Ask the Author: Chip Colquhoun
Answered Questions (9)
Chip Colquhoun
Deirdre's whole body jolted at the sound of the piercing, vicious, vengeful scream. She had heard it, she definitely had heard it – yet she had been entirely deaf since birth.
Chip Colquhoun
D'you know? I'd quite like to join Thursday Next in Jasper Fforde's inaugural series of books. A world where you can nip through time and fiction to answer this question in every way possible between breakfast and afternoon tea? Sounds perfect to me...!
Chip Colquhoun
I expect "Just do it!" will have been heard too often by those who ask this question, along with the suggestion that this proves it to be the best advice. But it's absolutely true: you'll never be a writer if you don't set aside the time to give it a go.
Second to that, though, is to remember that writing is not a solitary profession by nature. It can be, if the writer makes it so – but if your goal is to one day be read, appreciated, and/or paid, one of the most successful moves you can make is to find your writing community.
If you write in a genre, there will be a national community for you. If you write in a city/town, there will almost undoubtedly be a local writer's group you can join. If you use social media, you'll be able to find groups or hashtags of communities. Jump into them, and don't be afraid to share snippets of your work for criticism and encouragement – so long as you give back to that same community.
Personally, I'm a member of the Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, the Association of Christian Writers, the National Association of Writers in Education, the Crime Writers Association, the Authors Licencing and Collection Society, the National Centre for Writing's Springboard group, and the Society of Authors (which has multiple spin-off groups). Each one of these has provided a supportive hand at some point which, looking back, I couldn't have done without.
And if you only find one person, that's fine too! Ask if they'll be your accountability partner, and exchange prompts and encouragement to get writing! My writing career has improved dramatically since I had an accountability partner to share it with. They have turned that advice of "Just do it!" into "Done it. $;-) ...Now what?!"
Second to that, though, is to remember that writing is not a solitary profession by nature. It can be, if the writer makes it so – but if your goal is to one day be read, appreciated, and/or paid, one of the most successful moves you can make is to find your writing community.
If you write in a genre, there will be a national community for you. If you write in a city/town, there will almost undoubtedly be a local writer's group you can join. If you use social media, you'll be able to find groups or hashtags of communities. Jump into them, and don't be afraid to share snippets of your work for criticism and encouragement – so long as you give back to that same community.
Personally, I'm a member of the Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, the Association of Christian Writers, the National Association of Writers in Education, the Crime Writers Association, the Authors Licencing and Collection Society, the National Centre for Writing's Springboard group, and the Society of Authors (which has multiple spin-off groups). Each one of these has provided a supportive hand at some point which, looking back, I couldn't have done without.
And if you only find one person, that's fine too! Ask if they'll be your accountability partner, and exchange prompts and encouragement to get writing! My writing career has improved dramatically since I had an accountability partner to share it with. They have turned that advice of "Just do it!" into "Done it. $;-) ...Now what?!"
Chip Colquhoun
As mentioned elsewhere, I'm working on two books at the minute, but I've also got one coming out later this month. So...
The January one is a collection of short stories, storytelling advice, and lessons to help educators inspire children to read for pleasure. It was written to commission by the Dept for Education's English Hub, but it's basically a summation of everything I've done as a storyteller in schools that has turned reluctant readers into recreational readers.
The story involving Olly Close-Eye began as the collection of folk tales for which I had a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign with illustrator Korky Paul – but owing to its connection to Roald Dahl, which was dropped when the Dahl Story Company got bought by Netflix, I had to make some major changes. The young lad in the story is based on a real-life lad who fell in love with reading for the first time through the stories I'd written in that collection.
And the story about the girl in the suitcase? That's grown from a short story competition! I had one week to write an action adventure with the theme of 'clueless', where one character had to be an egotistical maniac. I fell in love with my lead character so much that I shared her story with a few other author friends, and they've encouraged me to build it into a novel... So I am! (NB: she's NOT the egotistical maniac...)
The January one is a collection of short stories, storytelling advice, and lessons to help educators inspire children to read for pleasure. It was written to commission by the Dept for Education's English Hub, but it's basically a summation of everything I've done as a storyteller in schools that has turned reluctant readers into recreational readers.
The story involving Olly Close-Eye began as the collection of folk tales for which I had a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign with illustrator Korky Paul – but owing to its connection to Roald Dahl, which was dropped when the Dahl Story Company got bought by Netflix, I had to make some major changes. The young lad in the story is based on a real-life lad who fell in love with reading for the first time through the stories I'd written in that collection.
And the story about the girl in the suitcase? That's grown from a short story competition! I had one week to write an action adventure with the theme of 'clueless', where one character had to be an egotistical maniac. I fell in love with my lead character so much that I shared her story with a few other author friends, and they've encouraged me to build it into a novel... So I am! (NB: she's NOT the egotistical maniac...)
Chip Colquhoun
Sharing thoughts with people you could never possibly meet in real-life, because they're too far away in space and/or time. It's a really humbling and tingly feeling thinking someone, somewhere, in 100+ years will come across your words and let you enter their head...
Chip Colquhoun
A few things! But the ones I'm most excited about? First, a story about a young lad who hates stories, but has to deal with a visit from Olly Close-Eye, the Norwegian sandman who won't stop telling him stories... and second, the adventure of a foster girl with extreme hypermobility who hides in a suitcase to surprise her favourite foster mum, but is then accidentally picked up by a man involved with a terrorist group!
Chip Colquhoun
Ah, well this is mystery behind my surname... I've shared this tale with a few folks already, and been encouraged to put it onto paper – so stick around, and no doubt you'll read it some day...!
Chip Colquhoun
I simply imagine my readers are with me, and begin thinking what I'd say to them if they asked me to tell them a story right there and then. Works every time. $;-)
Chip Colquhoun
What, at all? I just enjoy it!
It helps being a storyteller too, 'coz I get to meet my audiences face-to-face. Knowing I'm bringing them smiles – THAT's inspiration by the truckload. $;-)
It helps being a storyteller too, 'coz I get to meet my audiences face-to-face. Knowing I'm bringing them smiles – THAT's inspiration by the truckload. $;-)
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