The Author Interviews, Round 1: #3: Will Patching
The Author Interviews continue with Will Patching, author ofMutilated: A British Crime Thriller.
You can take only three items to your secret island. What would you take? Why?My guitar, a fully equipped solar powered fishing boat(!) and my laptop. There is internet on my secret island too…Who is your favourite author? Why?I don’t have a favourite, although over the years there are hundreds of books and authors I have ‘loved’. You see, for me, reading is so personal that a book read in one mood, or at one stage in my life, may not have the same effect at a later date when I am feeling differently or my circumstances have changed.Swinging in a hammock on a sunny tropical beach supping a beer invites a different ‘favourite’ to a book devoured while snuggled on the sofa, relaxing beside a roaring fire, the wind howling outside, and the air chilled with an ominous damp.I do have favourite genres – crime fiction, suspense, psychological thrillers, adventure thrillers and murder mystery. Hence I write across that whole spectrum, though my books are not limited to just one category.Where do you get your ideas?Ideas are not in short supply – just scanning a newspaper or news website throws up dozens, as does ‘people watching’, sitting in a cafe wondering what a couple may be chatting about, and which one is having an illicit affair. Or, maybe deciding the barista is a serial killer who keeps dead bodies in his bedroom to cuddle at night. You know, normal stuff that everyone thinks about…The problem is determining which ideas might form the basis for an exciting and interesting story. For me, the simplest way to decide is to create an underlying theme for each of my novels, one that is woven through the pages, impacting the plot and the characters’ behaviour in a way that binds it all together.In Remorseless, my first British Crime Thriller, the theme I chose is ‘guilt’ and how it affects us all – from someone suffering too much of it, through to someone incapable of feeling it at all. My protagonist, a forensic psychiatrist, blames himself for the death of his wife and consequently struggles to maintain his sanity as his subconscious mind torments him. This guilt ridden character is in direct contrast to my psychopath, who, by definition, cannot experience feelings of guilt, of remorse – hence the title of the book. The plot also contains a mystery element, with questions about who really was guilty of a double murder, and each of the other main characters has some internal struggle with this emotion too.The reader may be blissfully unaware of this theme, but I find this approach helps create a coherent whole, and aids the process of writing. In Mutilated, the newly released sequel to Remorseless, I chose ‘the abuse of power’ as a theme. The Hack, the first novel in a separate trilogy, explores ‘dissembling’, the masks people wear in public compared to their private – and sometimes criminal – lives. Like that evil barista…Why do you write?Well, in my ’umble opinion, creating characters and setting them running in a world that exists only inside your own mind is one of the most rewarding activities any creative person can undertake. This is particularity so when they come to life, and start doing things that the writer did not expect!The real surprise for me was the discovery that it is possible to become so emotionally attached to these fictitious characters that they become almost impossible to kill off. Not a good thing in murder mystery…When characters come to life to such a degree that they surprise the author, well, the chances are the reader is going to find them similarly ‘real’ too. Hopefully they will also feel some empathy, some degree of attachment, and be similarly surprised by their actions. I hope so, anyway.Mind you, in Remorseless, a very dark, gritty crime thriller, we spend a great deal of time inside the head of a psychopath. Not much to empathize with there! Readers seem to find the experience uncomfortable but thrilling, a little like being strapped into a rollercoaster, blindfolded, not knowing where or when it will end.I find psychopaths fascinating, and, thanks to extensive research over the years, I am considered something of an expert now with a website dedicated to these creatures, so within each of my novels I aim to create characters with genuinely psychopathic traits. These are not the sugar coated Hollywood variety, the killer with the obligatory heart of gold, but the genuine article.This desire for realism means I describe some very dramatic and disturbing events, including many involving unemotional, yet truly vicious brutality. Hence my reviewers often warn other folk about my writing - ‘not for the faint hearted’ and ‘not for the squeamish’. Violence is not added for gratuitous shock effect, but to allow the reader insights which other authors sometimes shy away from.One of Amazon’s top reviewers said this about my writing: ‘Patching goes where other authors fear to tread’ - while also praising the way the issues were handled. Sharing my expertise about psychopaths, but in a way that is primarily about entertaining and thrilling the reader, is another reason I write.How do you deal with bad reviews, rejection and criticism?I try not to ‘deal with’ either - I try to ignore negative feedback!That’s not arrogance talking:The problem is that you can recieve ten great reviews, all four or five stars, singing your praises, then a one star comes along and re-affirms your worst fears. ‘I can’t write – I’m a terrible author!’ ‘Why do I bother?’ For the next few days you forget the ten positive reviews, but obsess about the opinion of one person, who, from the safety of an armchair and an anonymous internet connection, spewed some bile onto their retailer’s page. Maybe they were just in a bad mood, who knows?So, to avoid this self-flagellation, I try to read my reviews in batches, checking no more than every week or two, to see what people have to say. That way I can at least try not to allow the evil monster of self-criticism to rear its head too frequently. It does help that I have hundreds of reviews for Remorseless (US and UK combined) averaging around 4.5 stars, and similar averages for my other novels, though from fewer readers.Having said that, I saw the Amazon India page has a single review for Remorseless – a one star as it is ‘too violent’. Oh well, I won’t be selling many books there, then!What do you find difficult about writing?Apart from deciding on a theme, until this year (2017) I was only writing part time, so found it difficult to get the space I needed to write the novels I felt I had bubbling away inside me. Mutilated launched in December 2016, and this year I hope to finish two more