Ask the Author: Nicholas King
Answered Questions (10)
Nicholas King
Good question. How I managed to get through my early 20s largely unscathed would be one.
Nicholas King
Good question. The quick answer is Middle-Earth, because it was the first fictional world I encountered as a kid that captured my attention. As I've gotten older and read more of the stories set there, it would be an interesting place to travel through. There's so much history and the descriptions of the world are both terrifying and awe-inspiring.
Nicholas King
First, understand that it's a long journey, not a short run.
Second, if this is your passion, pursue it regardless of any naysayers.
Third, put your butt in a chair and write.
The best piece of advice I ever received was from Johnny Atomic when I told him I wanted to be a writer. He said to me, "You know you suck, right?"
I nodded my head slowly, not quite getting what he was talking about.
"Good. If you know that you suck right now, you can get better. If you start off thinking you're already a great writer, you're never going to improve."
So, to aspiring writers: accept that you're not going to be a great writer right at the start. You're not supposed to be. But with time and practice, you can become great. It's a job. A fun job but still a job. Treat it like fun work and keep at it.
Second, if this is your passion, pursue it regardless of any naysayers.
Third, put your butt in a chair and write.
The best piece of advice I ever received was from Johnny Atomic when I told him I wanted to be a writer. He said to me, "You know you suck, right?"
I nodded my head slowly, not quite getting what he was talking about.
"Good. If you know that you suck right now, you can get better. If you start off thinking you're already a great writer, you're never going to improve."
So, to aspiring writers: accept that you're not going to be a great writer right at the start. You're not supposed to be. But with time and practice, you can become great. It's a job. A fun job but still a job. Treat it like fun work and keep at it.
Nicholas King
Finishing up The Last Wish (first short story collection for The Witcher series). I'm also going to be starting The Expanse series (love the TV show). From there, I'm probably going to start The Iron Druid Chronicles and perhaps finally get started on The Wheel of Time series (after my brother's been insisting I read it for twenty-some odd years now).
Nicholas King
Book one of The Atalante Chronicles has been released on Amazon after five years of work. I'm currently working on book two and have begun sending it out to some beta readers.
Nicholas King
Coming up with creative problems and solutions for your protagonist. For me, research is also the fun part. I love digging into local history and lore to find new and interesting items to throw into a story.
Nicholas King
Just keep writing. Writer's block is a thing but it's something every creative person will encounter at some stage. The best thing to do is keep working, keep creating, even when you are convinced everything you're doing is complete crap.
Nicholas King
I started writing short stories and fan-fiction when I was a teenager. Mainly X-Men and Crow fan-fiction. At the suggestion of my Mom, I went to college to get a degree in creative writing, which I achieved but also didn't really learn much about how to be an effective writer.
Nicholas King
The first time I considered writing an urban fantasy book was around 2006. I was convinced to go to college (which turned out to be a good idea, somewhat). After I graduated, a friend suggested I start reading the Dresden Files and other urban fantasy books. I was hooked and started working on my first manuscript.
Nicholas King
She woke to the sound of crying on the baby monitor. But that couldn't be, since the baby had died in its sleep the year before.
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