Grudges
Grudges cast long shadows.  Things from the past affecting today form the basis of many a great story.  Anything you can use here?  And bear in mind that a character’s development takes time.  Eileen has become awkward because she has become fed up with being “used”.  The Witch wants to take the Kingdom to avenge slights, real and imagined, on her family by the fairy royals.  The Witch “forgets” her own family attacked the royals, naturally the royals were going to fight back. 

Ambition
Have your characters got enough to play for?  Their ambition has got to be strong enough.  It’s no good just wishing for something to happen.  Have they the means, or the ability to find the means, to achieve them?  What will they do to achieve them?  Have they got limits? Can they see to the end of the road?  Do they know where they want to end up?

Your Setting and Its History
Does your setting have a history, which may well affect your characters?  The Fairy Kingdom has a history of wars between witches, wizards and fairies, leading to barren areas, which in turn is leading to overpopulation in certain parts of the realm.  This led to Eileen suggesting the more responsible magical beings living, in disguise, on other worlds.  She got shouted down yet she knows this issue won’t just go away no matter how much the Queen and Council try to ignore it.  Has your world got issues it needs to face?  What is its system of government?  If your world seems real to you, it should seem real to your readers.  And every world has to be run by someone - someone with a past, character traits that can benefit the realm/cause it great problems.  There’s got to be some great stories in that!

Writing What You Want to Write
Write what you want to write.  Don’t try to aim for something that’s currently popular as by the time your MSS is ready, the publishing world will be well on to the next big thing and probably the one after that too.  Have in mind an ideal reader for your work.  If you can picture one, you can picture a market for your work, something to bear in mind when drafting a submission letter to an agent or publisher.

Character Speech
Use speech appropriate for your characters.  I make L’Evallier speak in a very formal way.  He will never use abbreviations such as I’ll, it is always I will.  The Queen, by contrast, generally speaks formally but when stressed lets some abbreviations leave her lips.  This also confirms it is the Chief Elf who’s the real snob in the realm. Do your characters speak the same way to everyone they meet?  They shouldn’t.  We don’t.  I love writing about Eileen  mainly because she doesn’t have a problem with hypocrisy.  This shows up in her dialogue.  While Eileen is not formal at all, she speaks as formally as she is going to get with the Queen, attempts but fails to browbeat her daughter, and bosses everyone else, usually successfully but even there she is more wary with L’Evallier, partly as he is an ally, partly because she knows if anyone will tell her where to go it will be him.

Character Habits
Do your characters have habits?  Traits they’re not conscious of but which others observe?  Details like that add to your novel.  Eileen has a reputation for eccentricity due to her name change, defection, and she wears seperates, not traditional fairy costume, all of which I’ve drip fed into the books. 

Good Writing
Good writing is an effortless read. I realized a long time ago if anyone makes something look easy that someone has worked bloody hard to achieve that. Prepare yourself for the long haul -  your work will be better for a damned good edit.

Depth of Character
Can you see your characters acting out what they’re going through?  Do your characters learn from what they go through?  Do you have a nice range of characters?  In any society, you get all ages, all backgrounds. Give them emotional depth - and remember experiences can make folk bitter as well as courageous.  Jenny, for example, as I write at the moment is at loggerheads with her mother and is likely to remain that way for some time until Eileen shows some contrition or Jenny decides to let her grudge go at Eileen for dropping her right in it.

Character versus Plot
Character versus plot?  Plot versus character?  It’s like trying to decide whether you need oxygen or not.  You need both.  Both need to be well thought out.  Eileen’s awkwardness helps drive her plot as she makes life damned difficult for herself but she also needs a story to set up those difficulties for her to try and resolve.

Motives
Look at motives.  Not only can story ideas come from these, they can add emotional depth.  Eileen’s chief motive is to stay on earth with her family and never to resume her old life.  It colours  her attitude, fuels her behaviour and sets up clashes with the Fairy Queen.  Are the motives for your characters strong enough? Overwhelm your characters with problems - you get your story from how they cope.

Reading and Writing
One great thing about writing is you appreciate reading more.  As well as enjoying the story, you can appreciate the writer’s skill, you can spot the apt turn of phrase and perhaps ponder if it took them as long to come up with it as it does for you when finding the right words!  Also you should read more as a writer to inspire your own writing and sometimes to see what not to do, so what is there not to like about this!  You like words, you have to read, better get on and do it then! And if unlucky enough to come across a really dud story, use it to inspire you to do better with yours.

Writing Rubbish
Expect to write rubbish in amongst the gems.  Don’t let the thought of that hold you back.  Write, write, write.  Edit, edit, edit.  They are two separate tasks.  Don’t try to combine them.  You need to give the creative side of your brain full rein before bringing in the editor’s side.  This is where giving yourself time after writing a piece of work before editing it pays off.  It’s very easy to think something’s rubbish the moment you’ve written it but if you give it a few weeks, it may not appear to be as bad as you thought.  Accept all this takes time.  Don’t rush it.  Your writing deserves the best you can give.

Proverbs
Proverbs are an excellent source of story ideas.  Listen to how other people speak - both on TV and on the street.  Does your story follow an arc of beginning, middle and end?  Does enough happen in it?  I have to watch that I don’t put too much dialogue in as I love writing it (and indeed reading it in other authors’ work).  Do you know your characters well enough to write convincingly about them?  Some authors do character biographies.  I haven’t but I do like to know the chief trait (in Eileen’s case stubbornness, an uncanny ability to drop herself right in it).  Pictures from magazines can be useful for starting you off with ideas for physical appearance - always use in general terms.  You don’t want anyone recognizing themselves.  Not everyone’s flattered to be included in book.

