Act with writing or without until getting first typewriter

Act with writing or without it is a big question in front of every writer. However, living with your characters and dream it is every writer's need. Stewart shared his real experience living with writing and how did he gear up slowly in writing.

Bint talked about his inspiration, motivation, and excellent process of writing. Keeping a constant habit of writing is that important and as long as you aspire to write.

Stewart Bint is an international novelist published by Creativia, and Dragon Moon Press. Journalist/magazine columnist. Active awareness campaigner for mental health and sepsis. Named on the 2016 list of “Inspirational Mental Health Advocates that are changing the world.” Previous roles include radio presenter, newsreader, and phone-in host. Married to Sue, with two grown-up children, Chris and Charlotte, and a charismatic budgie called Bertie. Bint lives in Leicestershire, UK. Usually goes barefoot.

What inspired you to write about “To Rise Again” and what was the motive behind it and why?

The inspiration for To Rise Again came from visiting the underground hospital on Jersey, one of the Channel Islands, when I was there on honeymoon 40 years ago. The hospital was built during the German occupation of Jersey in the Second World War.

My motive behind writing it was to show that the spectre of war still hangs over the Western world, despite the years of peace since World War ll ended. And that spectre's been brought even nearer to Europe with Russia's recent attack on Ukraine.

What do you do when you are tired of writing? Please tell us at what age you had started writing, and what was your first novel? 

Away from writing I enjoy hiking in the lovely countryside near my home in Leicestershire in the UK, and watching tennis. Also, sitting in my garden in the sunshine.

I started writing when I was seven years old, inspired by watching the original TV series of Doctor Who in 1963. I became enraptured by the storylines which could take place at any time in Earth's history and future, and anywhere in the universe and beyond. I created my own worlds and characters, writing my stories in little blue notebooks until my parents bought me a portable typewriter for my ninth birthday.

Those make-believe worlds became invaluable after my Dad died when I was 11. I retreated more and more into those fictional places where I was in control of my characters' fate, knowing that whatever happened to them during the story, I could make sure they were okay at the end.  My worlds were certainly better than the real one at that time.

My first published novel, In Shadows Waiting, came out in 2015. It's set in 1983 when the main character is 18. Now, with three more novels and a collection of short stories in my back catalogue, I'm working on a sequel to In Shadows Waiting set in 2020 and 2021 when that same character is 56 and 57. 

How long you write in a day. What is your best writing posture and why that particular posture is best suited for you that runs you longer?

I write for at least three hours every day, and often considerably longer. Fortunately, I have a comfortable office at home where I can shut myself away to write and ensure I meet my daily targets. Having suffered a serious blood clot in my lung in 2018 I'm very aware of the need to take regular breaks, and walk around my house and garden.

What was the year you have decided that you have to live with writing and why you started writing? Therefore, the inspiration source for you as well.

It became obvious from a very young age that I'd starve if I had to try and earn a living from numbers because I'm appalling at any form of maths. As I'd been introduced to writing through my stories in those blue notebooks, I decided my future lay with words and began training as a journalist in 1974, and went on to work as a radio broadcaster, reading the news and presenting current affairs programmes. I switched to Public Relations writing in 1986, and combined that with being a novelist from 2015, before retiring from PR last year to focus on my new book.  

Inspiration for my novels comes anywhere and anytime, and has included a walk in Cranford Park in London, reading an article on the Chernobyl disaster, interviewing the British Prime Minister during my radio days, and a couple of real-life brushes with the supernatural. While walking to the hairdressers on the morning I answered this question, an idea suddenly came to me out of nowhere for a way of making the climax of my  current book more exciting.

What are the books on your shelves? Please enlist a few names for your readers.

As well as timeless classics such as the full collection of Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde; Bram Stoker's Dracula; The Haunting of Hill House from Shirley Jackson; the wonderful Catch 22 by Joseph Heller; and my all-time favourite A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle, I have a growing collection of signed first editions by more recent authors. These include the dystopian thriller The Phoenix Project by D.M. Cain; The Sharpened Fangs of Lupine Spirit from H.G. Sansostri; The Nature Of The Witch by Helen Norwood; Secrets Of The Forest by Helena Brady; In It For the Long Run from A.V. Turner; Beginnings by Judy Ferrell; and all four novels in Tony R. Cox's Simon Jardine crime thriller series.

What is your favourite quote that awakes the writer in you and makes you feel to write it now?

I'm going with a quote from prolific author Jeffrey Archer, which sums up for me what writing is all about:

Don't call me a writer because I'm not. I'm a storyteller.

