Ask the Author: Tom Boniface-Webb
Answered Questions (6)
Tom Boniface-Webb
The idea for 'I was Britpopped' came from my co-author Jenny. As fans of the era and of the music, it was basically the book that we wanted to read. A fairly light-hearted, chatty, yet informative tone, was the aim. Hopefully we achieved that.
She initially asked me to edit what was going to be her book, but it slowly developed into us writing it together, backwards and forwards across a google-doc and across the world. It was actually a very enjoyable process. Writing isn't often an act that can be shared, but the format of this book meant that we could each write sections either separately or together and then edit from there.
She initially asked me to edit what was going to be her book, but it slowly developed into us writing it together, backwards and forwards across a google-doc and across the world. It was actually a very enjoyable process. Writing isn't often an act that can be shared, but the format of this book meant that we could each write sections either separately or together and then edit from there.
Tom Boniface-Webb
I find that inspiration comes fairly easily, and from pretty much anywhere. Turning that into something usable is another matter entirely. I find it often takes a very long time to develop an idea from that flash of a thought that feels so amazing in my head, onto something equally good on paper.
Sometimes it can feel like there is a very big distance between the safety of my imagination and the drab reality instigated by pen on paper, that an idea loses any kind of magic once it's written down.
For many years I used to write down every little thing that came into my head, thinking that putting it on paper - no matter how terrible it was when read back - meant that it could be turned into something. Now if I write down an idea I need it to have some kind of power on the page, so that when read back a week or so later it still has the essence of something genuinely interesting. Anything else I find is a waste of time.
Once an idea is developed into something more concrete that has shape and form, if it still interests me, then I will take it further. Whatever it is that you write, it's going to be part of your life for a long time so it still needs to keep interesting you throughout that whole process.
Sometimes it can feel like there is a very big distance between the safety of my imagination and the drab reality instigated by pen on paper, that an idea loses any kind of magic once it's written down.
For many years I used to write down every little thing that came into my head, thinking that putting it on paper - no matter how terrible it was when read back - meant that it could be turned into something. Now if I write down an idea I need it to have some kind of power on the page, so that when read back a week or so later it still has the essence of something genuinely interesting. Anything else I find is a waste of time.
Once an idea is developed into something more concrete that has shape and form, if it still interests me, then I will take it further. Whatever it is that you write, it's going to be part of your life for a long time so it still needs to keep interesting you throughout that whole process.
Tom Boniface-Webb
It has taken a while to come up with a suitable follow up to 'I Was Britpopped' (starting a family held up matters somewhat too!), which came out in Nov 2017, but I have finally made a decision to work on a series of books. Following the same A-Z format, but focusing on a particular band in turn, the first installment isn't too far away...
Tom Boniface-Webb
Find something you like writing about, and then write about it. Again and again and again.
Tom Boniface-Webb
No writer likes being a writer. Apart from perhaps being able to say that they're a writer.
It's an old joke, but perhaps still mostly true today. The actual act of writing is solitary, tedious and can take up a lot of time, often with no satisfactory results. But the feeling of capturing a thought or a moment perfectly in prose is unparalleled. I'm not sure I've been able to do it just yet, but here's hoping!
It's an old joke, but perhaps still mostly true today. The actual act of writing is solitary, tedious and can take up a lot of time, often with no satisfactory results. But the feeling of capturing a thought or a moment perfectly in prose is unparalleled. I'm not sure I've been able to do it just yet, but here's hoping!
Tom Boniface-Webb
It depends what is meant by 'writer's block', really. More often than not I find I can write something, whether it's any good though is another matter entirely.
I find drafting, re-drafting, leaving in a drawer for a month, re-drafting, thinking everything I've ever written is just terrible, leaving in a drawer for another month, thinking perhaps I was a bit rash before and there are some glimpses of something that is not 100% rubbish there, re-drafting, starting again, re-drafting, giving up, starting again... you get the picture... finally turns up something at least partly readable.
A key part of the process is editing, both self-editing (is this the type of thing I would want to read?) and third-party editing, are paramount to the process.
I find drafting, re-drafting, leaving in a drawer for a month, re-drafting, thinking everything I've ever written is just terrible, leaving in a drawer for another month, thinking perhaps I was a bit rash before and there are some glimpses of something that is not 100% rubbish there, re-drafting, starting again, re-drafting, giving up, starting again... you get the picture... finally turns up something at least partly readable.
A key part of the process is editing, both self-editing (is this the type of thing I would want to read?) and third-party editing, are paramount to the process.
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