Reading Your Own Work
Read work out loud, particularly dialogue, to hear if it sounds right.  If you trip over it, your readers will. Reading it silently on screen or on paper isn’t the same - you’ll just read it but hearing it will show up the faults.

Vital Books
Get a copy of Brewer’s Phrase and Fable.  It’s fascinating and may well inspire several ideas.

You must have a good dictionary and thesaurus. Don’t rely on the computer’s spell checker.  It doesn’t differentiate between there and their, for example.  The grammar check doesn’t allow for your character names and I’ve found it irritating to have my characters all underlined in red/green!  I know they’re correctly spelled, thank you!

Do update your Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook annually.  Things change quickly. 

Reading From A Variety of Sources
Read inside and outside your chosen genre.  Not only is it a great joy, inspiration for your own tales can come from many sources.  Something usually outside what you do may well strengthen your work or give you ideas you may not have come across if you’d stuck to just reading in a narrow category. 

Character Balance
Make sure you’ve got the right balance of characters in your work.  Too many humorous characters or whatever tip your work.  Humour always works best when shown up against something else in any case.  Wodehouse’s Wooster wouldn’t be funny if he hadn’t various odious aunts to outwit.  Also Wooster, whilst rightly acknowledging Jeeves as a genius, is not totally dimwitted.  Ensure your characters aren’t either. Each of your creations must have something positive going for them or you won’t get reader sympathy.

Do your characters change their minds?  Do they hesitate?  Do they find their original purpose isn’t what they thought and they need to adjust it or need to adjust what they do?  Give your characters hell!  It’s fun!  And makes for better writing!  What’s there not to like about that?  Your characters should have friends and enemies.  Relationships complicate plot which is all to the good as far as you’re concerned.  You want your characters not to have an easy time of it!

What do you hope to achieve by your writing?
On a personal level, as much enjoyment as I can manage and for it to continue to be a useful therapy device for me.  I obviously hope to become a published author and whilst writing I can continue to aim for that.  I also would like to have scripts produced by the BBC for Radio 4.  I do enjoy having lots of projects on the go and I hope writing will keep my mind active and busy, something I’m keen to watch given Mum’s illness. I hope to develop links/friendships via Facebook as I love talking about writing if I can’t actually be doing some!  I would like to achieve more shortlistings and see if I can get a collection of short stories out there.  I hope to just keep going and see if the break through comes.  The great thing is I lose nothing in writing and it is such fun to do.

How do you define success in writing? Is it just by publication?
I think success in writing is more than just about being published, though obviously that’s important.  I think success comes when you keep on writing despite all life’s hassles at times, when you write when it would be so easy not to and you take a positive attitude to rejections and try to learn from them.  (A writer with that attitude rather than the “sod them” attitude is far more likely to improve their skill and get published eventually).  Success in writing is completing a piece of work to the right word count and deadline.  Success is also when you are short-listed or win.  Success is when you have a body of work you can send out to publishers (rather than just dreams you hope to fulfil one day).  Success also comes when you spot the scams a mile off, when you find yourself at writing conferences pointing people in the way of useful websites like the Jonathan Clifford one, to prevent them from pursuing the vanity publication route.

If you can’t get published the conventional way, would you consider self publishing?
Yes though I’m conscious I’d need to have my own website up and running and I’d want to use connections with Brit Writers and Shortbread to help with publicity.   I think I’d start out on my short stories as a self published item.  I think I also need to start a blog before too long so I can have a link there.  I still want to focus ideally on being published “properly” as I think this is every author’s ambition but I am open to using new methods to get my work out there.  Who knows? I wouldn’t mind  at all being an author who’s partly done things her way and has followed the traditional route for the rest. Mind, I’d want to get all the advice going before taking the plunge….

What do you do with rejected work?
I recycle it!  If a short story fails in one competition, I try another.  If the same piece keeps coming back, I look at it again, see if there are ways I can rewrite and rework it and then try again.  I take the same approach with novels and scripts.  But I do try to get all work up to as good as I can make them before I even send them out.  When I submit work to a competition, if I can get feedback at a reasonable price I do. (Be cautious here, some competitions do charge a lot for this – it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a scam but the organizers ought to show they have well published authors running the critiques here and it’s clear you’re paying for their time as you should.  Never pay more than you’re happy with.  Also sites like Cafe Lit and Shortbread enable you to submit stories and you usually get some feedback and that’s for free!  You pay your money and take your choice here). Alfie Dog's brilliant editor will advise on your work and won't put it on site until any issues raised are addressed but this helps improve your story no end.

When did you decide you were a writer, albeit not a published one?
When I realised I was producing short stories “to order” for various competitions on various subjects and generally was not finding this a problem.  As I started to be shortlisted, this tended to confirm to my mind I could call myself a writer now being someone who was at the beginnings of a career.  Every article I read tended to confirm I was doing the right things (which was encouraging).  As I entered more competitions, I found myself getting better at meeting deadlines, something any professional writer needs to do.  So I suppose overall it was a combination of doing the right things and not giving up and seeing publication as the ultimate goal but what I was doing on the way to meeting that goal is what any writer needs to do.  Also I’ve always taken my writing seriously (it’s always been  a wish of mine to try to earn some money from it) so for me when I’m at my desk I am working and not indulging in a hobby.

CAFE LIT HAVE PUBLISHED MY STORY, THE MAGIC FLUTE, ON LINE.

FOLLOW EXTERNAL LINK TO GET TO THE SITE AND SCROLL
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HOPE YOU ENJOY THE STORY.

