Ask the Author: Terri George
Answered Questions (6)
Terri George
Three words: Just Do It.
Don't listen to anyone else. If you feel you won't get the support of those nearest and dearest (and some people can be negative about you saying you want to write − it's what other people do) then don't tell them. It can be your secret. That's okay.
So you haven't got a degree in English Literature? Who says you need one? If you can read, you can write. All you need is a love of books and the need to write. Yes, you do need to write. It's not something you think you'll 'have a go at', it's a driving passion that won't be ignored.
Three more words: Read, read and read − okay that's four words.
All writers read. I've always read. I was encouraged to read from a small child. I can't comprehend people who (sometimes quite proudly) state they've never read a book in their lives. Study books, especially in the genre you want to write and decide what you loved about them and what you didn't. Study the story's structure. Again, this may sound less than creative and writing's all about the creative right? Well, yes and no. The creativity comes from creating your characters and the story, but the narrative has to have a frame work; things have to happen − unless you're Anne Tyler and often nothing much seems to happen, but then she's an expert at seeing the beauty in the minutiae of ordinary lives and in a class of her own.
Have someone you trust review your work as you write.
Every writer has self doubt − can I really write? Find someone who will read as you write and give honest constructive feedback; someone who reads a lot and especially reads the genre you're writing.
It's best not to ask a friend as they may feel hesitant in saying anything negative. And you do need to hear and take the negative on board. If something isn't working for your reader it probably won't work for readers in general so you have to address it. If you trust the person and know they have your best interests at heart don't be put off by them saying they don't like something. Take it as a positive sign that this person is doing a good job for you. I had a friend of a friend (who I don't know) read Beguiled a chapter at a time. Goodreads is great because there are plenty of readers who will be more than happy to read your work as you write and help you make your book the very best it can be.
Don't listen to anyone else. If you feel you won't get the support of those nearest and dearest (and some people can be negative about you saying you want to write − it's what other people do) then don't tell them. It can be your secret. That's okay.
So you haven't got a degree in English Literature? Who says you need one? If you can read, you can write. All you need is a love of books and the need to write. Yes, you do need to write. It's not something you think you'll 'have a go at', it's a driving passion that won't be ignored.
Three more words: Read, read and read − okay that's four words.
All writers read. I've always read. I was encouraged to read from a small child. I can't comprehend people who (sometimes quite proudly) state they've never read a book in their lives. Study books, especially in the genre you want to write and decide what you loved about them and what you didn't. Study the story's structure. Again, this may sound less than creative and writing's all about the creative right? Well, yes and no. The creativity comes from creating your characters and the story, but the narrative has to have a frame work; things have to happen − unless you're Anne Tyler and often nothing much seems to happen, but then she's an expert at seeing the beauty in the minutiae of ordinary lives and in a class of her own.
Have someone you trust review your work as you write.
Every writer has self doubt − can I really write? Find someone who will read as you write and give honest constructive feedback; someone who reads a lot and especially reads the genre you're writing.
It's best not to ask a friend as they may feel hesitant in saying anything negative. And you do need to hear and take the negative on board. If something isn't working for your reader it probably won't work for readers in general so you have to address it. If you trust the person and know they have your best interests at heart don't be put off by them saying they don't like something. Take it as a positive sign that this person is doing a good job for you. I had a friend of a friend (who I don't know) read Beguiled a chapter at a time. Goodreads is great because there are plenty of readers who will be more than happy to read your work as you write and help you make your book the very best it can be.
Terri George
The second instalment of The Frost Trilogy of course and I've also had an idea for a stand-alone book as yet untitled. My heroine is forming in my head as she's telling me her back story and I have a rough outline of the arc of the story so far. The hero is hovering in the background waiting patiently to tell me all about him and how he's going to win my heroine over.
Terri George
The creativity of letting your imagination run wild. You're in complete control. Characters can be whatever you decide they'll be. You get to create your own little world (even more so I imagine if you write sci-fi − how exciting must that be?!) and populate it with characters who live lives you create and speak words you write. If there's anything more exhilarating than that it eludes me.
