Ask the Author: Mark White
Answered Questions (6)
Mark White
Hi JD,
It's a very interesting question that you ask. My two favourite horror authors when I was growing up were Stephen King and James Herbert, which as you know come from different sides of the Atlantic. Whilst it's difficult to describe how their work differs, it's fair to say that their writing is very different in many ways, and I think the main reasons are the setting and the language.
British horror authors (for example Adam Nevill, Susan Hill and Kate Mosse) tend in my experience to be slightly more descriptive in setting the scene and have a more literary style to their writing, whereas non-British authors are better at cutting to the chase and using a 'thriller' style of writing (shorter sentences etc). There are of course numerous exceptions to this, and I wouldn't want to overly stereotype.
I like both styles, but I think it's fair to say that British authors are less likely to be accepted by US readers than US authors by us British. Maybe that's why Stephen King, Dean Koontz and others are very popular in the UK, but writers like James Herbert never really took off in the US despite being hugely popular at home.
Hope that helps!
Mark
It's a very interesting question that you ask. My two favourite horror authors when I was growing up were Stephen King and James Herbert, which as you know come from different sides of the Atlantic. Whilst it's difficult to describe how their work differs, it's fair to say that their writing is very different in many ways, and I think the main reasons are the setting and the language.
British horror authors (for example Adam Nevill, Susan Hill and Kate Mosse) tend in my experience to be slightly more descriptive in setting the scene and have a more literary style to their writing, whereas non-British authors are better at cutting to the chase and using a 'thriller' style of writing (shorter sentences etc). There are of course numerous exceptions to this, and I wouldn't want to overly stereotype.
I like both styles, but I think it's fair to say that British authors are less likely to be accepted by US readers than US authors by us British. Maybe that's why Stephen King, Dean Koontz and others are very popular in the UK, but writers like James Herbert never really took off in the US despite being hugely popular at home.
Hope that helps!
Mark
Mark White
My idea for my most recent book, 'Career Break', came from a drunken discussion I had with some friends one Friday evening. We were all fed up with our jobs and having a good old fashioned moan about life in general. I woke up the following morning and thought: 'I should write a short story about a guy suffering from a mid-life crisis.' I had a few weeks to kill between edits of my first book, 'Shepherd's Cross', so got started immediately. Before I knew it, my short story had taken on a life of its own and had grown into a full-length novel. I never meant for it to turn out like that, but hey ho!
For me, ideas come when I'm least expecting them, and I'm cool with that. In my experience, the tricky part is training your brain to recognise good ideas when they do come along...because they always do.
For me, ideas come when I'm least expecting them, and I'm cool with that. In my experience, the tricky part is training your brain to recognise good ideas when they do come along...because they always do.
Mark White
Writing novels is, for me, like any other job (although I love this job!). What do I mean by that? Well, like any other job, writing takes discipline and a commitment to giving yourself to it 100%. My inspiration comes as soon as I turn on the PC and read yesterday's work. By the time I've thrown in a few minor edits, I'm ready to fire ahead with the next instalment!
Mark White
I'm working on my third novel, a supernatural thriller called 'Enter the Dead'. Having already written two novels that span two different genres, I am now fully committed to the horror / thriller genre. Why? Because that's what I most like to write, which I guess makes for a better book.
I hope to have Enter the Dead ready to send out to agents just before Easter 2015. I came really close to signing a traditional deal with my first two books, and that's the route I'm still hoping to end up going down. Then again, I'm selling really well on Amazon Kindle at the moment, so who knows...
I hope to have Enter the Dead ready to send out to agents just before Easter 2015. I came really close to signing a traditional deal with my first two books, and that's the route I'm still hoping to end up going down. Then again, I'm selling really well on Amazon Kindle at the moment, so who knows...
Mark White
My advice for aspiring writers is to really think about whether you are prepared to take the craft seriously. If you are, then commit to it...fully. If not, then shelve the plan for a while and read a few books and think some more about it.
I gave up my 'real' job almost two years ago to begin writing my first novel, Shepherd's Cross. I have now have two books selling well on Amazon, with a third on the way, and at last I have no hesitation in calling myself a writer when people ask me what I do for a living. What's more; I'm proud to call myself a writer, because I honestly believe it's the best job in the world (at least for me). But it took me a while to get to this point!
I gave up my 'real' job almost two years ago to begin writing my first novel, Shepherd's Cross. I have now have two books selling well on Amazon, with a third on the way, and at last I have no hesitation in calling myself a writer when people ask me what I do for a living. What's more; I'm proud to call myself a writer, because I honestly believe it's the best job in the world (at least for me). But it took me a while to get to this point!
Mark White
In my humble opinion, the best way of dealing with writer's block is to force yourself to write. I tend to write at least 1000 words each day (Monday to Friday) of whatever novel I'm working on. Some days the words seem to flow and before I know it it's lunchtime and I've managed 2000 or so words, and then other days I seem to struggle from the moment I turn on the PC. Nevertheless, I force myself to write, and sometimes the end result is poor, but that doesn't matter, because there is nearly always something decent I can use when it comes to the second draft.
So my advice for writer's block: keep writing until you hit that daily word quota.
So my advice for writer's block: keep writing until you hit that daily word quota.
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May 07, 2015 08:09AM · flag