Ask the Author: Ellie Gray
Answered Questions (3)
Ellie Gray
Hi Jo
Thanks very much for such an interesting question. It's a difficult one to answer though because, at the moment I'm in the middle of writing a dissertation for a Masters degree so the book I'm working on is taking a bit of a back seat! I would say, usually, if I can devote a regular amount of time to writing, it can take about 6 months. I tend to edit as I go so that when I've got a good first draft, I can then go back and look at structure, pacing, character journey etc to make sure there is enough going on to keep the reader's interest. It can vary though depending on what else is happening in my life. And yes, other ideas pop into my head all the time and it's very difficult to shut them up. At the moment I have a couple of characters that are quite demanding and I find myself writing scenes for them in my head when I should be writing scenes for my current book! It's very annoying. I have to write the ideas down so that I don't lose them because it could be quite a while before I get the chance to properly devote the time and attention that next story needs.
I hope that answers your question - thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and show and interest.
Ellie x
Thanks very much for such an interesting question. It's a difficult one to answer though because, at the moment I'm in the middle of writing a dissertation for a Masters degree so the book I'm working on is taking a bit of a back seat! I would say, usually, if I can devote a regular amount of time to writing, it can take about 6 months. I tend to edit as I go so that when I've got a good first draft, I can then go back and look at structure, pacing, character journey etc to make sure there is enough going on to keep the reader's interest. It can vary though depending on what else is happening in my life. And yes, other ideas pop into my head all the time and it's very difficult to shut them up. At the moment I have a couple of characters that are quite demanding and I find myself writing scenes for them in my head when I should be writing scenes for my current book! It's very annoying. I have to write the ideas down so that I don't lose them because it could be quite a while before I get the chance to properly devote the time and attention that next story needs.
I hope that answers your question - thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and show and interest.
Ellie x
Ellie Gray
It's difficult to say really. Storylines and characters tend to just pop into my head. Sometimes ideas come through hearing snippets of conversations or visiting new places, and sometimes one of the secondary characters in one of my stories will ask me to tell their story too. My hero in Beauty and the Recluse has a best friend, Dominic, and just recently I've been thinking about writing a story with him as the lead character.
Ellie Gray
I've recently just finished a contemporary romance set in Egypt. I'm a bit of a fanatic about ancient Egypt and have several shelves full of books on the subject, so it's perhaps not so surprising that this is where I set my most recent story...
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