Ask the Author: H.S. Chandler
Answered Questions (6)
H.S. Chandler
I read a lot, but less in my own genre than anything else. It's hard to get inspired iff you only ever read one type. of book. I watch tons of good. TV and movies, I love. music, I travel a lot and my recent move to live in the US has given me loads of new inspiration. Change is always inspiring. I also obsessively read the news. I find that politics and the personalities involved is a good indicator for the best and worst of mankind, and for conflicts both small and large scale, and I draw on these issues a lot in my writing. People watching helps. I sometimes write in cafes, and always end up getting ideas for characters from the people around me.
H.S. Chandler
My most recent book 'Degrees of Guilt' is about a coercive control relationship. I was a criminal and family law barrister in the UK for many years, so I dealt with situations involving both physical and emotional abuse, and I met many women (and some men ) who were subjected to the sort of abuses my protagonist suffers in the book. It's not based on a single case though. My characters come from tiny slices of people I met over the years, a combination of shadows if you like, that form together to become a single person. There's a second story line about the jury hearing the trial. I've never done jury duty (but I'd love to) and the process they go through fascinates me. In Degrees of Guilt they're locked away together during a long hot summer deciding if Maria tried to kill her husband freely and intentionally or not, or if it was self defence. Two of those jurors begin an affair and the dynamic shifts. It was really interesting to write!
H.S. Chandler
There are lots of great things about being a writer. For me, it's about ending up doing the thing I feel I was always meant to do. I have the freedom to create my world as I like - both practically and creatively. I write when my children are at school, but sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and write for two hours. I stop when I like, as long as I make up the time. I can go for lunch with friends and finish my word count at the weekend. Writers are lucky like that. But you always have the deadline clock ticking in the back of your brain. The book has to get written some time! I love world building. If I can see a place and people who fascinate me, I get to make them from nothing. I can make them the way I want, good or bad. I can bring them to life in other people's heads. It's a privilege. Also literary festivals. My favourite perk of being a writer is appearing on panels. It's such good fun.
H.S. Chandler
My advice for aspiring writers is to write not what you know, but what you feel really passionate about and invested in. Research thoroughly but then only use what you need to illustrate the points in the book, or it'll sound like a textbook. Write characters who intrigue you. Write scenes that make you cry, or that scare you, or that make you feel in love. If you can't feel the emotion, you readers won't feel it either. Be practical. Keep an eye on the book market. Write in an established genre to give yourself the best possible chance at publication. Use social media. Publishers want you to have a presence even before your first book deal. Write five days a week so it becomes a discipline. Stop going over old ground and rewriting. Finish the manuscript. Push forward. Allow yourself to make mistakes. That's what editing's for. Enjoy the process. If you don't, you're just hurting yourself. Read outside your genre - this is how we find new ideas and expand our creativity. That should be enough to think about for now!
H.S. Chandler
This answer contains spoilers…
(view spoiler)
H.S. Chandler
I don't really suffer from writer's block but I sometimes reach a point in a story where I don't know how to resolve a specific issue. Every writer has a different way of dealing with this. For me it's always a very long, very hot bath, cup of tea, some good music (X Ambassadors or Peter Gabriel works best, don't ask me why!) By the end of the bath, I have the answer to the problem, almost without fail. It's a brain reset for me. A longer term issue is getting burned out by writing. I write 2 books a year but I take the summer off to be with my children. Writing books back to back I find draining. I think taking long breaks is key to avoiding writer's block.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more