Ask the Author: Jamie Beckett
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Jamie Beckett
I'm enamored of the world inhabited by Harry August in Claire North's, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. Not that the world itself is significantly different from the one I live in now, but Harry and his peers are very different. I would hope to be one of them.
Having the ability to leap from one life to the next, from one time period to the next, with full knowledge of the previous time - that would be an intoxicating experience. Tedious, dangerous, and repetitive at times too, I'm sure. But oh, what a ride that would be.
Having the ability to leap from one life to the next, from one time period to the next, with full knowledge of the previous time - that would be an intoxicating experience. Tedious, dangerous, and repetitive at times too, I'm sure. But oh, what a ride that would be.
Jamie Beckett
To be perfectly honest, and I'm a bit reticent to admit this, I've never experienced writer's block. Not that I've never been challenged to resolve a story problem, or a character's motivation for taking some action that's necessary to move the story along. I have been. That's certainly true of all writers. But I started writing songs, not stories. So I adapted to a method that worked for me then, and still works for me today. It's simple, easily repeatable, and effective. At least it's effective for me.
All I have to do to get myself into my next writing session is mow the lawn, or go on a long bicycle ride around my neighborhood, or take a walk. It doesn't so much matter what I do, only that the thing I choose is dull, repetitious, and provides a minimum of intellectual stimulation. If I do that my mind wanders, and as it wanders it ponders. Plot points seem to have a way of solving themselves. Characters reveal themselves in a way they would never dare if I were sitting at my desk. Everything just seems to fall into place. By the time I get back to my writing desk I have a clear vision, a real enthusiasm for writing the next chapters of the story, and a genuine curiosity to find out how the whole thing works out in the end.
To some extent the characters and places I write about guide me. It may seem odd, or even dishonest, but I swear to you it's not. I do not always know what they're going to do. But if I bore myself a bit, they tell me. And sure enough, when I sit down and start writing again - they do pretty much exactly what they suggested they were going to do.
That's why I love writing and perhaps why I've never really suffered from writer's block. I want to know how the story turns out, too. And I can't wait to get back to work on the story so I can find out. In that sense, I'm not much different from my readers.
All I have to do to get myself into my next writing session is mow the lawn, or go on a long bicycle ride around my neighborhood, or take a walk. It doesn't so much matter what I do, only that the thing I choose is dull, repetitious, and provides a minimum of intellectual stimulation. If I do that my mind wanders, and as it wanders it ponders. Plot points seem to have a way of solving themselves. Characters reveal themselves in a way they would never dare if I were sitting at my desk. Everything just seems to fall into place. By the time I get back to my writing desk I have a clear vision, a real enthusiasm for writing the next chapters of the story, and a genuine curiosity to find out how the whole thing works out in the end.
To some extent the characters and places I write about guide me. It may seem odd, or even dishonest, but I swear to you it's not. I do not always know what they're going to do. But if I bore myself a bit, they tell me. And sure enough, when I sit down and start writing again - they do pretty much exactly what they suggested they were going to do.
That's why I love writing and perhaps why I've never really suffered from writer's block. I want to know how the story turns out, too. And I can't wait to get back to work on the story so I can find out. In that sense, I'm not much different from my readers.
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