Funny old thing. The
number of times you get the same questions fired at you.
Questions are like bad jokes, very often. Every time someone comes out with a wisecrack there is the look in the eyes
that says, “I bet that’s the first time you’ve heard that one, eh?”
With questions it’s almost a challenge, “Try answering that one,” Is in the expression.
I can’t. It’s OK,
you win, I’m beaten.
First question is,
“Did you base your stories on Arthur C Clarke’s work?”
Why would I? Oh, I
see. He’s English and I’m English,
we both write science fiction so it follows that I’m aping his style. Of
course. Silly of me.
No. I admire lots of
science fiction writers from all over the World; none of them need copying,
they are all individual and brilliant in their own way.
Isaac Asimov and
Carl Sagan leap to the top of the list with Jules Verne and HG Wells drumming
at their heels. Frederik Pohl and Anne McCaffrey are also high up there in the
celestial constellation of writers.
JRR Tolkien for his fantasies is definitely worth a mention and our
beloved Terry Pratchett for a damn good cerebral laugh. There are others too
countless to mention that have given huge pleasure over the sixty years that
I’ve been reading science fiction in one form or another.
I don’t write like
any of them. I write like me.
“Where do you get
your ideas from?”
Ah! I have a magic
pot. Every now and then, when I feel the need, I dip my fingers into the pot
and suck at the tips. It is sweet, the energy rushes into my head and all sorts
of ideas suddenly spring into life. All writers have a magic pot. It contains a
juice that is similar to ‘magic mushrooms’ but much tastier.
Other people have
magic pots, too. People who make and repair computers and televisions have
them. People who design helicopters have them because all these things work
only with the correct application of magic. JK Rowling has a huge pot, as you
might imagine, and sips it delicately and frequently.
The idea is to feed
the ‘Idea Sprites’ that flash around in the head. They will not come out of
their own volition; they require tempting with sweet morsels.
“Are you a
successful writer?”
Yes. I have books
that have been published; people have read the stories and then they write to
me and tell me that they have enjoyed reading them.
Not everybody likes
all my stories because they are all different but everybody, thus far, has
liked some of my stories. If I have entertained people and made them happy for
a brief moment of their lives then I, too, am happy – and successful.
“Are you wealthy?”
I don’t know. I have
a fine disregard for money so that question should be directed to my bank
manager. This is assuming that by ‘wealthy’ you mean ‘financially secure’.
Probably - but the
only people that know that are all closely related to me or in charge of my
bank account number.
I strongly suspect
that I must be incredibly rich if I count up all the offers of millions of
dollars that I have received from the West coast of Africa and Canada; of
course, I have my suspicions about these magnanimous and generous donations
given that they all purport to come from highly placed and educated individuals
who cannot express themselves in English.
“Is writing stories
easy?”
See my last ‘Blog’.
No.
Writing the first
draft is easy but time consuming. Then it needs polishing and formatting. After
that is the proofreading. Twenty or thirty times, at least, going through the
story. Still things are missed so it goes off to the editor who rips it apart
and a negotiation is entered into to sort out what stays and what goes. This is toe-to-toe stuff usually! All
writers think their original idea is the best, all editors think their changes
make it better.
Then the publisher
says, “It’s too long. Cut out a third.” A third?!
No. Writing is not
easy.
But if you are really
curious – try it. Dip your toe in the inkwell and have a go.
“Are you worried
about copyright infringements?”
No. That is a worry
for the publisher – not me.
“Do your books get
pirated?”
Yes. There is a guy
in Poland who is pirating my book called “A Simple Guide to Understanding Jet
Engines”. It seems he has scanned it and is offering it as a .pdf file cheaply.
Two thoughts on
that. The quality will be poor but it is
cheap publicity for the real thing. Secondly, the onus is upon his ISP to
remove him, that’s the law. How enforceable is the law? Don’t know. Clearly he
thinks the book is worth copying and selling which means it is worth buying the
original.
“Do you enjoy
writing?”
Yes. A lot. I get to
pour my feelings out into the computer; all those characters that play in my
head are real so they get to tell everyone about their world and their lives.
Sometimes coming
back to this world is an anti-climax but then my wife will have made something
really tasty for dinner...
One story was
written to get it out of my head. It was a therapeutic task to write it. Once
out of my head I could get on with other stories and other ideas that this
particular story had been blocking. That was how “The Hags of Teeb” came into being;
it started with me (being a hardened tea drinker) considering how ‘tea bags’
could be turned into a story.
“Do you plan the
story out before you write it?”
No. I just write it
as it comes into my head. Clearly,
there is some sort of basis for the story in that I know what the ending is
before I start. How I get there is a mystery to me until the friends in my head
tell me what’s happening. I just write down what they are doing and saying.
Having written down
the first draft it then gets the work done on it (see above).
So far I have only
written one story that people don’t understand. It was clear to me but to
nobody else. It may get re-written or it may get scrapped. Some of my ideas are
rather abstract but I can usually control myself and not write those down.
“What is the most
valuable assistance a writer can have?”
Support from family.
Absolutely. Without that you are dead in the water.
Once frustration
develops from being interrupted the story suffers; it becomes bitty and disjointed;
the story ceases to flow; the temperament in the story becomes harsh. Once the
pleasure has gone from writing a story it shows, it becomes clear to the reader
that this is a story that has been bolted together from odd bits that are lying
around in your head.
Speaking of which,
it is time for a mug of tea. Perhaps a cogitate, or two.
