Ask the Author: Martin Pond
Answered Questions (4)
Martin Pond
Lots of cups of tea... and a target, usually a very modest target. It might be to get 500 words written, with no edits and no concerns about quality, just to get something down. Usually that's enough for me to get going again. If it isn't, it's because my heart isn't in the story, which is probably a sign that the story should be consigned to File 13...
Martin Pond
I don't really know! I only had an opening scene. I just wrote that, and then kept going - the bigger idea seemed to crystallise on its own as I went along.
Martin Pond
The hardest thing is to just make a start. So, to paraphrase King, just take a character, put them in a situation, and start writing. You’ll find the story as you go. Also… you’ll be forever thinking that what you’ve just written is rubbish. DON’T let that stop you. Just keep going, get something down. You can revise and improve it later. Also, and this is very important, the best way to catch errors and things that just don’t work is to read what you’ve written aloud. Those bits that catch in your mouth? They need changing.
Martin Pond
I am trying very hard to finish my first novel-length work, Drawn To The Deep End. It charts a thirty-something’s decline in the wake of his fiancée’s death. No, it’s not a comedy. I have 70,000 words down, and I know how the story ends, I just need to get there… I also have three short stories that are crying out to be written but I’ve promised myself I won’t start them (beyond rough notes) until the novel is finished.
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