Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

 

Where do you get your inspiration?

Everywhere. I find news articles, chatting with friends, overheard conversations, people or actions I see on the street or in shops and cafes all provide inspiration. So many things can sow the seeds for a story – if you’re looking. I use two great questions – What if . . . ? and Why?

 

Do you plan everything before you start writing a story or do you make it up as you go?

Usually, a bit of both. At the very least I have an outline with a Beginning and End. Sometimes I’ve started with a brilliant idea for a Beginning but nothing else and run out of steam by about Chapter Ten or so. I have several of those in my files awaiting inspiration. I’ve recently completed a soon-to-be-published family saga, the longest book I’ve written. It involves relationships over many years in several countries during much of the nineteenth century. That needed detailed planning for which I had to create a comprehensive timeline.

 

How do you develop your characters?

I love creating characters. It’s like painting portraits with words. How do they look and sound? How old? What do they wear? What are their traits and behaviour patterns? A lot of them are racked away in my brain on shelves that have been growing all my life. People I’ve met or simply seen, TV characters or personalities, even characters in other books, all offer ideas. They’re collected by my subconscious and I don’t know they are there until I start to think about the type of person a character might be in looks, dress, speech, manners and so on. I believe everyone has these storage areas but perhaps most never need to access them. Writers do.

 

 

 

What is your writing routine?

When I’m working on a book I try to rise early. My creative brain seems to function better in the mornings so that’s when I write. Normally the afternoons are left for developing the outline or more research. As the book progresses I find I work longer hours; my five or six hours become eight or nine.

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How did you start writing?

I’d been painting and exhibiting for some years and become disillusioned with it. I needed a different outlet for my creativity. A good friend introduced me to a local writing group; a pastime I’d never considered. I was an avid reader so it seemed to fit well with that hobby. From the moment I wrote my first short story and read it to the group for critique, I loved it. The whole process of building something from nothing but my own thoughts fascinated me and still does.

 

Why have you only recently begun publishing your novels?

As you might guess from the previous comment, it’s the writing which attracts me. I’ve never had a desire to “see my name in print”. I simply enjoy the writing. Enter children and grandchildren with different ideas. So, now I’m going to become an ‘indie’ and self-publish as much as I can in a short space of time so I can get back to the bit I enjoy!

 

You write in all genres; do you have a favourite?

That’s a difficult one. I suppose it’s the one I’m working on at the time. I know that sounds trite but it’s true. If the numbers mean anything, I’ve written more Thrillers than anything else (including those still in the ‘in progress’ drawer). That’s for adults. But I’ve written three children’s series of three books each so, take your pick. I do enjoy trying different genres which is why you’ll find a Romance, Ghost/Humour, Futuristic and Family Saga in the collection.

 

Of all the characters you’ve created, do you have a favourite?

I won’t name any one character but I do enjoy creating villains, perhaps because they are so unlike me. Mind you, I’m not much like the heroes either.

 

Do you take inspiration from other authors?

Once I’d become established in the writers’ group and begun to understand something about the job of writing, one member said to me, “You’ll never be able to read a book the same way as you used to.” He was right. Now, when I read a book I find myself studying the technique and the language as much as following the story. I take inspiration from the flowing sentences and gentle humour of Jane Austen or the lengthy descriptive prose of, say, Wilkie Collins alongside the punchy, brief words of Lee Child as well as the suspenseful trickery of authors like Lisa Jewell and Clare Mackintosh.

 

 

 

Who’s your favourite author?

All of those mentioned above and many, many more. No one special favourite.

 

What advice would you give to new writers?

Read and write. Find a writing group. Read books in genres outside your comfort zone. Write and edit. Rewrite and re-edit. Ask others to read your work (preferably not family). Edit again. Read more.

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