“Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” Albert Einstein
Recently, a friend who I hadn’t seen in a long while asked how I became an author and how I learned to read my writing dramatically.
By trusting my Muse.
I learned that imagination expands exponentially when used daily.
Championed myself the same way I nurtured the artists I exhibited as a Gallery Director.
Joined the exceptional Philadelphia Dumpster Divers artist collective and was filled with encouragement and professionalism. This success led to the belief that I could go out on a limb and reach the sweetest fruit.
I knew I had it in me.
Wrote my first novel, by sitting and writing every day. Wrote the next four novels the same way.
By nurturing my mind.
Realized that my visual talent could suffuse my writing.
Became teachable, opened to the possibilities.
Found knowledgeable mentors of my craft.
Looked at criticism as the valuable gift it was.
Read everything I could. Immersed myself in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work. Discovered, we shared similar backgrounds and a commensurate belief in justice.
Learned that historical research fed my process.
Joined the incredibly supportive Sherlockian and Holmesian community.
Followed my Muse to London for research. Met my wonderful publisher. Walked the same streets my characters did and treated myself to Ian McKellen’s King Lear.
Inside and out, wherever I go on my quest, it isn’t always easy, but the joy of it lights up my path.
As to my transition into an author who can read her writing dramatically. I learned from the best how an actor becomes his role. And that everything’s connected by imagination, intuition, and willingness.
Gretchen Altabef is an award-winning author of new Sherlock Holmes stories. THESE SCATTERED HOUSES brings Holmes to New York during his ‘great hiatus’. REMARKABLE POWER OF STIMULUS follows in London. During the investigation of a gruesome murder, Sherlock seizes a second chance with the woman, and they marry in anarchist-ridden Paris. The trilogy continues with FIVE MILES OF COUNTRY. Holmes is called in by Thomas Edison to solve a murder in his premier film studio, and Mrs Irene Adler-Holmes triumphs on Broadway. THE KEYS OF DEATH is a genesis story of 221B Baker Street and its inhabitants, as told by Mrs Hudson. Sherlock Holmes FAR & WIDE, nine stories and one play, including the award-winning, “Sir Arthur and the Time Machine”.
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