Ask the Author: Chris Bell
Answered Questions (7)
Chris Bell
"My husband gave his life for his country. Our president said he had it coming to him."
Chris Bell
I've been collecting names for imaginary bands for at least 30 years. I like the idea of readers being able to superimpose their own ideas of what their music might sound like onto these bands, which I've placed in a dystopia in which all music other than that by bands that have been endorsed by the authorities, playing live in concert, is banned.
Chris Bell
It might come from a single word, working title, a sentence-length premise, a song, a dream or the Universal Mind.
Chris Bell
The final design and layup stages of the third book in my Songshifting series, An audience with the impresario, due for publication on 1 October 2017. After that, I intend to compile a compendium edition, of all three books in a single volume, for which I'm thinking about layout designs, typefaces and cover concepts.
Chris Bell
"Explore your material." Russell Hoban (4 February 1925 – 13 December 2011)
Chris Bell
Being solely responsible for my work-rate, pace, how much I want to work and when.
Chris Bell
I work from a single-page outline, nothing more; if I knew in advance exactly what was going to happen in a book I wouldn't bother writing it. Whenever I'm working on a book I set myself a 1000-words-per-day target. The evening before, I'll make largely unstructured pencil notes on about two sides of A4. These notes cover as much as possible of the scene I'll be working on the following morning. Typing up these ideas, putting them in order and improving on the ideas, expressions used and structure will usually exceed my 1000-word target.
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