Ask the Author: Gillian Andrews
Answered Questions (3)
Gillian Andrews
Just find ONE sentence and write it down. Just ONE.
In my case the answer is just to write anything, and gradually it becomes clearer to me where either I went wrong, or where the story should be going. Sometimes you know that something isn't the right way to go, but you can't quite see what the story needs, and that can block you from moving forwards. I have found that if you plough on even though you know something isn't quite as you would like it, then you can get it right in the end.
When I write a book, I have a file labelled "Oddities" which is where I put everything I decide not to include in the book, but want to keep just in case. Sometimes the Oddities file can be half as big as the book itself. All that is from mini blocks, where things just weren't turning out as planned.
I always imagined that I would have the book laid out in my head and just follow the plot, but it turns out I can't write like that. I never started anything when I tried.
Now I start my books by blocking up a rough cover, and making the music for the audiobooks; then I get down to that vital, first sentence.
The rest is a journey of exploration for me too. It is what makes writing fun.
In my case the answer is just to write anything, and gradually it becomes clearer to me where either I went wrong, or where the story should be going. Sometimes you know that something isn't the right way to go, but you can't quite see what the story needs, and that can block you from moving forwards. I have found that if you plough on even though you know something isn't quite as you would like it, then you can get it right in the end.
When I write a book, I have a file labelled "Oddities" which is where I put everything I decide not to include in the book, but want to keep just in case. Sometimes the Oddities file can be half as big as the book itself. All that is from mini blocks, where things just weren't turning out as planned.
I always imagined that I would have the book laid out in my head and just follow the plot, but it turns out I can't write like that. I never started anything when I tried.
Now I start my books by blocking up a rough cover, and making the music for the audiobooks; then I get down to that vital, first sentence.
The rest is a journey of exploration for me too. It is what makes writing fun.
Gillian Andrews
My advice is to stop reading! Watch TV or films, but make the decision not to read any books until you finish your own. It works for me, and is one of the things Janet Evanovich recommends too.
Gillian Andrews
The last book I wrote was The Trimorphs ... and in a sense the whole of the Ammonite Galaxy series has been leading up to this book. I didn't need an idea: they were all there from the previous books.
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