Where is your favourite place to write?  Do you have any writing rituals?
In the office with a nice corner desk and enough room under it for my dog to curl up under when she’s in the mood!  If I turn my head, I can look through my French windows out into the garden (the great thing being when I really need to focus I don’t do this and just have a wall in front of me instead!).  I’ve a writing book and stationery cupboard (though my desk is still full with what I’m working on, writing books and magazines I’m currently wading through and lots of mints, pens and pencils).  I like to work through my projects in the same order each night and like doing one or two puzzles before I start.  I see this as waking my brain up though I do limit how much time I spend on the puzzles.  I tend to write fairly late in the evening though I am trying to bring this forward (I like looking at my writing magazines and books first too though I read in short sharp slots) and I don’t feel as if I’ve had a good writing session unless I have done all of these things.

How many drafts do you produce?
It depends on what I’m working on but whether I write a novel, short story, poem or script, I tell myself to do as many drafts as are necessary.  There’s usually at least three – the initial writing down of the idea, the go through the second time for spelling and grammar and the third go to check that the story actually makes sense.  Often if I then have to do a major rewrite, that gets done and I go through the revision and rechecking processes again.  I enjoy editing.  It feels good to sense your story taking shape and ditching the phrases, repetition and other things that clog the tale up. I save my earlier drafts and use the blank side for running out my next draft and so on as I only need perfectly clear paper for printing out the final version.  I see each stage as necessary and I consider a work finished when I really can’t see any other ways to improve it further

When thinking about a character, what do you focus on - physical attributes or personality traits - to flesh that character out?
I focus on personality traits.  In Eileen’s case I knew she’d be as awkward as they come, often to her own detriment, but she would also be brave, honourable and prepared to make considerable sacrifices for causes she considers worthy enough.  So being prepared to give up what the Queen considered a privileged lifestyle for a much more humble life on Earth with a mere human male is something someone like Eileen would do without that many qualms. 

I have since fleshed Eileen out physically with chestnut hair, a good figure and great skin.  But I do think the physical attributes are less important (though Eileen has been known to use her physical wiles to help her cause, especially when she was living in the Kingdom).  Had I been stuck for physical attributes, one good idea often repeated in writing circles is to take photos from magazines and so on and “blend” different features from pictures you like to create your heroine. 

I’ve found it helpful to “see” my heroine in action, doing things, speaking (and getting a good idea of her voice did help give me her class and as a result ideas as to what she’d look like – she’d be unlikely to be a blonde bimbo) and from that other aspects of Eileen’s life, including her looks, fall into place.

Do you believe in writers’ block?
No.  I do think it’s normal for writers to have days when the words flow easily and others when they don’t.  On latter days, I find it helpful to just write my diary or edit a piece I’m working on rather than write something new.  I know others say write anything and I do sometimes have brainstorming sessions where I do just put anything that comes into my head into my notebooks.  Writers write – even if some days not much comes out or if it all has to be scrapped/improved later on.

What do you think of computer spell and grammar checkers?
I could be very rude here but I’ll refrain.  These checkers must be seen as aids only.  Never, ever rely on their total accuracy.  They will not pick up on words with the same sound that are spelt correctly but are not what you meant to put in (for example shore and sure, sew and so).  My grammar checker for reasons best known to itself doesn’t like the word “their”.  It wants me to put in “his or her” every time, which is hardly the most elegant writing in the world.  Always have a decent dictionary close to hand and a grammar/English usage guide.  I use the Concise Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus and Elements of Style.  One good thing about grammar checkers is they are generally against the passive voice (though for a writer where some passive use is appropriate this can also be very irritating).
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Do you prepare a character outline before writing? If not, why not?
Generally no though I may jot down notes for some of the major characters.  I find it best to get the story plotted out rather than the characters.  If the plot is right I will know what kind of character I’m going to need to make the story believable.  As I write more stories and novels, I sometimes make a note of particular points about a character I must remember. And on my blog I have various pages showing “other lives” to my characters and I put in the material I can’t use directly in the books.  I wouldn’t rule out a character outline in future, however,  and maybe one day I will do a proper biography of my main “stars”.  Certainly for short stories where you are so limited with space/word count, I’d argue doing a character outline is probably a waste of time.  You want to get straight in there with the right plot and character to match it.   I like to think of a short story as a quick refreshing drink, a novel is a longer brew to be savoured!

What is most important to you - character or plot?
Both!  I don’t think you can separate these.  It’s like asking whether you need water or oxygen.  A strong character will not only drive a plot, he/she/it can create one (awkward characters create problems for themselves as well as for others) but that person needs to have something to aim for or escape.  A story where there’s no conflict, where there’s nothing to be resolved is no story at all.  A strong character in a weak plot will stand out but only to show up the plot’s weakness.  A good plot with weak characters will be disappointing.  You need your cast to be able to act the part.  But get the characters and plot right, strong, memorable, and the story should zip along and be a wonderful read.  When reading other authors’ works, I recall their strong characters and their plots.

How easy do you find it to write a synopsis?
Not at all!  I need several drafts.  It can be tricky working out exactly what your intended audience actually needs to see at this stage of their involvement with your work.  I tend to keep to the strict facts, what they absolutely must know.

What are your top tips for writing a synopsis?
Take your time over it as I see these things as similar to a CV.  You are effectively applying for work and your synopsis is where you sell your story to someone else.  Find out any guidelines as agents and publishers have differing requirements for synopses and follow these rules exactly.  Include your theme, main characters and what the story is all about - that is write one or two lines summarizing your tale and expand from there.  Check spellings and grammar.  It really does have to be word perfect.  Always send in a fresh, clean copy.  Have a reasonable quality of printout.  You don’t want to seem like a cheap skate when it comes to commending your own work.

