Ask the Author: Ian Mayfield
Answered Questions (4)
Ian Mayfield
All the books in my Special Crime Unit series are planned to have multiple plotlines, so the ideas germinate from a variety of sources: things I've experienced or heard about personally, news stories, TV shows, other books, mental "what if?" speculations or a chance overheard remark. I have an ever-growing Word document with a long list of possible plots, which I check off as I use them.
Team Spirit and its upcoming sequels also feature a collective hero rather than a single protagonist; the main characters are mostly based on people I know or have known, though not necessarily all at the same time. The book is also, to use Tolkien's expression, "a tale that grew in the telling", so in most cases the people who now populate its pages bear little resemblance to their prototypes... which is probably just as well!
Team Spirit and its upcoming sequels also feature a collective hero rather than a single protagonist; the main characters are mostly based on people I know or have known, though not necessarily all at the same time. The book is also, to use Tolkien's expression, "a tale that grew in the telling", so in most cases the people who now populate its pages bear little resemblance to their prototypes... which is probably just as well!
Ian Mayfield
Team Games, the sequel to my recently published debut police procedural Team Spirit. I'm also editing with a view to publication (proceeds to charity) a children's novella my late father wrote many years ago, a humorous ghost story called A Haunt in Edgeways.
Ian Mayfield
You get to tell the stories you wish you could read, create the characters you wish really existed, and generally make your fantasies a reality.
Ian Mayfield
I have a well-stocked arsenal of procrastination tactics. Checking Facebook, checking my Amazon sales stats, commenting on blogs, making myself a sandwich or three, going to the store... all are tried and tested approaches to the problem of wanting to write and not wanting to at the same time. (Also, Netflix has a lot to answer for!)
I've found the only surefire way to do it is just to sit down and force myself to write. This can be a soul-destroying exercise because I know that what's appearing on my computer screen is absolute crap, but I have to remind myself that I can always go back later and edit... or that it might not seem like such crap after all on the second look!
When the writing stops feeling like a chore and starts being fun again, that's when you know the technique has worked.
I've found the only surefire way to do it is just to sit down and force myself to write. This can be a soul-destroying exercise because I know that what's appearing on my computer screen is absolute crap, but I have to remind myself that I can always go back later and edit... or that it might not seem like such crap after all on the second look!
When the writing stops feeling like a chore and starts being fun again, that's when you know the technique has worked.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more