Ask the Author: Jon Evans
Answered Questions (6)
Jon Evans
This is as outdated and ludicrous a concept as 'Don't judge a book by the cover'. There's no such thing as writer's block. Electricians don't down tools and say they have electricians block if something is difficult to do. If you think you have writer's block, you don't but you may have encountered a problem. Perhaps you are a pantser and are unsure what to write next because you don't have an outline. Perhaps you are a plotter but haven't quite got the perfect phrase. In the first instance write a better outline and iron out any plot holes, in the second stop wordsmithing. It's just not necessary in most cases. For both, you could try writing another scene or story, or doing some world building. Go for a walk. Just remember, you're not really blocked, if you have a problem at all it's something else so don't get in your head about the terrors of writer's block.
Jon Evans
The ability to derive an income, however small, from writing stories that people enjoy reading. Making another person happy feels great for a human being and writing is on the list of things that you can do that can potentially make thousands of people happy. Plus you get to enjoy the writing and ultimately, you can do so in your pyjamas (unless you write in the local cafe).
Jon Evans
Traditional publishing is a waste of your time. Follow the key indie author podcasts. Don't be afraid to hit publish and put your book up there. Covers are your best marketing tool so if at all possible, pay for a good one. Get your mailing list started before you publish your first book. Don't write fantasy detective fiction - it's just not a genre and a book without a clear genre is much harder to market.
Jon Evans
As of August 2017 I'm outlining the next Edrin Loft story which will be about the Thieftakers attempts to identify and pursue smugglers in Kalider. I'm also writing a short story about Sergeant Gurnt that's effectively a missing sequence from The Mutilated Merchant which wasn't necessary to write but might be fun for readers. There's more, but I'll announce that when I've made more progess.
Jon Evans
I listen to brain.fm, sit at my desk and just open up my world building documents. When you abseil, the difficult bit is stepping over the edge. When writing, once you start writing your next scene you've overcome the main hurdle and the words can start to flow.
Jon Evans
I currently have one novel, The Mutilated Merchant. My original idea was to write an epic fantasy series but that is an impractical leap for a new author. Rather than get bogged down, I chose to write about another part of that world and landed on the concept of a Watch House while trying to find a good part of the world to explore. There will be a long series of books about Captain Loft, Sergeant Gurnt and the Thieftakers before I resume writing the epic fantasy based in the Shattered Empire.
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