This week, author Peggy Bechko take time out from her busy writing life to spill the beans on what it means to be a writer.

 

Our series of writer interviews is intended to show the wide variety of work involved in being a writer, as well as the highs and lows of the writing life.  I also hope that these interviews will help to dispel many of the preconceptions and myths that some new writers hold, only to have lead to disappointment later when reality hits home.

 

What is your primary type of writing (e.g. sci fi novels, articles, legal papers, poetry)

It has been primarily fiction writing (Romance - published by Harlequin & others; Western - published by Doubleday & others and Fantasy - published by Fictionworks.com) and script writing having had several scripts optioned domestically and abroad.  It’s hard for me to pin one thing down since I’ve written a lot all my life and have recently released new Ebook Out of Thin Air  - a help  manual for new and young writers (available at http://booklocker.com/books/4223.html) and even more recently released an Ebook on Fabulous yet inexpensive wedding planning called Wedding Planning On The Cheap (available at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/17230)  I also write articles, a blog, have ghosted scripts, blogs and books, and write articles published in hard copy and online. 

 

Can’t help it, I just like to write. Oh, and I’m known variously as “P.A. Bechko” or Peggy Bechko on book covers.

 

Is writing your primary source of income?

Half and half - I work outside my writing office as well as a legal assistant.

 

What is your biggest day to day challenge as a writer?

Time, time time!  And that translates into avoiding distractions.

 

When did you start writing?

I was about 14 when I began writing,  leapt immediately to novella length - then to full-length novels.

 

Why do you love writing?

Quite simply because for me it’s fun.

 

Can you share one of your milestone moments from your writing journey?

At a point in my career when a really, really bad and nasty agent dropped me when I didn’t want to look for a new one and was generally exhausted I met my wonderful script writing mentor.   It was pure luck.  With his guidance and help I wrote scripts, learned style, optioned scripts and wrote under contract and ended up enjoying it even more than novels.  Now I love both, have ideas for both and feel a whole lot more was opened up to me.

 

Do you keep a set writing schedule?

Yes, I write primarily in the mornings. Research is usually relegated to evenings. Of course there are exceptions!

 

Have you ever faced a situation that almost caused you to give up on being a writer?

Yes my mother’s long, emotionally wrenching illness and subsequent death.  I’m still recovering.

 

Is your writing career how you envisioned it?

Nope, I doubt anyone’s does, but it’s been a blast with lots of ‘straight aheads, I got there’ - and a whole lot of interesting diversions.  I believed I was going to be a fiction writer, period, but other opportunities arose, bills needed to be paid, and those jobs that seemed to side-track from fiction were fun too.  So I can’t really complain.

 

What big writing goals do you still want to accomplish?

Write and publish more novels and non-fiction - and ultimately see one of my optioned screen scripts make it all the way through production.

You can find out more about Peggy at her website, http://www.PeggyBechko.50megs.com or follow her on Twitter @peggybechko

 

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