Ask the Author: Paul Mendelson
Answered Questions (7)
Paul Mendelson
Hi Marian... I'm so sorry that it;s taken me all this time to rely. "The Right Way to Play Bridge" is your next step, and then, depending on how you find it, you can expand into "Winning Ways to Play Your Cards" and, later, "Control The Bidding". I do hope that you are enjoying your bridge.
best wishes
Paul M
best wishes
Paul M
Paul Mendelson
My ideas tend to coagulate rather than arrive as a single thought. I like to imagine what might stimulate my characters, how they would react, and how such a situation might be resolved. Then, with any luck, my readers will feel engaged too.
For my current book, the stimuli have been a combination of real-life events, with a development of themes from previous cases undertaking by my "leading man", Colonel Vaughn de Vries.
For my current book, the stimuli have been a combination of real-life events, with a development of themes from previous cases undertaking by my "leading man", Colonel Vaughn de Vries.
Paul Mendelson
I get to disappear into my own little world and I am in complete control of it. It is a control-freak's dream. I love to micro-manage, to play with words, to strive to create atmospheres and characters with which/whom people can empathise or react to.
I spent some time recently on book panels with two chaps who write together as one author. Despite their obvious enthusiasm for writing this way, it remains a mystery to me as to why you would want to do this. For me, writing is very personal, the process selfish, even if you want to share the outcome with others.
I spent some time recently on book panels with two chaps who write together as one author. Despite their obvious enthusiasm for writing this way, it remains a mystery to me as to why you would want to do this. For me, writing is very personal, the process selfish, even if you want to share the outcome with others.
Paul Mendelson
A thought, a sentence, a word. I'm constantly jotting down snippets and one of these alone can prove the catalyst to start writing, whether it is an article, a non-fiction book, or an entire novel.
Paul Mendelson
Book 4 in the Vaughn de Vries series. I start in the winter and try to finish in the summer - that's the plan, at least.
I am incredibly lucky that I love writing about Southern Africa and my regular characters, so it is a pleasure to return to their lives.
I am incredibly lucky that I love writing about Southern Africa and my regular characters, so it is a pleasure to return to their lives.
Paul Mendelson
Write. Write anything. Write shit, as long as you are writing. I have drawers full of unpublished novels (for which readers and editors should be very grateful) but, at least, they got me practising.
Many people ask me to read their work. I ask them for a few pages and they stare at me blankly. "Oh, I haven't written anything yet..."
So, you want to write? Please, just write.
Many people ask me to read their work. I ask them for a few pages and they stare at me blankly. "Oh, I haven't written anything yet..."
So, you want to write? Please, just write.
Paul Mendelson
If there was a wonderful answer, we'd all know it by now but, for me, it is to keep writing - even if it isn't the scene you are working on, or even the book. Usually, block evaporates for no other reason than one single sentence suddenly appears (note: appears) to solve everything.
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