Ask the Author: Louise Cole
Answered Questions (7)
Louise Cole
I'm sure I've answered this somewhere else, but Middle Earth. No question. It has everything you could ever want - magic, beauty, elves, lots and lots of horses and of course, possibly the sexiest man to ever stride out of the pages of a book. If you gave me a ticket to Rohan, I don't think I'd even stop to pack.
Louise Cole
I think I've answered this in the inspiration question but it depends what's causing it. If it's a lack of ideas, sit down and write. Ignore that it's horrible, ignore that every word seems to be made of mud and just write down what happens one sentence after the next. You will find yourself sucked in and that gruelling, wading through treacle feeling will ease into your normal imaginative zone. If it's more physical - that actually you are too tired or too stressed, then rest. There's a difference between having a solid work ethic and not recognising when you need to rest.
And, finally, if you are actually stuck on a plot point, one of those niggly things where you just can't seem to work out what would happen next, go do something physical but not interesting. Wash up. Paint the fence. Walk the dog, alone. Let your mind wander. Don't try to solve your problem. Just relax. Your subconscious will solve it for you, nine times out of ten.
And, finally, if you are actually stuck on a plot point, one of those niggly things where you just can't seem to work out what would happen next, go do something physical but not interesting. Wash up. Paint the fence. Walk the dog, alone. Let your mind wander. Don't try to solve your problem. Just relax. Your subconscious will solve it for you, nine times out of ten.
Louise Cole
Hard question. I work for a living,like 99% of the authors in the world and I write in those blocks of time where I can afford to push the day job aside. But when I write I become completely absorbed in that world. I love first drafts, where the characters are speaking to you and their story is unfolding before your eyes and your fingers can barely keep up. It's as exciting and scary and utterly absorbing as falling in love. And you do, in a way. You fall in love with this world and these people and for a little while,you get to live somewhere completely new.
Louise Cole
Write. I'm never sure about that term 'aspiring' when it means 'unpublished'. We're all aspiring to something. To be published, to be better, to create a masterpiece, to win a prize. The one thing that bonds us is we are all writers and that's a precious thing to be. Storytelling is at the heart of being human. So write, whether or not you want to be published or are published or just want to keep your words private. It's the act of writing that lets us discover ourselves and the world - the rest is just icing. :)
Louise Cole
I'm currently editing the sequel to The Devil's Poetry - which is called On Holy Ground and has a kick ass cover - but I'll tell you more about that another time.
Once that's finished I'm going to slip back over to finish writing my adult fantasy novel. That's the one that currently wakes me up in the middle of the night to scribble notes. Callie's story will be concluded in three novels but, while I have work to do on the second and third books, I do know the story and I have most of it on page. The adult fantasy is still cooking.
Once that's finished I'm going to slip back over to finish writing my adult fantasy novel. That's the one that currently wakes me up in the middle of the night to scribble notes. Callie's story will be concluded in three novels but, while I have work to do on the second and third books, I do know the story and I have most of it on page. The adult fantasy is still cooking.
Louise Cole
Inspiration comes from writing itself. Don't sit around and wait for the muse. Start writing, even if it's stream of consciousness. Before you know it you'll be writing *about* something. I think the only way to deal with blocks is to work through them and the only way to get inspired is to put yourself in a creative frame of mind by actually putting words on paper. Remember they don''t have to be good. It doesn't all have to be prize-winning - sometimes you just need to let yourself start playing.
Louise Cole
The idea for The Devil's Poetry grew out of my slightly nerdy fascination with how we relate to books themselves. That idea that if you read a book and I read it, we each have a unique experience. We'll imagine the world and the characters slightly differently and we'll respond emotionally to different things - so in a sense we are reading two different books because the real magic happens in that space between the reader and the page. The story went on to be about many other things too but that was the germ of the idea which initially got me writing.
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