Ask the Author: Sarah Daniels
Answered Questions (5)
Sarah Daniels
At the moment I'm putting the finishing touches to The Stranded (coming Jan 2022) and working on book two of the duology. I'm also having a lot of fun on my next project, but I'm keeping that under my hat for now.
Sarah Daniels
I have so many ways to trick myself! First I have to figure out whether the problem is with me or the work. If it's me and I'm not in the right frame of mind to write I give myself some time off to refill the creative well. Watching movies, reading, playing computer games all help.
If it's that I want to work but I'm getting distracted I use writing sprints, play rainy cafe sounds and use a cold turkey blocker to make sure I can't access the internet. I've uninstalled the Sims.
If the problem is with the work and not that I'm a lazy-so-and-so, it usually means I've started in the wrong place and I'm writing too much filler. At that point I have to come to the (painful) realisation that a paragraph/scene/chapter isn't holding my attention, and isn't going to hold the reader's attention either. It's time to find a more interesting way into the story.
If it's that I want to work but I'm getting distracted I use writing sprints, play rainy cafe sounds and use a cold turkey blocker to make sure I can't access the internet. I've uninstalled the Sims.
If the problem is with the work and not that I'm a lazy-so-and-so, it usually means I've started in the wrong place and I'm writing too much filler. At that point I have to come to the (painful) realisation that a paragraph/scene/chapter isn't holding my attention, and isn't going to hold the reader's attention either. It's time to find a more interesting way into the story.
Sarah Daniels
I'm definitely a creative vampire (although I hope I don't sap anyone else creativity!). I eat movies, books, art, song lyrics. And I get inspired by other people's energy too. I don't do nanowrimo, but you'll find me on the periphery cheering people on and writing at a different pace. I'm part of a number of different writing groups and most mornings will see me joining Writers' Hour. All these things get my brain firing, then I just have to give myself enough time to daydream and the ideas will come.
Sarah Daniels
I plan on playing a lot of video games this summer, so my TBR is on the slim side. Very excited for Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Minute. The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He. The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin. Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell. And I also have two mentees this summer, so I'll be doing reads of a really cool dystopian thriller set in London and a futuristic love story that will defo pull on the heart strings.
Sarah Daniels
Ooh, tricky question! There are so many! I think The Handmaid's Tale was the book that really set me on the dystopian/near future path from the start. I read it as a teenager and I found it terrifying to think about how any of us can have our lives derailed by external forces. You don't have to be the Chosen One or a secret wizard to get tangled up in world changing events.
My style in terms of plot was really influenced by the last line of Catching Fire in The Hunger Games trilogy. It's the only time I can remember actually shouting "Noooo!" at a book. At the time I was a relatively new writer, but I knew I wanted to create that kind of suspenseful story.
My style in terms of plot was really influenced by the last line of Catching Fire in The Hunger Games trilogy. It's the only time I can remember actually shouting "Noooo!" at a book. At the time I was a relatively new writer, but I knew I wanted to create that kind of suspenseful story.
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