Jeffrey Archer

Passion for horror and suspense helps you to write thriller story ideas

Danielle talked about how her childhood in Tucson shaped her and the evolution of arts in her, including development of book reading habits. Her developing thriller story ideas are unique. She feels that love for horror and suspense ultimately was passion for thrills and chills.

Gathering different ideas for stories and save them for later was her one of the  techniques. Therefore, keep continue reading and explore more about writing and other important things.

Danielle McCrory was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. She attended school in Tucson and Flagstaff, and has degrees in Graphic Design and Physical Therapy. She currently lives in Tucson with her husband, Ryan McCrory, and their two cats, Brodi and Jaxson. Danielle loves writing because she believes there are still so many scary stories left untold, and she is thrilled to get the opportunity to tell some of these stories. She is currently working on her next two novels, which she plans to release next year. Danielle’s love for writing continues to grow, and she is always looking for more books to add to her library.

“There’s nothing like curling up with a hot cup of coffee, a cozy blanket, and the most gruesome horror novel you can find.”

Danielle talked about 

How did you spend your childhood, and what is your favorite city where you feel the most comfortable?

Danielle: I was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, which is in the southwestern United States. My childhood was a pleasant one, and I enjoyed spending my time playing with friends, watching TV, and reading books. I was particularly fond of arts and crafts back then, and filled most of my summers doing various craft projects, such as drawing, painting, quilting, and pretty much anything else I could find at our local art store. I have lived in Tucson all my life, except when I attended college in northern Arizona, and it is definitely the city I feel most comfortable in. As for my favorite city, I think I would have to say San Diego, which is our go-to vacation destination.

How do you come to know writing thriller story ideas? And, how to pick the right one for your story.

Danielle: I have always loved horror and suspense, so I had no doubts that the books I wanted to write would follow my passion for thrills and chills. I am constantly coming up with ideas for different stories, whether I’m driving in my car, doing chores around the house, or going out for dinner. Every idea I have that feels promising, I make sure to write down. When I am ready to begin my next book, I go over the ideas I have collected and consider which ones have the most potential to develop into a novel. The idea that I feel most inspired by becomes my next story, and I save the others for next time. 

Does so many ideas jumble up to you, and what is your take on to stick to one? Therefore, how to survive with the selected ideas without get disturb from the other ones?

Danielle: This can be quite a challenge, and one that I am still working on. Story ideas will come to me at any time, even when I am in the middle of writing another novel. I make sure to write all of my ideas down, whether they are big or small, so I can come back to them once I complete my current book. I have attempted writing two separate books at once, but found this to be too distracting, so I much prefer to focus on just one book at a time.

How do you come to know that only thriller inspire you to write and why not other genres? What are the source of ideas you get from?

Danielle: I have been a fan of scary stories for longer than I can remember. My father taught me how to read with Goosebumps books, and I then went on to read Fear Street novels, before eventually making my way to Stephen King, who is my favorite author. When I decided to start writing stories myself, I immediately gravitated toward horror/suspense and thrillers because they are my favorite type of story. My ideas come from my own experiences, or from things that frighten me. For example, I have gone hiking before and thought about how terrifying it would be to be alone on a trail with a dangerous animal, so I took that simple premise for a story and used it to write my first novel, Wasp Canyon.

Tell us more about your novel, “Wasp Canyon” and when did you complete your first draft and obstacles you faced while writing?

Danielle: Wasp Canyon is a horror/suspense novel that follows Jessica Cleary, a grieving young woman that takes up running the Arizona hiking trails as a way to cope with a recent loss. One day, while out on a run, Jessica stumbles upon a gruesome scene and finds herself injured and running for her life. Before long, people in town start falling victim to a mysterious predator, and Jessica then realizes it's time to stop running and fight.

I completed my first draft of Wasp Canyon in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic. I had recently suffered a loss of my own, and turned to writing as a way to cope with my own grief. What, I thought, would end up being a short story, if that, developed into a full-length novel that was so much more than I ever expected it to be. There were definitely some challenges along the way, especially when I realized that completing my first draft was only the beginning. I now know that the editing process following that first draft can push anyone close to the brink of insanity, and that there are many, many drafts that must be completed before your story is ready to publish. My advice would be to stick with it, draft by draft, and to not rush the process.

Why do you think Amazon platform for self-publisher is a great and number one place for aspiring writers?

Danielle: Amazon’s self-publishing platform offers aspiring writers the means to get their books out there for people to read, which can be very challenging using the traditional publishing route. Amazon allows writers control of all aspects of their books, from the layout, to the cover, to the price of the novel. So far, I have enjoyed using Amazon, and I am planning to publish my next book with them later this summer. Regardless of how you publish, I have learned that marketing can quite possibly make or break your success, so it is very important to start getting your name out there as soon as possible. The more people that are excited about your book, the better!

