daily routine for writing.

(6) Be confident: have faith in yourself.

(7) Be creative: think outside the box.

…And perhaps most of all,

(8) Be willing to accept the many rejection letters and slips that are part of the writing life without complaining and blaming the other person.

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