Ask the Author: Roger Clarke
Answered Questions (8)
Roger Clarke
Hi R - my story I wrote aged 15 was called Pond Weed - written in 1979 and published in 1981 in the 22nd Pan Book of Horror Stories. I hope that helps.
Roger Clarke
Yes it is indeed me! I'll send you an email... R
Roger Clarke
I know it's a cliche but this really is the book I always wanted to write! I was obsessed with ghost stories as a kid and grew up in not one but TWO haunted houses. From the age of about 8 I became an expert on the subject and by the time I was 14 was corresponding with the most famous ghost hunters of 1970's England and even getting mentioned in their books. I joined the Society for Psychical Research at that point too, in the days you had to be proposed and seconded for this very august Victorian institution. When I went to university I considered my interest in ghosts suddenly rather an embarrassment, a kind of intellectual failure. It wasn't until I reached my forties and there was new interest in some of the ghost stories I wrote back then that i decided to revisit the whole subject after a gap of 40 years.
Roger Clarke
I think any writer will tell you the same - you need a routine, even if it's just half an hour a day, where you know you'll always be writing. It's amazing how those daily efforts build up. Plus the muse know where to find you.
Roger Clarke
I'm working on a possible TV project around my book 'Ghosts' - and I'm working on a novel too. A ghost story, of course!
Roger Clarke
I know it's difficult but you do need feedback from experienced people, not necessarily your peers. You need advice. You need to practice. Try all the forms - plays, poetry, essays, stories. One can write alone for a while but in the end every writer wants to be read. Oh and a final word - nothing you write is EVER wasted. I've worked on whole books that never happened only for them to reappear in something else at a later date.
Roger Clarke
When I was a little boy before I learned to write, I scribbled pages and pages of pretend writing. I never wanted to be anything else but a writer. So I feel I'm just fulfilling my destiny/function depending on your world view
Roger Clarke
Wait it out and try to live your life as best you can - the main thing is not to fret about it too much. I had one that lasted news so I know all about them!
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