Terri George
Two ways:
Sometimes I can be having trouble with a particular bit I'm writing, but what happens further along in the story is filling my head. When that happens I give myself permission to hit the return key a few times, leaving a few lines blank and continue with the next bit that's begging to be transferred from my head to the page. Once I'm finished with that I find I can then go back and write the bit I was having trouble with because I now know what I want to say.
The other way is to relax and go do something else. Doing something mundane and every-day (washing up, having a shower, the laundry etc) clears my mind, which opens it up to the next creative spark that will prompt how to overcome whatever problem I was having. I do get a lot of ideas in the shower, which is a bit of a problem because I can't take a notebook and pen in with me − I just have to get done quickly! Oh, and going for a walk is always good. The mere act of putting one foot in front of the other, thinking about nothing in particular is a great way to clear my mind allowing ideas to form and inspiration to strike.
Sometimes I can be having trouble with a particular bit I'm writing, but what happens further along in the story is filling my head. When that happens I give myself permission to hit the return key a few times, leaving a few lines blank and continue with the next bit that's begging to be transferred from my head to the page. Once I'm finished with that I find I can then go back and write the bit I was having trouble with because I now know what I want to say.
The other way is to relax and go do something else. Doing something mundane and every-day (washing up, having a shower, the laundry etc) clears my mind, which opens it up to the next creative spark that will prompt how to overcome whatever problem I was having. I do get a lot of ideas in the shower, which is a bit of a problem because I can't take a notebook and pen in with me − I just have to get done quickly! Oh, and going for a walk is always good. The mere act of putting one foot in front of the other, thinking about nothing in particular is a great way to clear my mind allowing ideas to form and inspiration to strike.
Terri George
I couldn't say exactly; ideas just seem to come to me. I know that sounds vague, but it's true. Something pops into my head: a line of dialogue or a situation and it grows from there. I must be influenced / inspired by something I've heard or read, but it's an unconscious thing so I never know exactly what sparked it off.
An example is where Nick and Mia are at the nightclub (chapter 21). That whole 'scene' started with Nick saying "That dress is ridiculous.". That one line of dialogue inspired 2471 words. I love it when that happens!
An example is where Nick and Mia are at the nightclub (chapter 21). That whole 'scene' started with Nick saying "That dress is ridiculous.". That one line of dialogue inspired 2471 words. I love it when that happens!
Terri George
I'd discovered the whole ER genre, loved it and just knew I wanted to write one.
This sounds a bit like a box ticking exercise, but I knew the story had to have certain elements:
Mia, my Heroine: I wanted her to be feisty and independent, certainly no über-girlie pushover and she had to have a job (that she loves and would be interesting to me and readers − I certainly had fun coming up with ideas for events) that allows her a certain amount of freedom, gets her out of the office and would bring her into contact with my Hero.
Nick, my Hero: Strong, an Alpha Male when he wants to be, drop-dead gorgeous (well duh); a man with a past and again he needs the freedom to come and go as he pleases so he has to be a self-employed businessman.
Once I'd got the outline of Mia and Nick, I built on the storyline, additional characters and plot from there.
I had intended it to be a duology, but I was 100,000 words into Beguiled and realised there was just too much story for 2 books. Beguiled ended up at 161,000 words as it is and if I'd kept it as 2 books they would have been unfeasibly long. So I changed where I had planned to break the story and it became a trilogy.
This sounds a bit like a box ticking exercise, but I knew the story had to have certain elements:
Mia, my Heroine: I wanted her to be feisty and independent, certainly no über-girlie pushover and she had to have a job (that she loves and would be interesting to me and readers − I certainly had fun coming up with ideas for events) that allows her a certain amount of freedom, gets her out of the office and would bring her into contact with my Hero.
Nick, my Hero: Strong, an Alpha Male when he wants to be, drop-dead gorgeous (well duh); a man with a past and again he needs the freedom to come and go as he pleases so he has to be a self-employed businessman.
Once I'd got the outline of Mia and Nick, I built on the storyline, additional characters and plot from there.
I had intended it to be a duology, but I was 100,000 words into Beguiled and realised there was just too much story for 2 books. Beguiled ended up at 161,000 words as it is and if I'd kept it as 2 books they would have been unfeasibly long. So I changed where I had planned to break the story and it became a trilogy.
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