Ask the Author: Anna Voss
Answered Questions (1)
Anna Voss
Dear Madam de Rochefort - thank you for asking!
I have to say, usually I start a novel because inspiration has hit: usually that means my brain has attempted to invent a premise and a resolution, but hasn't worked out quite how to get from one to the other, and you would not believe the number of times it then dwindles when I try to put the idea into practice!
For those ideas that survive a first scrappy attempt at Chapter 1, I start thinking out core plot beats - I find that often helps me to understand what direction I want to nudge my characters in (although it is, often, towards their knees...).
That probably sounds like I am making a plan, but it really isn't - it's just a framework, and it sometimes ends up flexing in quite surprising ways once I've begun writing in earnest and got a proper sense of what my characters are like. As much as possible, I try to write people who feel real, so even if I have a broad outline of key points and an ending, exactly how we get there is usually more driven by the way the characters would react than anything I consciously impose before starting out.
As to marmite - I do love it. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a salt fiend, and for a while when I was a student I had a go-to dinner of toast and Gentleman's Relish - but I've rather grown out of that vice now 😏️ Besides, marmite does the job far better!
I have to say, usually I start a novel because inspiration has hit: usually that means my brain has attempted to invent a premise and a resolution, but hasn't worked out quite how to get from one to the other, and you would not believe the number of times it then dwindles when I try to put the idea into practice!
For those ideas that survive a first scrappy attempt at Chapter 1, I start thinking out core plot beats - I find that often helps me to understand what direction I want to nudge my characters in (although it is, often, towards their knees...).
That probably sounds like I am making a plan, but it really isn't - it's just a framework, and it sometimes ends up flexing in quite surprising ways once I've begun writing in earnest and got a proper sense of what my characters are like. As much as possible, I try to write people who feel real, so even if I have a broad outline of key points and an ending, exactly how we get there is usually more driven by the way the characters would react than anything I consciously impose before starting out.
As to marmite - I do love it. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a salt fiend, and for a while when I was a student I had a go-to dinner of toast and Gentleman's Relish - but I've rather grown out of that vice now 😏️ Besides, marmite does the job far better!
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