Ask the Author: Mark Mapstone
Answered Questions (5)
Mark Mapstone
1. Designate time in the day to write and stick to it, not letting anything else get in the way. I guard my writing time like my life depends on it.
2. I have a playlist per book and now whenever I hear it, I know it's time to write.
3. Treat each scene/chapter I've got to write as the most exciting part of the story. If I can't wait to write it, then the reader won't be excited to read it.
4. Walking around bookshops. A friend once told me they find that too intimidating. I find it inspiring. I think if they did it, I can too, and seconds later, I'm heading out the door off home to write something.
2. I have a playlist per book and now whenever I hear it, I know it's time to write.
3. Treat each scene/chapter I've got to write as the most exciting part of the story. If I can't wait to write it, then the reader won't be excited to read it.
4. Walking around bookshops. A friend once told me they find that too intimidating. I find it inspiring. I think if they did it, I can too, and seconds later, I'm heading out the door off home to write something.
Mark Mapstone
Understand that most writers never start; procrastinate too much and worry a lot about their story; edit their story to death for years; never actually finish anything let alone publish; after which they're spent and unable to put themselves through the whole shit-show again.
You must vow not to be like this.
These are Heinlein's Rules for writing and I follow them religiously.
Rule One: You Must Write. ...
Rule Two: Finish What You Start. ...
Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order. ...
Rule Four: You Must Put Your Story on the Market. ...
Rule Five: You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold. ...
Rule Six: Start Working on Something Else.
You must vow not to be like this.
These are Heinlein's Rules for writing and I follow them religiously.
Rule One: You Must Write. ...
Rule Two: Finish What You Start. ...
Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order. ...
Rule Four: You Must Put Your Story on the Market. ...
Rule Five: You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold. ...
Rule Six: Start Working on Something Else.
Mark Mapstone
It's a great feeling that the massive, intricate, and vivid lie I've written is now out there available for people to buy, earning me money for the rest of my life, and (because the way copyright laws are set up) 70 years after my death.
Mark Mapstone
Through National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). I think I read about it in the paper during Oct, and made up my mind there and then that I'd give it a go. I was not much of a writer before that, barely read any books (only some non-fiction and work/business stuff), and knew next to nothing about fiction. However, I loved the idea of being able to tell someone that I'd written a book. I had no idea how to actually do it. When I read about the nanowrimo approach of writing 1667 words a day for 30 days, I thought, I can do that. So 30 days later I had a crappy first draft. I packed it away, because I had no-idea what to do with it. The following year, I did it again, and the next, and the next and the next. It felt like my own personal London Marathon every year. They're still sitting on a hard drive somewhere, and I doubt they'll ever surface. Either way, it got me to start wondering if I could actually do this properly.
Mark Mapstone
Firstly, there are two types of writers' block:
The first is procrastination because one doesn't know what to write, are nervous about their ideas, or are just a novice at what they're doing. This is really common and many writers have this block at some stage in their life. Freeing yourself from it could be as simple as starting to free-write (dump) words on a page in the morning, and vow to never show it to anyone. This freedom can get the writing muscle moving.
Not knowing what to write about or believing your idea sucks, is also common. The way around this is to think of the start of your story as scaffolding: it will be edited out later. The blank page is a real battle to get past so it's good to think of the start as a run-up, which you can change later.
Planning can really help with this form of writers' block. I have found that planning really helps me. I can come to the page anywhere in the story and start writing if I've planned out the chapter. I have banished the word 'stuck' from my vocabulary by planning.
The second type of Writers' Block is much more serious. It's a form of depression or mental health. This can happen with successful debut authors who feel paralysed by the pressure to succeed again. This can also happen with writers who are going through some difficult issues at home which completely takes over their mind. Creativity will often go out the window for as long as this concern lasts and it may take years. There's nothing anyone else can say or do until time or therapy has worked its magic.
So, that's it. Luckily, I've never been depressed and only have to deal with a little worry over my idea or the blank page.
The first is procrastination because one doesn't know what to write, are nervous about their ideas, or are just a novice at what they're doing. This is really common and many writers have this block at some stage in their life. Freeing yourself from it could be as simple as starting to free-write (dump) words on a page in the morning, and vow to never show it to anyone. This freedom can get the writing muscle moving.
Not knowing what to write about or believing your idea sucks, is also common. The way around this is to think of the start of your story as scaffolding: it will be edited out later. The blank page is a real battle to get past so it's good to think of the start as a run-up, which you can change later.
Planning can really help with this form of writers' block. I have found that planning really helps me. I can come to the page anywhere in the story and start writing if I've planned out the chapter. I have banished the word 'stuck' from my vocabulary by planning.
The second type of Writers' Block is much more serious. It's a form of depression or mental health. This can happen with successful debut authors who feel paralysed by the pressure to succeed again. This can also happen with writers who are going through some difficult issues at home which completely takes over their mind. Creativity will often go out the window for as long as this concern lasts and it may take years. There's nothing anyone else can say or do until time or therapy has worked its magic.
So, that's it. Luckily, I've never been depressed and only have to deal with a little worry over my idea or the blank page.
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