Ask the Author: Viccy Adams
Answered Questions (6)
Viccy Adams
My most recent book, There and Now, is creative non-fiction so it's lifted directly from my experiences on an artists residency in Lashiahi, Yunnan province in South West China. I had a mad three weeks there working with an American photographer and a Taiwanese translator/facilitator, running around the lake villages and local mountains and interviewing everyone we thought looked interesting, from Dongba shaman to local cement makers, from farmers to garment factory workers.
I took extensive handwritten notes, filing six notebooks, then workshopped styles of writing in Edinburgh, Newcastle and London as part of the work I was doing with the photographer. We launched our digital art book in New York in June, just after I sent the full draft of my book to the publishers: a very busy month!
I took extensive handwritten notes, filing six notebooks, then workshopped styles of writing in Edinburgh, Newcastle and London as part of the work I was doing with the photographer. We launched our digital art book in New York in June, just after I sent the full draft of my book to the publishers: a very busy month!
Viccy Adams
Work out where the block is really coming from. I swap regular coaching sessions with another writer whose support I find invaluable. It helps me unearth the real issues stopping me from getting words on the page and find ways to circumnavigate them.
Oh, and leaving the house helps to. Going out to the cinema or theatre, taking a walk, stamping the frustration out. Getting away from the situation that is being difficult helps me tackle it with new eyes - or find something else to write about instead.
Oh, and leaving the house helps to. Going out to the cinema or theatre, taking a walk, stamping the frustration out. Getting away from the situation that is being difficult helps me tackle it with new eyes - or find something else to write about instead.
Viccy Adams
Working from home in my PJs. Mind you, that's also the worst part of it - no real-life conversations, no incentive to have a shower...
Viccy Adams
Edit! Then edit again! Then get someone to read it and give you constructive, honest feedback and learn how to listen to what they're saying and how to weigh their advice against your instincts.
Incidentally, I don't think there's such a thing as an 'aspiring' writer. Either you write or you don't. Publication/readership is a whole separate thing.
Incidentally, I don't think there's such a thing as an 'aspiring' writer. Either you write or you don't. Publication/readership is a whole separate thing.
Viccy Adams
Snippets of overheard conversations, lines that pop into my head when i'm out walking... for me it's usually a starting line that unravels into a whole different world.
Viccy Adams
A speculative novel for adults - inspired by my adoration of speculative and dystopian YA fiction.
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