Ask the Author: Justin Orton
Answered Questions (3)
Justin Orton
Do it! Carve out some time, and write! Just getting used to letting your ideas flow is a wonderful experience. Once you've made the commitment that you're going to do it - be organized. There's a lot of words that go into making a book that never make it to the finished product. Character sketches, plot ideas, research notes, places, relationships. It's critical you find a way to keep these things organized and available to you. I use a product called Scrivener. It's the best writing tool for authors in my mind, and I've written several blog posts on it here: https://jaortonwriter.wordpress.com/c...
This may sound tedious but keep track of what you write as you write it. For example the words are flowing and you've just finished this epic scene with your protagonist, and in it you happened to mention their eye color, sweater color and a couple of mannerisms - log that information in your character sketch. It's your book and you think you'll never forget it, but trust me 400 pages in you'll be second guessing yourself on all manner of things, and having these notes at your fingertips is incredibly valuable. One of the greatest challenges you'll face is continuity. Readers pick up on stuff like that. All that said the best advice I can give is - have fun! Enjoy the process, and allow your characters to lead you. Having an idea of the overall plot is good, I can't start a book without some idea of where I'm going, but I don't try and plot every nuance of the story. There's nothing more exciting than writing a scene and finding one of your characters takes off in a manner you hadn't expected, and before you know it a whole new subplot or twist starts to take shape. Trust in the characters you create, be them as you write, and you'll have fun as well as producing a more believable and enjoyable read for your audience. Good luck! Happy writing!
This may sound tedious but keep track of what you write as you write it. For example the words are flowing and you've just finished this epic scene with your protagonist, and in it you happened to mention their eye color, sweater color and a couple of mannerisms - log that information in your character sketch. It's your book and you think you'll never forget it, but trust me 400 pages in you'll be second guessing yourself on all manner of things, and having these notes at your fingertips is incredibly valuable. One of the greatest challenges you'll face is continuity. Readers pick up on stuff like that. All that said the best advice I can give is - have fun! Enjoy the process, and allow your characters to lead you. Having an idea of the overall plot is good, I can't start a book without some idea of where I'm going, but I don't try and plot every nuance of the story. There's nothing more exciting than writing a scene and finding one of your characters takes off in a manner you hadn't expected, and before you know it a whole new subplot or twist starts to take shape. Trust in the characters you create, be them as you write, and you'll have fun as well as producing a more believable and enjoyable read for your audience. Good luck! Happy writing!
Justin Orton
Thankfully I've not been overly afflicted with writer's block and I attribute that to having several projects ongoing at any one time. If I get stuck with a certain scene or character in a book, I'll take a break, and flip to a different story, or a different scene in the same project. I'm currently actively working on three unrelated novels, with an additional 2 that clamor for attention from time to time. I find formulating ideas, characters and outlines for those projects is refreshing, and when I return to the main work (currently book 2 of The Broken Crown saga) the words just flow again.
Justin Orton
I'm currently working on two projects. The sequel to "To Raise a King" and "Return of the Claimant" a historical romance built around the Tichborne Case of the 1860's. Anyone interested in the case should find a wealth of material on the internet. You will see two key characters - Roger Tichborne - the missing heir to the Tichborne estates, and the "Claimant" later identified as Arthur Orton. It's still not know if Arthur Orton was Roger Tichborne or the impostor he was painted to be. This next work of mine will add to that mystery (or maybe clear it up) as I reveal some of the long buried secrets from my own family history. I am an "Orton" after all...
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