What do you think are your strengths as a writer?
The ability to keep going.  I like coming up with witty one-liners and once I’ve got a character fully placed in my mind, I am “away”.  I love writing dialogue and think I’ve got a good ear.  I read reasonably widely which I think helps a lot.  I think you can tell I adore fairytales by the way I write my own.  I can write in three different forms - novels, short stories and radio scripts.

What do you think you need to work on further?
I tend to overwrite so always have to cut back.  I’d like to not write “wordy” in the first place!  It’d be easier!  I need more confidence.  I could do with getting work out more quickly (yet it still be prepared to a high standard).  I can be slow when I don’t need to be at times.  Again probably links in with underlying issue of confidence. 

Who is your favourite character in other authors’ works?
Probably Sam Vimes from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series as the character develops from a drunken Watchman to a happily married man, general hero and Duke (though he’d be happy with the first one, dispute the second and is not that keen on the third).  Sam Vimes literally grows in stature and is one of the few not afraid to argue with Lord Vetinari (though Sam can be brought to heel very easily by his wife, the delightful Lady Sybil).  I also love Sam’s intolerance of evil and the fact he knows he can be wrong yet sticks up for what he knows to be right.

Who is your favourite character in your works? Why?
Eileen as she is brave, hardworking, knows the value of true love without being soppy about it (she’s one of the least soppy female characters I can think of), is prepared to make sacrifices for her loved ones and fights evil.  She’s not afraid to stand up to the powerful Fairy Queen, her cousin.  Eileen is not fazed by wealth or power nor does she seek either for herself particularly - she just wants enough of both to get by and to ensure people don’t go out of their way to give her grief on the very good grounds they’ll get it back with considerable interest.

What is the best form of fiction - short story or novel?
Books could literally be written on this and it wouldn’t surprise me if they had been.  I ask why choose!  Both are wonderful forms.  Both have classic examples.  Both are entertaining, make you think, invent other worlds and stretch your mind.  Both should have memorable characters and incidents.  The big advantage of the novel of course is you can have a lot more of those than you can in a short story.  Yet the short story’s big advantage is that having to focus on fewer characters and incidents makes it a more intense tale.  It all depends on whether you fancy a long or short literary “drink”!  For short stories, I generally prefer the word count to be under 5,000 (and ideally for me to be between 1000 and 2500, I like my short fiction to be literally short and sharp!).  I also like a well crafted piece of flash fiction.  I admit though the novel in many ways can be “easier” to do - you have the space in which to expand your ideas and cut backs can always be done later.

How many drafts do you write?
It depends on what I’m writing.  For a novel I do at least 4 drafts (get the story down, first copy edit as I type it up, then an edit to make sure story makes sense and then a final look over to make sure I haven’t missed anything).  For short stories I write to screen, print out, edit on paper, put in my amendments, print it out and read it through.  If it’s good enough I send, if I find I’ve missed something I do another edit on screen.  Scripts I tend to do at least three drafts usually to get it down to the right kind of length for a radio comedy slot.

Do you outline or “wing it”?
I used to wing it even with  novels.  Looking back I think I must’ve been nuts.  I outline for almost everything now, even flash fiction (though the outline is suitably shorter!).  I find for short stories I need to rough out an idea before I can start.  With the novels I don’t plot out everything but the main points I need to reach.

Would you consider self and/or e-publishing?
I’d need to know how to do these things first but in principle I’m not against either.  I think I’d probably go the e-publishing route if it came to it as it has the advantage of limited set up costs (and articles I’ve read recently show it is relatively easy to do) and perhaps use any success here to get a traditional publisher interested, which has happened with other authors.  I guess it is the prospective author proving there is a market out there.  Self publishing has the disadvantage of having to know all about typesetting, cover design and so on (or you buy these services in) where e-publishing you can do yourself.  I confess I have yet to get a Kindle or other device.  I think I might have to get one to “play” with it and see what I can do with it.

Will the physical paper book ever die?
No!  I think the hardback may become a rarity (though there will still be a place for it for what I term “beautiful books” where someone wants to produce something special as books can be works of art in their own right).  The paperback however has the advantages of being a “real” book, not needing batteries, is portable, relatively cheap and easy to replace if you damage it.  You can even borrow them (assuming we don’t lose all our libraries).  So I think paper books won’t entirely go.
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What is the single most useful piece of writing advice you’ve received?
I’ve forgotten who said it but the point was it was perfectly okay to produce a totally rubbish first draft.  The important thing was to get something down on paper that you can work with.  Also the advice went on to say practically everybody wrote rubbish to start off with.  That point has been very reassuring!

What do you find the most difficult thing to write?
It varies.  Usually the poems.  It takes me several drafts to get them right.  The short stories I usually need two or three drafts for.  But then in short stories I’m not worried about getting my syllable count right!  In terms of time, it’s obviously the novels.

When is the best time for you to write or can you write anytime?
I can write at any time but rarely get the chance!  My main writing time is in the evenings and some weekend afternoons. I would like to write more but can find it difficult to balance writing with reading writing publications/websites (both of these have taught me a lot).  I can and do write into the night.  I find it easier to be a night owl rather than an early bird.

If you had as much time as you could want to write whatever you want, what would you write?
More of the same!!!  I’m generally happy with my output but would like there to be more of it so I can get more work out there and hopefully increase my chances of success.  When writing is going well it’s amazing where the time goes to!