Writing takes Time to Nurture Ideas to A Marketable State

Discussion about patience in writing and many other things. However, It takes time for aspirant authors to nurture ideas to compete to others.

O’Farrell also talked about what it takes to publish an award-winning book, “Simone LaFray” which took only one night to write. Read what inspired him and what is his strategy for developing characters.

S.P. O'Farrell is the award-winning author of Simone LaFray Mysteries. Simone LaFray and the Chocolatiers' Ball began as a short story and quickly turned into an award-winning novel: Moonbeam Awards, New York City Big Book Award, Queer Indie Award, LitPick Award, (sm) art festivals award and a finalist for Book Pipeline and National Indie Excellence Award.

At what age you wrote first short story and share with us that beautiful memorable moment which had made your day. 

I was forty-five when I wrote the first Simone LaFray short story. It contained about 3,000 words, and I wrote it in one night. I could not let the initial inspiration go, which was the name and that she was a spy in Paris. For about three weeks, I kept thinking about the character and creating stories in my head that might be plausible. I finally sat down and wrote it. It was great. Although the story was far from being published, the thought of completing a unique story with balance was incredibly gratifying. That feeling still carries on today.

When you published “Simone Lafray” how this idea had evolved?

The initial concept was written in the Early Chapter Book genre. It felt good to craft and complete a story, but I soon realized that there was a lot more to explore. After some professional encouragement, I then plotted out a massive storyline in the Middle-Grade genre, which felt right for the initial themes and characters. Upon review of this, it occurred to me that what I had conceptualized was actually a series of six to seven books. I then spent about eighteen months writing the first book and going through the submission process. While the story and presentation have evolved immensely, the core concept has remained intact.

Was it an accidental encounters with a day, or you saw a real life characters?

The inspiration for the story came out of nowhere, which, I believe, is the best kind. We were on a family vacation and out to dinner. The kids in the house, of which there were many, had been spying on each other and playing a lot of hide-and-seek that Summer. Some even had spy names. My niece, who was into everything Parisian at the time, leaned over and asked me to give her a spy name. About five seconds later, the name Simone LaFray came out – a spy in Paris. Everyone laughed and that was supposed to be the end of it. 

How do you take in characters for your novel? Do you pick up them from day to day life in people you meet, or only it is a skill of observation?

I’m now writing the third novel, so I already have several built-in characters, but they all came from somewhere. I started of course with Simone, but the other characters were conceived to play some certain role or serve some purpose. I often do not name them in the summary or outlines, as I want them to take shape through the action. During the late outlining and early drafting, I start to associate the characters with real people that have similar traits or tendencies. I think this is natural, and some characters become an amalgam of several people, but at some point, the character starts breathing on their own. That said, some of my character names are those of real family and friends.

How hard your initial days of before you were published author. And, what learnings you got from book publishing industry?

Being in the query trenches is an arduous and humbling process. I did all of my homework, focused the effort, and selected a total of twelve for the first round of submissions. Within twenty-four hours, three had auto-responses that said they were closed to submissions, and I did not hear a word from the others for about two months. During that time, I sent out another ten or so, but the response was the same. Then I started to receive requests for the entire book or more chapters, which was encouraging, but time marched on, and no commitments. In all, I sent out over seventy packages. I always just thought that somebody would read it and immediately want to option or sign it, but that is not how it works. I was fortunate in that some of the people I sent submissions to were providing feedback or referring the material to others. I did not realize how valuable this was. After about a year of this, I collected everything I had amassed, revised the story one last time, and re-submitted it. I think I had eight offers within a month. I learned that it takes time to nurture an idea to a marketable state, be open to all feedback, and keep moving forward.

To publish a book, what suggestion you would like to give to fellow writers. And, preparation one must do before having any ideas of self-publishing vs traditional one. 

The central suggestion is to get started, start today. Start crafting a well-balanced, one-page summary of your book, and then expand it to two pages. Know your genre, read in your genre, and don’t try to please everyone. Be satisfied with the work and find your voice. 

Self-publishing was not for me, as I only wanted to be a writer. I wanted to keep my role simple as cover design, formatting, mass marketing, press writing, etc., all take expertise that I do not have. I can see the expediency and freedom of self-publishing, but I felt like I needed structure and a seasoned publisher the champion the cause.

Tell us more about your book “Simone Lafray” and the motivation behind writing it.

