Ask the Author: Ian McFarlane
Answered Questions (7)
Ian McFarlane
The book is called Fattypuffs and Thinifers by Andre Maurois - it was a favourite as a child. Two brothers discover this world underground and take sides as each kingdom argues with each other. Eventually they go to war. I would travel to that world and knock the king's head's together and tell them they are behaving like a pair of spoilt plonkers.
Ian McFarlane
I guess I've had moments where I did not know what to write - and so instead of spending time wondering I just get on and write something, anything. It didn't matter whether it felt like it was rubbish, I simply wrote it.
Some of the best passages I have written came from these moments.
Remember whatever you have written you can always go back and change it.
I fervently believe that writer's block is simply writers putting themselves under too much pressure to produce something meaningful - that's when the fun disappears. So return to why you started to write. What was it? For me it was for fun.
The best kind of writing for me is fantasy. If you've hit that library wall then one strategy is to take an event from the week and write a short passage for example, maybe your aunt Maud's pet dog bit just you and Maud denied it vehemently despite the fact your finger is bleeding profusely. So write it in your favoured genre - for me, fantasy: Maud is a troll and the dog is a pet gremlin and they're protecting a stone tower with a horde of gold; and you're the knight in shining armour. Use Aunt Maud's character traits - it can be quite cathartic too.
Essentially if I am geniunly struggling to write something for a specific project I put it down and go and write something else instead which is why I tend to have a number of projects on the go at any one time.
Some of the best passages I have written came from these moments.
Remember whatever you have written you can always go back and change it.
I fervently believe that writer's block is simply writers putting themselves under too much pressure to produce something meaningful - that's when the fun disappears. So return to why you started to write. What was it? For me it was for fun.
The best kind of writing for me is fantasy. If you've hit that library wall then one strategy is to take an event from the week and write a short passage for example, maybe your aunt Maud's pet dog bit just you and Maud denied it vehemently despite the fact your finger is bleeding profusely. So write it in your favoured genre - for me, fantasy: Maud is a troll and the dog is a pet gremlin and they're protecting a stone tower with a horde of gold; and you're the knight in shining armour. Use Aunt Maud's character traits - it can be quite cathartic too.
Essentially if I am geniunly struggling to write something for a specific project I put it down and go and write something else instead which is why I tend to have a number of projects on the go at any one time.
Ian McFarlane
You can briefly live in a world where you're the hero, the villain, the richest person in the world or the poorest finding a reason to live.
Everyone loves a story; its a fundamental part of human nature: movies, books, social events.
To be a writer is to be a creator - its just simply great fun.
Everyone loves a story; its a fundamental part of human nature: movies, books, social events.
To be a writer is to be a creator - its just simply great fun.
Ian McFarlane
Don't be self-critical. Your first draft will seldom be clear. Just write something and practice your skills. There are loads of opportunities now with blogs for holidays and travel, websites to release your material and get feedback.
Read plenty - you can always pick up tips on how characters are developed and storylines laid out.
Write something that you are interested in or love - don't be drawn to a genre because you feel it is the most popular.
And don't make the mistake of thinking anyone got to the top of their game through luck and timing - it never works like that. Every successful artist has a story to tell about their own journey.
Connect with wrtiting groups on social media and with author's too - it can be a great source of inspiration.
Everyone has a story - what's yours?
Read plenty - you can always pick up tips on how characters are developed and storylines laid out.
Write something that you are interested in or love - don't be drawn to a genre because you feel it is the most popular.
And don't make the mistake of thinking anyone got to the top of their game through luck and timing - it never works like that. Every successful artist has a story to tell about their own journey.
Connect with wrtiting groups on social media and with author's too - it can be a great source of inspiration.
Everyone has a story - what's yours?
Ian McFarlane
Currently working on a number of projects all of which revolve around the Toby Fisher series, for example:
editing the third and fourth books.
writing a back-story for Munch the ferret
Preparing a 'Dossier' for Robert, the professor's butler who has a spying back ground.
And outlining a trilogy of Merlin's story
Sometimes I find working on the same project day in and day out gets repetitive so having the other projects helps to maintain motivation - it does mean, sometimes, that projects take longer but it works for me.
editing the third and fourth books.
writing a back-story for Munch the ferret
Preparing a 'Dossier' for Robert, the professor's butler who has a spying back ground.
And outlining a trilogy of Merlin's story
Sometimes I find working on the same project day in and day out gets repetitive so having the other projects helps to maintain motivation - it does mean, sometimes, that projects take longer but it works for me.
Ian McFarlane
Writing is a passion and some times its an escape. When you love doing something it is not difficult to indulge in it - the hard thing sometimes is knowing what to write.
And the best cure for knowing what to write is simply write and don't judge what you write - you seldom produce a master piece at the first attempt
And the best cure for knowing what to write is simply write and don't judge what you write - you seldom produce a master piece at the first attempt
Ian McFarlane
Most of the work was gathered over five years writing small small passages; sometimes enough to fill one sentence and other times to fill a chapter - they were all stand alone; same genre but not connected. I've always loved fantasy and so writing whatever I thought about came easy although it seldom made sense at the time. But the core of the book is King Arthur and Merlin - that becomes apparent later in the series - and that was inspired by the BBC Merlin series. Sometimes the images came with a day trip: all I would do is imagine what fantastical event could happen at somewhere like Nelson's Column. Once the three central characters arrived all other stuff just gradually evolved.
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