Ask the Author: Fiona Cameron
Answered Questions (6)
Fiona Cameron
Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth in Jane Austen's 'Persuasion'
Fiona Cameron
I hear snippets of conversation - in cafes and restaurants, on public transport, in supermarkets, wherever - and these often trigger the 'What if?' train of thought. Or I read an article in the media, or hear an item on TV news, and this offers the same type of trigger. I love thinking of the story behind the story - even the imagined backstory of characters who appear tangentially in TV drama and films, or in novels. That's why one of my favourite books of all time is 'The Wild Sargasso Sea.'
Fiona Cameron
By not believing in it. It's usually a sign that you've painted yourself into a corner. Leave whatever it is you're stuck on, and move on to write something else, even if it has little or nothing to do with your principal piece of work at this moment.
Fiona Cameron
Being able to get your ideas and thoughts and worries and loves and hates and obsessions down on paper. Cathartic, even if your work never sees the light of day! I also adore my characters - maybe this marks me as someone who should get out more, but my characters are sometimes closer to me than anyone in the real world!
Fiona Cameron
Write! Don't think about it, don't make excuses, just write - whether it's in notebooks, on a computer, whatever. Just write, every day. I'm also a big fan of indie publishing - though no one should be fooled into thinking self-publishing is something you can do alone with minimal financial outlay. Unless you know a professional editor who'll edit your work on a 'friends & family' basis (and I'm not sure how helpful that would be, in the end), be willing to shell out to have your work properly edited. I don't just mean copy-editing. Work with someone who offers structural/developmental editing, because no matter how good you are, as a writer you're always in that place where you can't see the wood for the trees.
Fiona Cameron
I've always been fascinated by the way that living on an island distils certain aspects of life. I'm also interested in the dynamics of relationships - husbands & wives, lovers, friends, families... Putting the two together brought me to the trilogy.
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