The Simone LaFray Mystery Series is planned for six or maybe seven books.  The first two books, which are out now, are classic Middle-Grade in terms of composition and structure, although the next two books will serve as transitional books. The final two or three will fall firmly in the Young Adult genre. As for the motivation, I always felt like there was a story somewhere inside me, and it took some time to find it. Now that I have written a few books, the motivation is to always improve my writing, but also to take good care of these characters. Now that the series is gaining traction and the books are being read all over the world, there is a sense of stewardship and delivering on the next book.

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Powerful book marketing for your novel is pivotal before…

Kelly has published five books, our conversation went on many facets of writings. However, one point she has discussed was strategic book marketing, most of the author forget or ignore on this part.

Award-winning author Kelly Miller is a native Californian and Anglophile, who made her first visit to England in 2019. When not pondering a plot point or a turn of phrase, she can be found playing the piano, singing, or walking her dogs. Kelly Miller resides in Silicon Valley with her husband, daughter, and their many pets. Kelly discussed on book marketing to writer's block and many other things.

How do you get an inspiration for starting a new writing project? Does travelling involve finding a new way to write more about it?

Ideas might come to me anytime and anywhere. I have not traveled much, so I would not say that traveling has inspired my writing yet. However, I took a trip to England in 2019 specifically to visit locations I had written about in my books or manuscripts. By seeing these places, I was able to ensure I captured them in my books as accurately as possible. My trip included Bath, which is featured in “Captive Hearts,” Derbyshire, the location for “Accusing Mr. Darcy,” & “Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley,” and London, the location for “Mr. Darcy's Perfect Match.”

How does the idea of 'Accusing Mr. Darcy, a Pride, and Prejudice Regency' came into your mind for the first time for writing? Please share with us that moments.

Accusing Mr. Darcy” stands out from my other books for being my only romance/murder mystery, at least so far. From childhood, I have loved mysteries and read authors like Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell. I also loved Alfred Hitchcock's anthologies, not to mention his movies. So, I wanted to combine a “Pride & Prejudice” romance with a murder mystery similar to those written by Agatha Christie, with a bit of influence from Alfred Hitchcock. Since this was always going to be very different from most Austenesque novels, I changed Elizabeth Bennet's background a bit and focused on a number of original characters. The story centers around a house party in Derbyshire, and the guest visit real locations in the Peak District that existed in the Regency era and remain to this day.

What was your first award and for what book you have received. Let our readers know your hard work behind the success.

“Death Takes a Holiday at Pemberley” is my first award-winning book. I entered it into a number of award contests as a way to get more attention on the book. The first recognition it received was to be named as a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards. It went on to win first place in the Royal Dragonfly Awards and Indies Today Awards and to be named a finalist in the International Book Awards. Since this is my first published book, and I believe my writing has improved since then, it is a great honor to have this recognition. I give much credit to my line editor, Carol Bowes, for helping me improve the story and for guiding my growth as a writer.

The book marketing strategy is as important as writing your debut book. However, before one start to hover over another writing ideas for next book, one need to concentrate on the existing book and its marketing strategy.

What is your turn around time for writing a book, and how do you achieve it?

When I first started writing, I could complete a new story in about a month. Now, everything has changed! I spent a ton of time each day on social media to market my books and connect with other writers, mostly on Twitter. It's quite overwhelming, and yet also rewarding. I have met so many wonder people on social media! This definitely takes away from my writing/editing time, but I consider it necessary; there is no use writing a book if no one will read it, and marketing helps ensure your book will be seen. So now, it takes longer for me to write a new story; several months at least.

Did you face any writer's blocks and If yes, how did you overcome them? Any incident you would like to talk about it.

I am currently editing my next release, “The Dutiful Son,” a Regency “Pride & Prejudice” variation in which Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy's father is still living; though the elder Mr. Darcy is a kind-hearted man, he does not approve of Miss Elizabeth Bennet as a match for his son.

When I was writing this manuscript, I had the beginning and middle in my head, and I knew how it would end, but I had no idea of what to write for the final 3rd part of the story. But I just kept writing and turned many possibilities in my mind until I came upon the answers. I don't know if that was a writer's block, but for several months I was not certain whether or not I would complete the story. I am pleased to say that I am very happy with how it turned out.

How long do you rest your in progress book for rewrite? It is true, more the rest more the ideas. What do you think about rewrite and your recent experiences?

I do not always let a project rest; it depends on how many other things I have going on. To an extent, I prefer to keep going over a project while the details are fresh in my mind. But at times, I am forced to let one thing go for a while. So, it usually works out that my projects get rested, though not necessarily by my design.

Negative emotions in writing become easier to contrast with humours tone

Amelia discussed how she got the ideas of writing “The Vicar Man” into a romantic comedy. She has also talked about dealing with different negative emotions.