What would you say was the best short story ever written?
For me this is The Accident Syndicate by P.G. Wodehouse because it is wonderfully funny and the prose is sublime.  It is so well crafted.  Also the “hero”, Ukridge, is my least favourite Wodehouse character (reminds me too much of someone I knew!) yet here in this story the character has me gripped.  It takes a special kind of author to get someone following the actions of a character that same someone dislikes.  I’d also say I like Wodehouse’s golf stories and I can’t stand golf either (I agree with Mark Twain’s view here that “golf is a good walk wasted”). 

What would you say was the best novel ever written?
In terms of breadth, vision, and for being the definition of an epic, I’d say The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. It’s not without its faults.  I dislike Tom Bombadil’s “songs” (they’re too twee) but it is for me the classic good versus evil story.  C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series is high up on my list too.  For humorous novels, which I say deserve a category of their own, I think Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P.G. Wodehouse clinches it for me.

How did/do you cope with rejections?
I remind myself that these are part of the job, often the rejection isn’t because the work is unsatisfactory but it somehow just doesn’t fit requirements or be to the judge’s taste, and getting work sent back is only a precursor to polishing that work and sending it out again.  Rejections that give useful advice are brilliant.  Also practically every writer has these so I see receiving them as just part of a normal writer’s lot.

What did you find most helpful in building up your writing career?
Writing Magazine/Writers’ News for their market information, they advertise lots of competitions and interviews with hints on how published authors achieved their success as well as their warnings on pitfalls to look out for.  It is a good way of reaffirming that it isn’t just you scribbling away and to help keep you going.

What is your writing routine?
I write most days, the exceptions being Christmas, certain very close family birthdays, my holiday and given when I know these things are coming up I increase what writing I do just before and after these events.  That way if you based things on a daily word count, I probably am writing daily.  I write in the evenings, some weekend afternoons and take the attitude a little and often is better than a lot not very often at all!

What do you find most difficult to write?
Hard to say as I enjoy writing all the different things I do.  I find mood is probably the factor that affects me most in that being moody makes me tired more quickly and I know I write dreadfully when tired.  I must “’fess up” and say when really tired I have been known to nod off over my keyboard!

Who are your favourite authors and why?
Terry Pratchett for creating such a fantastic world (in every sense) and characters that develop and for his dry wit.  Jane Austen for her sense of timing and irony.  P.G. Wodehouse for his wonderful humour.  His prose is a joy to read (though I suspect he’d never get his long sentences past most editors these days).  Agatha Christie’s detective novels I adore though I can’t say whether I prefer Marple or Poirot.  Josephine Tey for The Daughter of Time, one of the few novels to make me change my mind about something.

What is your favourite piece of work to date and why?
I will always have a special place in my heart for A Helping Hand, my first published work in Bridge House’s Alternative Renditions anthology.  To date, 2012, it remains my only published work in print/book form.  I’m very fond of my novels and Eileen in particular as I love writing lines for her.  A magical character who has no problems with hypocrisy and breaks the rules is huge fun to write for.  I also particularly like my The Lady in White (published on Shortbread) as it is my first piece of historical fiction and received a very positive response from other Shortbreaders.

How do you prefer to write - direct to computer or pen on paper first?
I do both!  For novels I always write the first draft to paper and use the typing up as my first edit.  For short stories I write directly to screen but always edit on a hard copy print out.  I’m happy with both methods though I don’t think I could write a novel directly to screen (probably due to a novel always being more complicated than a short story in terms of word count, sub plots etc).  I find it easier to “see where I’m going” when working on a print out.

What writing magazines and/or websites do you find helpful?
Writers’ News/Writing Magazine.  Mslexia.  Christian Writer.  I love looking at Neil Gaiman’s Journal, Patsy Collins’s site, Help! I Need a Publisher, Time To Write, BBC writersroom, Slush Pile From Hell (very funny and a dire warning!), Writer Beware (US site though the general principles apply). 

Why write fairytales?
Because I’ve always loved them.  Because they can be long or short.  There’s a lot of scope for humour (or tragedy) in them.  They give a strong message via an entertaining story.  They make you think.  There isn’t necessarily a happy ending either.  I also think fairytales stick in the memory for longer than most story forms because of the reasons I’ve given here.  You can pitch fairytales for all ages too (naturally adjusting the writing style and language used accordingly).

Where DO you get your ideas?
From life - my own and others!  I look for interesting character traits.  I look for odd costumes (and then think of what kind of character could wear them).  I never “lift” directly from a person.  I combine attributes (looks etc) with general traits (stubborn as hell, doormat etc) to come up with something new.  Proverbs can inspire ideas and I find there’s nothing to beat playing the “what if?” game.  That has set off all sorts of writing ideas for me.

What would you recommend to new writers?
Read widely, fiction and non-fiction.  Subscribe to writing magazines like Writers’ News/Writing Magazine for useful how-to articles, competitions, markets and, my favourite, interviews with published authors as it is always useful to see/hear how they achieved success. Above all don’t give up and accept you’re in for the long haul.

What do you read?
Terry Pratchett, Tom Holt, Jane Austen (there’s a trio for you!).  Jasper Fford's Detective Jack Spratt series is a recent and very welcome edition to my bookcase.  Also Dickens, Wodehouse, Christie, Colin Dexter, Jean Plaidy, Simon Schama’s History of Britain series, books of letters by Wodehouse, Kenneth Williams and Evelyn Waugh.  A right old mix (but then that is the idea!)

What do you hope to achieve with your writing?
Publication is obviously the first goal but I also want my writing to be enjoyed by as many as possible, to promote fairytales and humorous stories.  I also want to show older heroines in a good light and to write about different relationships other than the obvious romantic ones.  I think the scope for stories for a mother-daughter clash increases simply because sex will not (should not!) rear its ugly head here except where either of the pair are involved with people the other disapproves of and even there mothers and daughters can usually speak to each other fairly freely.  I guess I also want to prove to myself I can write and get my work out there.

