How did you become a writer?

It depends on how you define the word. I became a writer the first time I cobbled together a character or two with the wobbly bits of a plot and wrote them down in a notebook—and then did it again. And again. And again. I wrote lots of short stories, some good, some awful. I read books about the nuts and bolts of putting a story together. I read articles about plots and characters and how to make them believable. I wrote until my stories began to be accepted in small magazines where payment was a copy of that issue of the publication, and then semi-professional magazines that paid enough that I could buy a pizza to celebrate the sale.

After about ten years of writing and learning and sending stories out and having some accepted and some rejected, I made my first professional sale, a story that was published in an anthology edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow. A couple of years after that, I sold my first novel, Daughter of the Blood. I’ve been writing fiction professionally ever since.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

Rod Serling, because his “Twilight Zone” showed me the possibility of blending the ordinary with the otherworldly and strange, and Andre Norton, because her Moon of Three Rings was my introduction to characters and worlds beyond Earth. Jane Austen should also be added to the mix, with her delightful romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

When and where do you write?

I write on a large table surrounded by bookcases. I write five days a week now. If I’m drafting, I write until I meet my word quota for the day. If I’m doing second draft, copy edit, or proofreading galleys, I put in about 5 hours each day, take a break, and then work on the business side of writing for another hour or so.

What are you working on now?

I’m writing The Queen’s Weapons, another book set in the Black Jewels world.

Have you ever suffered from writer's block?

Sure. Sometimes that means I’ve taken a wrong turn and need to think about the story and characters for a day or two. More often, it means I haven’t done the things the body needs, like enough sleep, proper meals, and exercise. Fatigue can shut down the creative mind, so when it feels like I’m trying to hear the characters through a thick wall of glass, I know it’s time to rest.

What's the best writing advice you've ever received?

Once you turn in a story, start the next one. It will distract you while you wait for the editor’s reply.

What's your advice to new writers?

Don’t write because you want to get published. There are a lot of words that need to be written in order to learn your craft, so write because you enjoy the fun and challenge of shaping a story. Write because you want to give substance to a world and people only you can see until you put them on the page, be it with paper and pen or in a file on your computer. Write because taking the creative journey is more important to you than getting published. Write because you need to write.

Anne Bishop lives with unicorns, dragons, and two shy parakeets. She is a New York Times bestselling author and the winner of multiple awards for the Novels of the Others, as well as the William L. Crawford Memorial Fantasy Award for the Black Jewels Trilogy. Her first novel, Daughter of the Blood, was published in 1998 and is now celebrating its 22nd year in print. Her most recent novel is The Queen‘s Bargain, a story set in the Black Jewels’ world. When she’s not writing, Anne enjoys gardening, reading, and music—and pondering how to get her imaginary friends into more trouble.