Ask the Author: M. Naidoo
Answered Questions (6)
M. Naidoo
"Where Sleeping Lies Lie" was inspired by stories my grandmother told me. I used to love listening to her talk about what life was like when she was young. She was born in 1901 in Germany and lived through two World Wars and their aftermaths. As a result, "Where Sleeping Lies Lie" is a historical biography framed by a romantic suspense novel. Like one of my beta readers referred to it: "Mystery, history and a twist at every turn." If that's your kind of thing, then you won't be able to put this one down. March 21st…
M. Naidoo
I wish I had a magic formula to pass along. No such luck, sorry.
M. Naidoo
I have just finished my second book "Where Sleeping Lies Lie," a romantic suspense novel. Getting the marketing lined up for the book launch, scheduled for March 21, pretty much takes up every free minute. Since I completely neglected that part for my first novel, "The Pelican," I am also working on a re-launch. A lot is happening, stay tuned…
M. Naidoo
Someone once told me: "Get that first draft down on paper! It's going to be crappy, but that's okay." Starting out, we tend to thrive for that perfect sentence, that awesome paragraph, and we keep going back to fix it over and over… until we've completely lost our writing momentum. At least that's how it was for me. Resist the urge to write that perfect first draft - there is no such thing. Get it done, then go back and edit the daylight out of it.
M. Naidoo
Letting your mind go and following the story. Getting into the zone where characters take on a life of their own, show their individual character and voice – that's what it is all about for me.
I remember the first time that happened. I was working on a scene where one character had to pass along a certain piece of information to another. I sent her onto the set, opened the dialogue, and after the first sentence, she started to act weird. I had no idea where that was coming from, but I decided to cut the characters lose and basically transcribed their conversation. It turned out that she was intimidated by the other, even though she had a strong personality and wasn't scared of anything. I hadn't planned on that at all, but it completely changed the tone of the conversation and the relationship of the two characters going forward. If this sounds like I should go and have myself checked, that thought did cross my mind…
I remember the first time that happened. I was working on a scene where one character had to pass along a certain piece of information to another. I sent her onto the set, opened the dialogue, and after the first sentence, she started to act weird. I had no idea where that was coming from, but I decided to cut the characters lose and basically transcribed their conversation. It turned out that she was intimidated by the other, even though she had a strong personality and wasn't scared of anything. I hadn't planned on that at all, but it completely changed the tone of the conversation and the relationship of the two characters going forward. If this sounds like I should go and have myself checked, that thought did cross my mind…
M. Naidoo
I remind myself to trust the process. Writing isn't linear. I have days when the words just keep coming and storylines connect, and others when nothing sounds right. When that happens, I take a step back, grab the dogs, and get out of the house. It's all part of the process. I have had the best ideas while walking or doing something completely unrelated to writing. Even when I'm not on the computer, my mind mulls over the story or characters of what I am working on. Eventually, it always comes together. Trusting that it will, keeps me from panicking when I hit that wall. Took me a while to get to that point, but it definitely works for me.
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