With a quick wit, often edgy mouth, and loud laugh, Melissa exuberantly embraces life. Melissa Velasco is a true explorer of the arts. With a well-rounded background as a choreographer, professor, dance teacher, stage manager, and author, she thrives in creation. At her core, she believes that the arts save lives and provide a route for passion and connection. With five books currently published from her Hollywood High Chronicles metaphysical thriller books series, Melissa Velasco is an accomplished Indie writer.
Melissa Velasco, Accomplished Indie Writer
You have a wide range of experience in various areas of the arts industry. How do you find the time to engage in so many areas of the arts?
It’s all surprisingly connected. The reality is that, as a passionate artist, my interests genuinely span many genres. I thrive in the organization of stage management, painting music with the moving body through choreography and dance, teaching students dance history, and writing. Writing is my current primary focus, and I love it.
How did you become a writer?
I’ve always been inclined to wild imagination. I’ve also always enjoyed extreme challenges. Writing is certainly an extreme challenge. It’s far more complicated than I expected. Punctuation, character voice, and pacing alone can bog a writer down. That’s precisely the kind of challenge I love. Letting my imagination run wild on the written page has been what I call a "freeing trap." Freeing because there’s room to really let go, but a trap because I get so lost in the process that writing takes over my life.
For those who don’t know, publishing five books in two years is incredibly rare. A book a year from a series writer is considered fast. How do you manage to write so many books?
Books one through five are published, and six are with the editor. The truth, though, is that the entire sixteen-book series is written. I’ll admit that my output is rare. I certainly keep my editor busy, but conceptually, the material materializes well put together. To answer your question about how I pump out material so quickly, the reality is that I’m not in charge. This book series has a mind of its own. Many writers suffer from writer’s block, but I experience the opposite. This series maniacally poured from me and all I could do was hang on tight with a racing heart.
What is the secret to not experiencing writer’s block?
Well, this is a tough one to accept, but I’ve had no choice. I committed early in the process to allowing these characters and the storyline to vibrantly be what they’d be. Considering the controversial reality of three-dimensional characters and experience, I’ve winced more than once at what poured out. The Hollywood High Chronicles combines the hardships and wonder of the teen years with magic, danger, and a dark adventure. There’s no way to play it safe within the realm of the storyline. With that said, that’s how life is. Life isn’t pretty or perfect. We’re on this planet to grow and learn. In my experience, the deepest growth comes from the least polished moments. The fun of fiction is that the more excitement and mayhem, the better the story in the metaphysical thriller genre. It means I face controversy for the controversial material in my series, though.
Meet the series characters! About the Hollywood High Characters — Melissa Velasco
How do you handle controversy?
The only way I’ve found is to accept that you can’t please everyone. I’m true to my story, characters, and self. I choose to give in to the process passionately. I’m so fortunate as a writer. To not struggle with writer’s block is a rare gift that I must do justice to. If that means I unapologetically “go for it” in my stories, so be it. Societal expectations live in the real world, but we depend on entertainment for a break from reality. My characters get to explore life, love, pain, and fear in an authentically free capacity. They’re unhinged characters, but I must let the story dive deep. If I play it safe as an author, I do a disservice to the story. Realistically, art that appeals to everyone is safe, and I’m not writing a safe story. I’m brave enough to go for it, but I realize that I’m asking a lot of readers to be open-minded.
What is your advice for aspiring Indie writers?
Write! Write it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly. If it’s terrible, that’s to be celebrated! I’ve learned more from the terrible chapters I’ve written than anything else I’ve produced. It can always be deleted or edited, and you can take a complete one-eighty in the opposite direction. The biggest mistake that I see people make is fearing where to start and not starting. It doesn’t matter where you start the book. I’ve written books in perfect sequential order. I’ve written books completely out of order and pieced them together after. I’ve also written books and realized after two were ready for the editor that an entire section needed to be yanked from one book and stuffed into the middle of another. None of it mattered. It all got written. It was written because I put my hands on a keyboard and trusted that I could let go. The story will form itself, and relinquishing control is the first step. Fearing that it isn’t good enough really doesn’t matter at the initial start because, trust me, you’ll go through so many edits that your final product won’t resemble the mess you initially created. So, write it. You deserve to bravely give your dream a chance to flourish.
To connect with Melissa Velasco and check out the series, head here.
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