Blue Ships Publishing

Want to make content, but not sure what to make content about? Start here. Answer some questions about yourself and the work you do. Think of it as being on a conference panel. What would you want your audience to ask you?

1. Introduce yourself. (What’s your name? What do you write? How long have you been writing? Etc.)

2. Why do you write? (Go into more detail) 
3. Why do you write in the genre you write? 
4. What do you add to your genre? 
5. Who are your top 5 writing heroes?
6. What is your favorite work by them?
7. How have your literary heroes influenced your work? 
8. Oxford comma or add an “and”?
9. Respond to this statement: “fiction has to make sense. Real life doesn’t”
10. What are your thoughts on “retellings” of old stories? 
11. What are your thoughts on fan fiction?
12. What is something you wish you could tell your younger author self?
13. What advice would you give a new writer?
14. Describe your author journey so far.
15. What could you have done to make writing your current book easier? 
16. What 5 writing resources get you through your WIP?
17. What’s been your greatest success as an author so far?
18. What do you think about the idea of using generative AI to learn and write your own work?
19. How would you describe writing as a profession? 
20. If you have another job besides writing, what is it? How does it influence your work? 
21. Besides “On Writing” (which every writer seems to have read) what other writing books have you read and recommend? 
22. Do you have any author coaches? Who are they? What have you learned from them? (These do not have to be people you know personally. They could be people you follow who give great advice and have work to help authors that you’ve read.) 
23. Have you ever done a NaNoWriMo? Did you complete it? What did you learn during the process? 
24. Give your thoughts on the “compelling first line” idea. 
25. Have you participated in any writing contests? Did you win? What was the experience like? 
26. What are your goals as a writer? 
27. How do you build community with other writers? 
28. How do you build community with readers of your genre(s)?
29. What social media do you use? How does each one help you build or promote your brand in a way that suits your personality? 
30. How do you encourage others to write? 
31. Respond to this quote: a book is never done, only due.
32. What are some things that have held you back as a writer? 
33. What are some things that have propelled you forward as a writer?
34. How did you choose the medium and format to tell your story? 
35. You are with the villain until they did…
36. You were with the hero until they did…
37. You were against the villain until they…
38. You were against the hero until they…
39. What is a movie you loved, thought was well-written, well-acted, but was so traumatizing, you will never watch it again? 
40. What five tropes could you never get enough of? 
41. What five tropes would you be happy to never read again? 
42. What books have you read more than once? 
43. If you weren’t a writer, what else would you be? 
44. Outside of class, what has helped you bond with the primary language you write in? 
45. What activities that have nothing to do with writing influenced your writing?
46. Most of us get into writing young. Talk about the first thing you wrote after realizing you wanted to be a writer.
47. What do you do if you no longer like what you’re working on? 
48. How can men and women avoid stereotypes when writing the opposite sex? 
49. Is it epic or is it long? Do you know the difference?
50. What is your opinion on having babies, starting families, during an apocalypse?
51. Tell about your experiences doing giveaways. Did you get the results you were wanting? Which giveaways have you done? Etc.
52. Have you done a book tour, either virtual or in-person? Tell about the experience.
53. What do you think makes a good antagonist?
54. What do you think makes a good protagonist?
55. Must the antagonist always be a “bad guy?”
56. Must the protagonist always be a “good guy?”
57. Do you describe a w or an m? 
58. Is “write everyday” good advice or bad advice?
59. Understanding not all authors, once locked into a contract, have the financial or marketing options to stand with fellow authors during a boycott, should an author always choose loyalty to the publishing house or loyalty to the author community if it’s discovered that they publishing house is engaged in unfair treatment of some of its authors?
60. Give the first five steps to writing a good story.
61. Do you trust yourself as an editor? Do you always hire an editor? Do you make the choice based on the length of the work?
62. If you use music/lyrics in your work, how do you avoid the legal pitfalls?
63. What are your five favorite literary fandoms?