Ask the Author: Charles Moffat
Answered Questions (12)
Charles Moffat
When I was 12 years old myself, my best friend and my sister were walking across a farmer's field that belonged to my friend's relative. An unknown person driver a blue car with brown doors drove into the lane way and parked near the barn. The owner of the car was not my friend's relative. It was someone else we didn't recognize. He pulled a rifle out of his car and started shooting at us. We ran for the treeline between the two properties and hopped the fence, reaching the corn field beyond. I was standing almost shoulder to shoulder with my friend and a shot went right between us. We then hid in the corn and got down on our bellies until the man drove away. We never found out WHO he was. He wasn't the owner of the property. He was just some random person who was driving by, saw three kids in a field, and decided to try and murder us.
If that mystery could be solved I would love to have that man charged with three counts of attempted murder.
To turn that into a book... I would have to pretend that someone managed to find the man who was shooting at us. Possibly using old photos of cars from 1991. I would recognize the car if I saw it.
If that mystery could be solved I would love to have that man charged with three counts of attempted murder.
To turn that into a book... I would have to pretend that someone managed to find the man who was shooting at us. Possibly using old photos of cars from 1991. I would recognize the car if I saw it.
Charles Moffat
I am currently rewriting one of my old epic fantasy stories from the 1990s called "Rise of the Blade". You can read the new version for free on Wattpad at:
https://www.wattpad.com/story/2554598...
https://www.wattpad.com/story/2554598...
Charles Moffat
Either a bookstore using the ISBN number or you can order online via https://www.amazon.com/author/moffat
You can look up the ISBN number on Amazon fairly easily.
:)
You can look up the ISBN number on Amazon fairly easily.
:)
Charles Moffat
So far... I would say my most recent book, The Demon's Sacrifice, is my favourite. But that could change in the next two years.
Charles Moffat
March 1st 2020. "The Blizzard's Daughter"
You can preorder the ebook now by visiting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08267J1JZ
You can preorder the ebook now by visiting https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08267J1JZ
Charles Moffat
I would travel to my own world, Aoerth, to the forest of the Minotaur Seer, and vaguely predict the future in a manner consistent of any good seer. There I would live indefinitely, knowing that the forest is magically protected by unicorns, centaurs and faeries, and the divine grave of the gods and the Eldar Noramir. I would set up my own private archery range in the forest and accept archery students.
Charles Moffat
For 2020: "Children of Virtue and Vengeance" by Tomi Adeyemi. "The Dragonbone Chair" by Tad Williams. All of the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski.
Charles Moffat
This answer contains spoilers…
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Charles Moffat
I always have multiple projects on the go. Currently I am editing another book in the Wrathgar series, multiple short stories about Wulfric the Wanderer, several short stories for 3rd party anthologies, a new short story about Lilith Bloodstone, and a new top secret novel which I cannot discuss because it features a whole group of new characters.
Charles Moffat
1. Write daily as much as possible. When writing a novel I typically aim to write at least 4000 words per "writing day". On a really productive day I might hit 8000 or more. The good thing about this is that for me this amounts to writing roughly 1 or 2 chapters per day, which gives me a sense of accomplishment when I finish a chapter (or sometimes two chapters) in a single day. That feeling of accomplishment is actually really addictive, and if a particular writer is not feeling that each time you finish a chapter, I do worry whether you are cut out to be a writer because that sense of accomplishment is a huge high and the addictive quality of it is a major driver for many professional writers as it helps to motivate them to write often and write lots.
2. Learn to spell and use proper grammar. Really helps with the editing process later on and is fundamentally important to the craft of writing. A writer not knowing how to spell would be like an archer not knowing how to shoot.
3. Study the craft of good storytelling. Reading books, watching well-written films is effectively research. You should be studying the craft daily. I aim to read at least 1 chapter per day from authors I respect.
4. Keep learning new things. New languages, new cultures, watch nature documentaries, tourism shows, etc. I spend an hour every day learning new things. eg. I have formally studied 11 languages so far, to the extent that I can read/write/speak in 10 of them. I have a To Do List of languages I have yet to study.
5. Write down every "good idea" on a memo pad and keep it for later. If it is still good months later, then it is an idea worth exploring. Some ideas you might even combine together to create a more complex multifaceted story. Delete or stroke out the ideas that are unworthy. If you have as many good ideas as I do then you will never get writer's block. I don't even know what that feels like because I get lots of new ideas daily.
6. Surround yourself with constant new sources of inspiration, new information and new ideas. This is one of the reasons why I read and study new things every day. It isn't just a matter of further educating myself, the act of furthering my education fuels my constant flow of new ideas.
7. Travel to new places you have never been to. Tourism videos/books help, but travel and seeing places, meeting the people, learning the culture is best. In fantasy we are often writing about imaginary cultures, people, food and more - but actually going to places that can inspire you is so much better than just reading about it or watching tourism videos.
8. Actively learn about the things you are writing about. If you know you have horses in your novel, take horse riding lessons. Archery? Take archery lessons. Swordplay? Study fencing, kendo, medieval swordfighting, watch Shadiversity on YouTube, etc. If your book is set in France during WW2 you should be studying WW2 history and French and German languages/culture.
2. Learn to spell and use proper grammar. Really helps with the editing process later on and is fundamentally important to the craft of writing. A writer not knowing how to spell would be like an archer not knowing how to shoot.
3. Study the craft of good storytelling. Reading books, watching well-written films is effectively research. You should be studying the craft daily. I aim to read at least 1 chapter per day from authors I respect.
4. Keep learning new things. New languages, new cultures, watch nature documentaries, tourism shows, etc. I spend an hour every day learning new things. eg. I have formally studied 11 languages so far, to the extent that I can read/write/speak in 10 of them. I have a To Do List of languages I have yet to study.
5. Write down every "good idea" on a memo pad and keep it for later. If it is still good months later, then it is an idea worth exploring. Some ideas you might even combine together to create a more complex multifaceted story. Delete or stroke out the ideas that are unworthy. If you have as many good ideas as I do then you will never get writer's block. I don't even know what that feels like because I get lots of new ideas daily.
6. Surround yourself with constant new sources of inspiration, new information and new ideas. This is one of the reasons why I read and study new things every day. It isn't just a matter of further educating myself, the act of furthering my education fuels my constant flow of new ideas.
7. Travel to new places you have never been to. Tourism videos/books help, but travel and seeing places, meeting the people, learning the culture is best. In fantasy we are often writing about imaginary cultures, people, food and more - but actually going to places that can inspire you is so much better than just reading about it or watching tourism videos.
8. Actively learn about the things you are writing about. If you know you have horses in your novel, take horse riding lessons. Archery? Take archery lessons. Swordplay? Study fencing, kendo, medieval swordfighting, watch Shadiversity on YouTube, etc. If your book is set in France during WW2 you should be studying WW2 history and French and German languages/culture.
Charles Moffat
I have never experienced writer's block. I don't know what it feels like to have that. I have so many ideas, too many ideas, that I cannot write them all down. My biggest problem is finding time to write. Whenever I get to a point where I am unsure what to do, I go to my notes - where I write down every idea I think is good - and look at what options I could do. Some of my ideas become fables, some become short stories, and the rare few get joined with other ideas to become novels. So when you have as many ideas as I do you don't really get writer's block. You are too busy writing or doing other things in your life.
Charles Moffat
I get inspired daily to write and have no shortage of ideas. I write the good ideas down and then they are later distilled, mixed together with other ideas and eventually churned into ice cream. Sorry, I mean stories. It is finding time to write and edit that are the bigger problems for me.
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