However, dealing with the emotions as a writer, It is as simple as throwing lights to see the shadow. It is a game of vice and versa. To believe in the value of anything, we also have to consider its loss. Writers should always keep going. Amelia has discussed her writing schedule and using her favourite app, whenever she travels, she doesn't have to bother carrying a pen and diary.

Could you please tell us more about the book, “The Vicar Man” and how the ideas of writing about the book came from?

I was talking to a friend who writes romance novels, and she mentioned that supernatural romances always use the same ideas: it’s always vampires, werewolves, or angels and demons.

So we began discussing the different types of supernatural creatures that could – or shouldn't – be used in a romantic story, and horror films that you really shouldn’t put a romantic spin on.

At some point I suggested “The Wicker Man as a romantic comedy,” and we fell about laughing.

Then, after we had picked ourselves up, I started thinking: what would happen if The Wicker Man were approached as if it were a romantic comedy?

So, that gave me the basic outline for the book: there’s a cold, muddy, British island where nothing much grows, and the inhabitants regularly attempt to sacrifice people to their ancient, uncaring deity, in the hopes that it will bring them a better harvest.

Into this, I threw a barmaid who is frantically trying to prevent the sacrifice, and a victim who is apparently entirely unaware of everything going on around him. And then I really just let them tell me what they were going to do.

How did you deal with putting different emotions at the same time? Do you find any help from senior or it just a magic of your own?

I think we understand emotions more clearly when they’re thrown into relief.

So, just as we need light to see the shadows, we need to see the potential for mayhem before we can appreciate peace, and we need to believe in the value of a thing before we can appreciate its loss.

For me, this made expressing the emotions in The Vicar Man remarkably easy. 

Because most of the emotions that I needed to express were negative ones: fear, despair, loss, frustration and so forth; it was very easy to contrast them against the generally humorous tone of the novel.

At the same time, when I needed to have a purely happy, contented moment; or when I needed to express pure sadness, without a hint of comedy; I could simply express those things and the very lack of any contrasting emotion shifted the tone and made them stand out from the rest of the book, creating emotional highs and lows.

To incorporate fun, anger, and romance, did you have an encounter with the real characters? Or all of them were fictional.

The characters are definitely all fictional. Some are based on stereotypes of gothic fiction or horror films—there’s one character in particular who desperately wishes that he were being played by Sir Christopher Lee—and others are pure figments of my imagination.

I get a great deal of satisfaction from dropping ordinary kinds of people into a hyperbolic setting and seeing how that alters them: we all know fussy, self-contented, or especially prudish people, but what happens to those personalities when the basic rules by which they live their lives are altered, just a little bit?

I found it very interesting to see those lives take shape.

To you, writing is overnight success, or it takes years, and who gets overnight success and how?

I don’t believe in overnight success, in writing or in anything else.

Even if a person seems to skyrocket into success out of nowhere, there will have been a lot of work behind the scenes.

I think it’s important to acknowledge that work, to appreciate the effort that we don’t see behind the success that we do. And also to never become downhearted if our own work doesn’t bring successes as quickly as we might have hoped.

What is your regular schedule for writing and once you have chosen the topic, how much time you take to complete the novel?

I have set writing days when I must write – currently Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays – and then I also write any time that I’m travelling: I have the Scrivener app on my phone, so as long as I know where I left off, I can continue writing wherever I am.

The rest of the week is taken up with all the additional minutiae of writing, as well as running my house and educating my children: it’s a very tight schedule!

Writing The Vicar Man took a while it was interrupted by Covid-19 and all the lockdowns, so I had to rearrange a lot of things and found it hard to find space to write-in for quite a long time.

The book I’m working on now is going much faster: I started a week after ‘The Vicar Man’ was published – with a month’s break to get my winter holiday story done – and I hope to have the first draft finished in a couple of months. And to have the whole book completed within a year of starting it.

Do you have any book or novel in progress? If yes, would you like to tell us something about it?

At the moment I’m working on The Wolf-Finder General, which is a sequel to The Vicar Man. As well as this, I have a couple of unrelated books in mind that I plan to work once I reach the editing stage. One is a YA dystopia with a strong female lead, but from the point of view of the minor characters, who are starting to realise that they may not be in control of their own lives.

The other is a semi-detective novel, set around the alternative fashion scene. It’s a very odd book, and I’m still not sure if it will ever see the light of day! Besides these, I have two more sequels planned to follow The Wolf-Finder General, and I’m sure there will be more stories in due time. It’s hard to stop them coming, really, when all I have to do is stop and think “What if?”

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