What would you like to achieve with your writing?
Success!  Getting more women reading fantasy and/or science fiction because they liked my work and wanted to “expand out” into the genre, the same way I’ve done.  I’d like to generate sympathy for women who are trying to have it all but are not sure they’re succeeding (Eileen) and women who have trying parents (Jennifer).

Who is your favourite character in other authors’ works?
Sam Vimes in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series because the character goes from being a hopeless drunk to a brave, decent commander and married to the lovely, sensible, equally decent Lady Sybil (who is one of my favourite female characters).  Also because Sam Vimes has such a clear sense of right and wrong and tries to be a decent copper despite politics trying to get in the way and he is doesn’t fear Vetinari.

Who is your favourite character in your works? Why?
Eileen.  For being fearless, true to herself, prepared to make sacrifices for those she loves, for not being afraid to criticize her own side and when all gets too much to walk away from what she considers to be wrong.  I also like her being an older heroine who still enjoys a great sex life and who refuses to be written off.  She also has no problems with hypocrisy.  As a result she is fun to write for.  I can make her do almost anything knowing her qualities and if it means being hypocritical then so be it.  Eileen as a character really doesn’t have a problem with it!

Why did you become a writer?
Because I’ve always loved reading and stories in general.  I reached the point where I wanted to write some of my own, partly to prove to myself I could do it.  I soon became hooked on writing.  I always feel better when I spend some time each day writing something.  I think the best form of entertainment is storytelling (it’s just the format that changes) and I’d like to contribute to that.  Writing also helps you leave something behind for others to hopefully enjoy too.

Who inspires you?
Terry Pratchett for creating a whole world, Jane Austen for her irony, P.G. Wodehouse for his characters and wit, Dickens for his sense of justice and a good tale well told (I love A Christmas Carol and it takes genius to add something to the Christmas traditions, given very few won’t come across the story of Scrooge during the festivities). 

How long does a short story take you to write?
It depends on the short story!  Some will just flow out, others I need to have several drafts to get right but I aim to get at least one story out a month to meet the deadlines for Writers’ News/Writing Magazine competitions.  I usually try to get another story out too if I can either to Shortbread or one of the many festival and other writing competitions.  If I wasn’t writing other things, I could get more work out but given I can only write part time I’m relatively happy with this.  I would, of course, like to do more but without losing quality.

How long does a novel take you to write?
Ages is the simply answer!  I do several drafts.  I think two years is probably a good estimate.  As with short stories, I could almost certainly speed this up by not writing so much other material (though I must admit I enjoy writing my blogs and putting in background and other material not in the novels themselves).  I think it vitally important not to rush the drafts’ stages.  What matters is getting the story right.  When you get to the point you really can’t think of anything else to add or take out, then there’s the time to start submitting to the market and test the water.

Do you find writing conferences helpful?  If so, why?
Yes!  Some are more helpful than others as it all depends on the courses/talks they’re offering but I’ve not been to one yet where I came away feeling it was a waste of time.  I’ve always learned something new.  It’s also lovely meeting other writers, finding out what they do and talking about what I do.  It’s great I suppose to have a truly sympathetic ear.  While family and friends are very supportive (and I know I’m lucky there), only another writer will understand the frustrations of having lots to write and not enough time, or having the time and your wonderful ideas suddenly don’t seem so great after all.  Also being able to talk about what part of a story you found most difficult or the most enjoyable to write really only means something to those who also write.  And given writing conferences also promote books (especially the creative writing ones), there’s much to enjoy there too!  Those that run competitions are helpful as if you manage to be Commended or to win it’s not just a boost for the ego, it looks good for the writing CV too.

Why time flies when I write and it drags when I’m doing the housework.

How bad spelling, punctuation, grammar and so on enrage the true writer when in our hearts we know there are more important issues out there.  It’s as if we can’t help ourselves…

When is the best time to decide you’ve done as much as you can on a piece of work and it’s time to send it in.

Why good writing can make your spirits soar.  I love reading wonderful sentences, paragraphs, scenes and so on. They also inspire your own writing.

How deadlines start off by being “ages away” and then you find they’ve crept up on you.

Why I run out of pens, papers, envelopes and so on all at once.  It leads to a big stationery shop! 

How my characters have developed their own lives quickly and often in ways I hadn’t originally anticipated – it is almost as if a kind of magic takes place. 

Why monsters in fiction are so rarely vegetarian!

Why I either get loads of good ideas buzzing around to work on or very little.  There’s never a happy medium.

How my toner cartridge knows the exact, most awkward moment to run out. 

Why I’m printing loads of stuff out to post or nothing.  Again no happy medium.

How I generate so much scrap paper!!

Why people see short stories as “easy” simply because they’re shorter works.  They’re not!  Short stories are their own challenge.

How so many short story outlets close down when the popularity of shorter works is rising…  Seems odd to me.

Where all my ideas go the moment I start to get tired…

When publishers will realise they do have to take a risk sometimes or they’ll never publish anything new and once their current crop of authors are no longer writing or around, then what?

Why ideas come to me in “floods”.  The good thing about that is always having lots of work to have a crack at.  The bad thing is that on the odd occasion I’ve worked through all I can is sometimes it takes a bit of time to start triggering the ideas again.  Having said that, reading other stories, listening to conversations when out and about (not deliberate eavesdropping but the stuff you can’t help hearing), brainstorming sessions (where you write anything and see what results) do help get my brain back in gear again.  I suppose what I’m saying here is I’d like a “drip feed” for my ideas - slower rate but continuous.

