Ask the Author: Nick R.B. Tingley
Answered Questions (8)
Nick R.B. Tingley
From a very young age, I loved the Chronicles of Narnia books. Something about that world seemed very real and yet very exotic at the same time. I would love to explore the Western Wild and walk all the way to Cair Paravel, before boarding a ship to the utter east...
Although I suppose I'd be just as content at seeing the giant inhabited Ettinsmoor...
Although I suppose I'd be just as content at seeing the giant inhabited Ettinsmoor...
Nick R.B. Tingley
There's only one event that really springs to mind - although it is less of a mystery and more of a drama.
The long and the short of it, I was living next door to a guy who had these incredible mood swings - so much in fact that I couldn't face seeing him because it always seemed like an uphill struggle having a conversation with him. Every so often he'd knock on the door asking to borrow money and then - one day - he just disappeared...
I never saw him again - but he was found dead from an aneurysm a few months after. I would never have the heart to write a book about it - it's far too personal for my liking - but it certainly felt like I was embroiled in one of my mysteries at the time. But I still see his face every so often...
The long and the short of it, I was living next door to a guy who had these incredible mood swings - so much in fact that I couldn't face seeing him because it always seemed like an uphill struggle having a conversation with him. Every so often he'd knock on the door asking to borrow money and then - one day - he just disappeared...
I never saw him again - but he was found dead from an aneurysm a few months after. I would never have the heart to write a book about it - it's far too personal for my liking - but it certainly felt like I was embroiled in one of my mysteries at the time. But I still see his face every so often...
Nick R.B. Tingley
I read and I listen. I have a great habit of being able to walk into a room and listen to everyone speaking around me without ever having to say a word. You hear the little quirks, the funny anecdotes... even the lies people tell and you store it for a rainy day.
Those little quirks that I pick up on are what allows my brain to subconsciously build characters in my mind. Then, one day, that character decides he's ready to go and the ideas begin to flow.
And walking helps.
Lots of walking.
Those little quirks that I pick up on are what allows my brain to subconsciously build characters in my mind. Then, one day, that character decides he's ready to go and the ideas begin to flow.
And walking helps.
Lots of walking.
Nick R.B. Tingley
I guess that depends on what stage I'm at in the writing process. If I've just finished a draft, it's usually my brain telling me to take a break for a while so I go away for a day or two (sometimes even a week) and do something else for a while before coming back to it.
If I'm in the middle of a story then something isn't quite working. I'll jump around and write the chapters that excite me and then try to go back again. If I'm still not feeling it, I try writing something else and then come back. If there is still no joy, then I go right back to the beginning and start completely from scratch until I find the enthusiasm and ideas again...
Writer's block is a horrible process, but you always have to consider that it might just be your brain telling you that what you've just written is naff...
If I'm in the middle of a story then something isn't quite working. I'll jump around and write the chapters that excite me and then try to go back again. If I'm still not feeling it, I try writing something else and then come back. If there is still no joy, then I go right back to the beginning and start completely from scratch until I find the enthusiasm and ideas again...
Writer's block is a horrible process, but you always have to consider that it might just be your brain telling you that what you've just written is naff...
Nick R.B. Tingley
My most recent book was a bit of diversion from my normal writing. In the run up to the centenary of the start of World War 1, I was having a discussion with a colleague of mine about what type of writing we struggle with. We very quickly identified that mine was writing poetry so my friend decided to challenge me to create a book of poetry in a set period of time.
I suspect, in hindsight, that he was expecting me to produce a book of funny poems as I write comic songs from time to time. However, I was already looking for a way of honouring those who fought in World War 1 and thought this would be a great opportunity to tackle both objectives in one go. The result is Grey Skies and Broken Branches which, to date, has received a fair amount of good reviews and has been praised for its ability to replicate some of the poetry from that era.
Needless to say, my colleague is still expecting me to write a book of comic verse... maybe one day.
I suspect, in hindsight, that he was expecting me to produce a book of funny poems as I write comic songs from time to time. However, I was already looking for a way of honouring those who fought in World War 1 and thought this would be a great opportunity to tackle both objectives in one go. The result is Grey Skies and Broken Branches which, to date, has received a fair amount of good reviews and has been praised for its ability to replicate some of the poetry from that era.
Needless to say, my colleague is still expecting me to write a book of comic verse... maybe one day.
Nick R.B. Tingley
Someone recently answered this question by saying that the best thing about being a writer was about getting all the voices out of their head and I'm inclined to agree. Being a writer is about two things. 1) Getting that plot and those characters out of your head and on to the page. 2) About refining those characters and plots until you have something that you can call a story.
The best bit of that process by a long way is getting that story out of your head so you can your mind up a bit. There is something fantastically therapeutic about getting that story that you've had bouncing around in there and putting it down on the page, no matter in what terrible or brilliant form it may be in. That feeling of your idea being safe enough that you can let it go is what drives me forward I think and, so far, I haven't found a similar experience that can top it...
The best bit of that process by a long way is getting that story out of your head so you can your mind up a bit. There is something fantastically therapeutic about getting that story that you've had bouncing around in there and putting it down on the page, no matter in what terrible or brilliant form it may be in. That feeling of your idea being safe enough that you can let it go is what drives me forward I think and, so far, I haven't found a similar experience that can top it...
Nick R.B. Tingley
A lot of writers labour under the idea that the creative part of telling a story is getting that first draft done. To a certain extent I find that is true in the sense that you need to get that story out of your head and on to paper. But for me the real creativity comes with the edit which is where I turn my mashed up collection of words and ideas into a strong and coherent story. So many writers just think of the edit as correcting the spelling and punctuation (and don't get me wrong that is hugely important), but that is not the be all and end all of it. If you don't embrace the edit in the same way you embrace your first draft, you're not really doing your best for the readers.
So if I had to say anything I'd say, treat your edit with the same respect as your first draft - what you do in the edit can really make or break your story.
So if I had to say anything I'd say, treat your edit with the same respect as your first draft - what you do in the edit can really make or break your story.
Nick R.B. Tingley
I am currently working on a crime fiction novella called 'The Bluebell Informant' which I am hoping to release early next year.
It follows the story of Detective Sergeant Evelyn Giles, a Metropolitan detective who is called down to a Kentish town to help the local police in their enquiries about a murdered man. The chief suspect is a man that Giles despises and she has no compunction about bringing him down. But when he turns out to be holding on to vital information about one of her cases, Giles is faced with a dilemma.
Does she allow justice to take its course, or does she fight to let him escape justice?
It follows the story of Detective Sergeant Evelyn Giles, a Metropolitan detective who is called down to a Kentish town to help the local police in their enquiries about a murdered man. The chief suspect is a man that Giles despises and she has no compunction about bringing him down. But when he turns out to be holding on to vital information about one of her cases, Giles is faced with a dilemma.
Does she allow justice to take its course, or does she fight to let him escape justice?
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