Ask the Author: Meredith Allard
Answered Questions (7)
Meredith Allard
I remember years ago reading an Inspector Morse book by Colin Dexter about the murder of a deaf man. The fact that I'm hearing impaired could likely cause a few mysteries (mainly because I couldn't hear what was going on!).
Meredith Allard
I've had an idea about a love story set in Victorian London for about 15 years now but I was busy with other projects so I never got around to it. Finally, after I finished the Loving Husband Trilogy, I had the time to work on it. By that time I had fallen in love with Downton Abbey, so that changed the direction of my original idea a bit. I know Downton began in the Edwardian era, but I'm keeping my story set in Victorian times.
Meredith Allard
My latest obsession is Downton Abbey, and whenever I become obsessed with something in that way it usually plays out in my writing. I can’t say much more now except it’s going to be a love story set in Victorian England, the generation before Downton Abbey, which begins in the Edwardian era. I was recently in London to do some research for the novel and I had a wonderful time.
Meredith Allard
The best writing advice I have is simple: just write. If you have a story to tell, then you must tell it. Take your time growing into the writer you want to be. Take your time as you figure out what type to stories you want to put out into the world. Learn from writers you love and then create your own style. And just write.
Meredith Allard
Sometimes I’m inspired by books I read or television shows or movies I see. Sometimes I’m inspired by events in the news. Sometimes I’m inspired by events in history. Sometimes it’s a crazy story from my imagination. I’ve learned that inspiration can come from anywhere so I try to keep my eyes open for ideas.
Meredith Allard
I love coming up with story ideas. I have an active imagination, as most authors do, and I have a lot of ideas floating through my head at any and all times of the day and night. I love kicking around an idea until I can start to see the story come into shape. I love that I can take these crazy scenes that I see so clearly in my head and share them with others. Writing fiction is an outlet for my imagination. I started as a screenwriter, but screenwriting was too much like a blueprint for me and I didn’t like the terseness of it. I love describing the room where the action takes place. I love describing the characters’ clothing, and what they’re thinking and feeling. I love the entire world building process and making that world come alive for the reader.
Meredith Allard
In Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones, she says to allow yourself the freedom to write the worst junk in the world. That’s a great way around writer’s block because I know it’s okay for me to write something that isn’t all that great at first. I keep writing and I know I’ll figure it out eventually.
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