How our modem crashes right in the middle of a radio programme or at that very interesting/funny bit so I have to restart the programme.  The other point it will definitely crash is when I’m looking something up for my stories!

Why I feel the need to vent emotion (usually by crying) when others can just keep it all bottled in.  Still I could use this to create characters.  How characters react is a crucial aspect of a successful plot.

Where all my time goes to….  And when I plan to have a writing day something always interrupts it.  So lesson here is use whatever time you have and see writing days as bonuses.

How I can worry for the world and others just sail through life never seeming to care.  Again could get useful characters out of this and set up clashes between the different types.

Why and when a character suddenly develops a life of their own.  Sometimes you set up the character but then they have a habit of telling their creator they want to act in ways contrary to what the author thought.  I’m always pleased when my characters take off but I sometimes wish I could see further ahead of the actual moment when it’s going to be.  Should a writer be surprised by their creations like this?  Should I just be able to time such take-offs better?

Where people are supposed to go to borrow books when all the libraries have gone.  Borrowing books is a good way of testing an author out.  Often people then go on to buy works they like…  People who read and appreciate literature generally rarely riot.  But then what do I know?!

Why grammar is not studied so much these days in schools.  I love the way they’ve expanded literature (by the end of junior school my son had already been introduced to Dickens - this didn’t happen in my day) but grammar seems to have slipped.  This is not just due to texting but schools need to find a way of making grammar fun - after all language is all about clarity and for that you do need a decent grasp of grammar.

How books are undervalued in a way they’ve never beenbefore.  They used to be the privilege of the rich - I’m glad that’s no longer the case - but unless you are a celebrity or your book sells millions and appeals to a wide age range, books are not appreciated.  I appreciate that makes me sound a bitter harridan (!) but books, when available to more and more people as education standards rose, were loved.  Penguin Books developed that but now?

Why it is the characters you love to read and write about are the ones you suffer the most.  Oh I know you need the drama, to see what your characters are made of and so on but there is something a bit sick about needing to see your characters suffer!

When is the best time to write.  I just write as and when I can, in common with most I suspect.  I don’t have time, literally, for the morning versus night owl debate. 

How you can criticize another’s work unless you regularly read in the format they write in and, ideally, write yourself so you know what the struggles are.

Why humorous writing in any format is underappreciated.  Where are the major literary awards for it?  The P.G. Wodehouse Prize is great but I want to see a funny novel win The Booker.  I want to see humour writing taken more seriously as an art form.  It is very difficult to write funny and I sometimes think this is looked down on.  Serious reviews tend to be about serious books.

Why literary writers look down on genre/commercial fiction writers.  The latter are the former’s bread and butter.  The publishing industry has to be supported by someone.

How and why literary feuds are played up for all they’re worth.  Everyone’s aware it’s done for publicity so doesn’t it lose its value as well as making folk concerned look rather petty?

Where all the scam “services” come from and, so often, where they disappear to, taking money with them!

How hackers have enough time on their hands to do what they do.

Why there are times when the ideas pour out of me and other times when I have to work at it more.  I’d prefer a steady flow!

How P.G. Wodehouse managed to be so consistently funny.  Not that this matters too much.  I’m just glad he did.

Why short stories are looked down for being “easy”.  This is almost certainly said by people who have never tried writing them.  What they forget is especially in writing to a strict word count, that takes discipline.  The whole idea of a short story is to focus one idea.  It’s intense writing while the novel you can expand your ideas. 

Why markets for short stories are vanishing as with pressures on time that practically everybody feels these days surely these are the perfect fiction for those who still like to read and have to do it in a hurry!

Why comic novels (and in all genres) are in general terms looked down on given convincing comedy is so hard to write.

Where the idea of reading for pleasure has gone.  Much as I love initiatives to encourage reading, the fact we need these initiatives tells its own tale.  I find that sad.

How you can never predict in advance which characters/books/authors are going to take off.  It makes you wonder how many are overlooked who shouldn’t be.

When comic novels will be considered seriously for the serious book and arts prizes.  The same applies for genre novels, especially science fiction and fantasy.  Wodehouse, Tolkein and Lewis would have been worthy winners of the Booker.

Why competition deadlines all seem to loom at once and before someone says get organized, I am!  Seriously, give yourself loads of time before entering any competition.  You’ll be amazed and not in a good way how quickly the time vanishes.

Where time goes when I write.  I swear it speeds up.

When the publishing industry will see sense, only bringing out those celebrity books where the celebrity actually has something interesting to say, and back its midlist authors more.  What is the point of driving the midlist authors away?  They at least earn steadily…

Why pencil tips break off at an inconvenient moment.

Why the phone goes just as I’m concentrating on something - and the call is never that important either.

Why when your biro leaks it’s always on the odd occasion you’ve stowed it in a pocket so the mess goes everywhere and then you spend ages trying to clean the ink up.

Why the odd occasion you forget to back up your work is the night you get a major power fault and lose that evening’s work!

Why people think it’s a good idea to become famous for doing very little then write a book about it.  Can we save books for people with ideas - fiction and non-fiction?  You just get the feeling books are just something these “celebrities” just “do”.  Do is probably the right word there too!

How it’s so easy to underestimate how a long a piece of writing will take (admittedly some days are just better than others for no obvious reason, hence why creative writing can’t be an exact “science”.  It’s very dependent on its human creators with all our frailties.  Still that’s what makes writing fun and our characters real.  We have to know what frailties are to produce them convincingly in our books.
_

Why my writing sessions whizz my yet housework sessions drag...

Why I either have lots of ideas buzzing in my head or none at any one tine.... 

