Ask the Author: Anna Ralph
Answered Questions (5)
Anna Ralph
Free writing can and does help when the words stop coming. I like to give myself a targeted free write. This involves setting myself a question or a problem I need to solve - how will my character's relationship with X develop, for example. Then write without stopping for 15 minutes. It doesn't matter what you write, even if it is 'must buy more cat food', the act of writing freely will loosen up the creativity that's become stalled for other reasons.
Anna Ralph
Start by giving a character an impossible situation. Something happens to them that throws their life completely out of balance. Nothing will be the same for them again. What will they do to get things back on track? This will give your story tension - but don't make it easy for them!
Anna Ralph
I'm currently working on a psychological thriller and writing a blog about the process of starting with the blank page and charting the progress of the novel to final draft. You can follow my blog at anna barker.co.uk
Anna Ralph
I like 'what if' questions so inspiration tends to come from posing these 'what if' questions to myself. I like to put my characters in difficult situations and think about how they will try to put their life back into balance. How far will someone go to right a wrong or feel that justice is done?
Anna Ralph
I've always been interested in the psychology of the teenage mind, a time of huge mental and physical upheaval. Our identity through the pubescent years is rather fragile and our relationships can be deep and powerful. I wanted to capture this in a relationship between two boys whose sexual identities were still forming.
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