Ask the Author: Dan Jones
Answered Questions (5)
Dan Jones
For my debut novel Man O'War, coming next year, I got the idea from a 75-word story challenge I wrote for my writing group, and fleshed it out into a whole world. Much of the technical content, about robotics, corporate business and the machinations of the civil service and Government, I got from my experiences at work, specifically at the UK Space Agency.
My current WIP first entered my head as a sort of dyad, two parallel plot strands occurring in different spaces. Initially I wanted this to be set in the POVs of a left-wing character, and a right-wing one. This morphed into a crossover setting, where one setting was fantastical, and the other was more SF. The political angle has also gone, and has evolved into a more philosophical meditation on freedom, free will vs determination, and the encroachment of technology into the human domain.
My current WIP first entered my head as a sort of dyad, two parallel plot strands occurring in different spaces. Initially I wanted this to be set in the POVs of a left-wing character, and a right-wing one. This morphed into a crossover setting, where one setting was fantastical, and the other was more SF. The political angle has also gone, and has evolved into a more philosophical meditation on freedom, free will vs determination, and the encroachment of technology into the human domain.
Dan Jones
My current Work In Progress (WIP) is a sci-fi/fantasy crossover called Hole in The Sky. Set in the fictional, futuristic European city of Norstoengraz, it tells the story of Grub Teng, a Psychitect, an individual with the ability to invent new lifeforms in his dreams. After Grub has a terrible accident at work, he loses his psychic abilities and is made redundant. Embittered and angry, he accepts an invitation from the shady Yang Bi to join a cyber-terror group bankrolled by a mysterious and unseen sponsor, intending to take his former employers down.
The resultant infiltration of his ex-employers - the corporate giants NEP-E who specialise in developing robotic, synthetic and quasi-organic life - reveals a plot to develop a hideous, violent new lifeform that is to be weaponised. As the unsettling truth about the origins of this monster become apparent, Grub starts to realise that he is far more alone than he thought. As loyalties are tested to shredding point, the devastating truths about Grub's past are revealed. The monster is inadvertently freed, wreaking havoc across the city and beyond. Grub must decide whether or not to face an enemy that may cost him his sanity, his freedom and even his life, or leave the world to burn.
The resultant infiltration of his ex-employers - the corporate giants NEP-E who specialise in developing robotic, synthetic and quasi-organic life - reveals a plot to develop a hideous, violent new lifeform that is to be weaponised. As the unsettling truth about the origins of this monster become apparent, Grub starts to realise that he is far more alone than he thought. As loyalties are tested to shredding point, the devastating truths about Grub's past are revealed. The monster is inadvertently freed, wreaking havoc across the city and beyond. Grub must decide whether or not to face an enemy that may cost him his sanity, his freedom and even his life, or leave the world to burn.
Dan Jones
Keep at it. Keep reading. Keep learning. Be open minded. Talk to other writers.
Dan Jones
The act of creation; being the master of my own destiny. The exhilarating idea of infecting other people's minds with ideas, theories, excitement.
Dan Jones
I prefer not call it "writer's block" but just feel that it can be a general lack of energy or appetite. If the energy is sagging a tad, I tend to find a change is as good as a rest, and I'll turn my mind to other things. This could be doing some plotting / outlining for the book in question, or doing some work on a short story or other piece instead.
Coming back to a WIP when the energy is up is the best method for keeping the momentum up rather than forcing it.
Coming back to a WIP when the energy is up is the best method for keeping the momentum up rather than forcing it.
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