Being able to understand yourself and what makes you tick is key to understanding your characters and what makes them tick.  It need not be a case of "author, stay true to yourself" but "author, write what you know and base iton what you know characters are capable of".

Why libraries are disappearing...  the world still needs books

Why everyone thinks they could be a writer but then the vast majority don’t bother actually doing the job!  Does anyone automatically think they could be a taxidermist if only they had the time?  I suspect most writers get fed up with the time excuse and perhaps wish the speakers would indeed “stuff it”!

How hackers find the time to do what they do and why they bother…

Why Microsoft ever bothered coming up with Vista.  I’ve not found anyone with a good word for it.

Where my good ideas go to the moment I feel even remotely tired… 

Why everything happens at once sometimes - successes come in batches, failures likewise.  Also loads of competitions have the same deadlines so that means prioritizing (not a bad discipline for a writer of course but there are times it can be a pain).

How I can have ideas spill out of me one day, struggle for any the next.

Where all my good ideas vanish to on a bad day!

Why I can fill notebooks with good ideas and then forget to look at them again!

Why I never get as much time as I’d like to “write” (in this I include enough time to read fiction and non-fiction, writing blogs and magazines as all of this helps develop my writing abilities and I see it as Continuing Professional Development).

How characters take on a life of their own either when their creator leasts expects it or the characters take on a life the creator didn’t envisage! 

How some writers can write without any kind of plan.  I find I can’t do this.  I’ve got to have some idea in which direction I’m going, even if I change it later.  If I can get started, the rest will follow.

Why I overwrite (but this is not a complaint.  It’s easier to cut padding than have to add material.  It’s just a pity I can’t seem to write without the padding in the first place!  It’s not as if I put it in on purpose).

Where the wish to publish celebrity books where there isn’t a genuine story behind them comes from.  Surely you can only fool the people some of the time?  When people wake up to the fact so many of these books are awful, won’t it end in all such books, and biographies in general not being available at all?  Hasn’t quality got to prevail over quantity?  It ought to!

How ideas vanish at speed if you don’t write them down!

The exact moment my novels come to life.  I sense a “build up” and then the story and characters “take over” and it’s then I know I have something.  Something that is live.  Something that can be worked on.  Something that has promise.  I love those moments.

Why when loved ones catch you staring into space, it somehow doesn’t seem like you’re working!  Never despise thinking time.  Doing boring jobs such as housework can be useful for giving your mind time to think so that when it comes to writing, you can get right down to the practical stuff far more quickly.

How it is possible some children in the UK in this day and age no longer own any books.  How and why did this happen?  (Oh and I’d have The Gruffalo as compulsory reading for the under 7s).

Why celebrities "write" and their books sell yet we offer up a typical celebrity author's kind of work and we'd be turned down soon ehough.

Why someone thinks it a good idea to close libraries…

Why people talk about the death of the book.  There’s no reason why folk can’t love both e-books and “real” books.  Both have their place.

How I can get on and write short stories and novels but when it comes to preparing a synopsis I struggle. 
The only comfort I have here is almost every writer feels the same way about this. I know it isn’t just me!

Why my spell and grammar checker doeesn’t seem to accept the word “their” or “theirs”.  I can’t think of any good reason behind this.

Why people debate character versus plot.  For any story to work properly, you need both.  A good plot with a dull character fails.  A good character in a dull plot also fails.

How it always takes longer than you think to back up disks.

Why genre fiction, especially fantasy and science fiction, is looked down on.  I can understand people not liking it - we all have our own tastes - but to despise work just because it’s genre seems pointless to me.  If you’re going to despite anything, do it for a good reason.  Oh and the literary luvvies would do well to remember it is commercial fiction, a hell of a lot of this being genre, that keeps the publishing industry going and funds their work. 

Where all my bookmarks go…

Why I never have as much time for reading as I’d like.

Why I tend to go through “gluts” - gluts of reading history, fantasy, short stories and so on.

How I get through biros and pencils in no time at all…

Why I love fairytales as much as I do, it’s enough that I do.  It’s kind of okay to have this attitude as a child.  At my age, it gets you labelled a geek.  Not that I care.  Geeks at least take an interest in something in life!

Why it is when I haven’t got a lot of time, my writing flows and flows and flows so I wish I had longer to get it all down on paper or on screen yet when I have plenty of time, the muse doesn’t flow as well as I’d like!

Why it is villains in stories hold such appeal given I know full well if I met such characters in life I’d keep well clear.

Why it is I never run of paper in my printer at the beginning or end of a story but always in the middle.  It never matters how long the story is either.

Why it is someone thought it a good idea to introduce zombies to the world of Jane Austen.  I’m all for the flexing of the old imaginative muscle but there is a limit and this book, to me, crossed it.  Zombies, yes.  Jane Austen, yes.  The two together?  No!

Where I put all my pens.  There are times the lot goes missing. 

Why my toner cartridge always runs out in the middle of a story and as I’m trying to get something out in the post quickly.  When I’m not in a hurry, my toner cartridge goes on for ages.

Why I never have enough time to read as much as I’d like!

Why shallow celebrity books make it on to the shelves in the first place yet alone sell.  I can understand those books where the celebrity really has led an interesting life but not those produced by those who are merely famous for being famous.  I appreciate this sounds like sour grapes but it is a slap across the cheeks for those who really do invent their own works and are trying to get them out there.

How I can lose pens quickly when I’m really careful with my phone, keys, purse and so on.

Why when I am really pushed for time, my writing flows as if I can’t get the words out quickly enough.  When I’ve more time spare, which doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, I often find it harder to get the words out.  Answer:  always be busy!

Why I never have as much time as I’d like for reading…

Why power cuts always happen in the middle of some important document…