novels, now that I am full time. However, the books are longer than average (125k words plus) as I personally like novels with complex characters and intricate plots, rather than quick-read thrills, so they take a lot of research and work to complete.Getting started is an issue for me too. I don’t write copious notes on characters or plots, but have ideas based on my theme that I encourage to propagate during the lead in phase – which lasts months. Actually opening up a brand new document, and then typing the first words, is something of a hurdle, but once I start, the ideas generally flow.The other difficulty is editing, rewriting, proofing etc. Much of this I do myself, then offer beta readers a ‘final’ draft to give feedback, then edit again, then have a pro editor/proofreader check it over. That lot is time consuming and not an easy process for any indie author.Do you ever outsource (editing and cover design) your work?I have a professional proof reader who is also an editor, but his view is that my novels don’t need editing by the time he sees them, though do need proofing. As for covers, well, I create the initial design, choose the images, then send them to my cover designer to knock into shape.What is your opinion on the indie vs traditional publishing argument?I think there is a lot of snobbery and resentment from established authors because they had to jump through hoops to get a publishing contract, with the result that some of them look down on indies as inferior, unworthy of publication. Not ‘proper authors’.A recent Huffington post article by one such author said that ‘indie writing is an insult to the written word’. Her view was that the general public needs the old gatekeepers – the publishing houses and their editors and scouts - to filter the mass of written words from authors of all genres to inform them of what is worth reading.Mmm. I disagree.Publishing houses are about profit, about branding super successful authors like James Patterson and Lee Child, thereby maximising their returns from those ‘brand names’ by pushing them above all others. New authors ‘chosen’ by said gatekeepers occasionally bubble up and join these lofty ranks, but many more languish in the lower echelons and, despite their precious publishing deals, make barely enough to live. The old system stinks.The great joy of the new publishing world has been the freedom for authors to write in sub-genres and cross-genres that the gatekeepers ignored as ‘unprofitable niches’ - just look at the growth of adult erotica and steampunk-vampire-romance novels, to mention just two.Of course, there are some books published by indies that would, and probably should, have got no further than the agent’s slush pile in the old days, but does that matter? If a book is no good, no one will read it, or if they do, the reviews will be terrible, and bear in mind the customer can return the book if it is not what they expected. No one loses. Apart from the shareholders and executives of the big publishing houses.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish.Firstly, there is no ‘finish’. I think all books are really a work in progress, and the great thing about digital publishing is that a novel can be refreshed, edited to include up to date events, and tinkered with to take account of reader feedback. In the past, a book was done and dusted the moment the publisher hit the ‘print’ button to start the presses rolling, but no more.My process involves a lot of thinking about ideas and themes, researching, drinking coffee, more thinking/researching, more coffee, and, eventually, a blank page as a starting point. In the past, I hand wrote the first draft, but now I type directly into a computer. I found that change of approach very difficult to start with, as I ended up editing as I go rather than furiously scribbling to capture my thoughts, but now I am just as comfortable using word processing software from the outset.Once the first draft is done, I ignore it for a month or more, to give my brain a chance to recover and gain some distance. I drink lots of coffee in this phase while trying not to think about my story, then start editing. Mutilated went through about fifteen editing ‘passes’, including three where I read the entire novel out loud to make sure the dialogue and narrative flowed. With long novels, this is time consuming, but worth it. Also, if I am still suitably enthralled by the story after so many read throughs, I can only hope that new readers will be too.What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Write. Get your story down.There is no such thing as a bad first draft – just a bad blank sheet of paper. Fill the first one, then fill lots more. Let the story flow, don’t allow your inner critic to stop you or make you hesitate along the way.Once you have that first draft, you have something to work with, to edit, to cut, to reshape and mould into a final masterpiece.In the immortal words of the ancient shoe god, Nike:Just do it!Many thanks to Will Patching for this interview - to show your support please consider purchasing a copy of the book, as below:
You can take only three items to your secret island. What would you take? Why?My guitar, a fully equipped solar powered fishing boat(!) and my laptop. There is internet on my secret island too…Who is your favourite author? Why?I don’t have a favourite, although over the years there are hundreds of books and authors I have ‘loved’. You see, for me, reading is so personal that a book read in one mood, or at one stage in my life, may not have the same effect at a later date when I am feeling differently or my circumstances have changed.Swinging in a hammock on a sunny tropical beach supping a beer invites a different ‘favourite’ to a book devoured while snuggled on the sofa, relaxing beside a roaring fire, the wind howling outside, and the air chilled with an ominous damp.I do have favourite genres – crime fiction, suspense, psychological thrillers, adventure thrillers and murder mystery. Hence I write across that whole spectrum, though my books are not limited to just one category.Where do you get your ideas?Ideas are not in short supply – just scanning a newspaper or news website throws up dozens, as does ‘people watching’, sitting in a cafe wondering what a couple may be chatting about, and which one is having an illicit affair. Or, maybe deciding the barista is a serial killer who keeps dead bodies in his bedroom to cuddle at night. You know, normal stuff that everyone thinks about…The problem is determining which ideas might form the basis for an exciting and interesting story. For me, the simplest way to decide is to create an underlying theme for each of my novels, one that is woven through the pages, impacting the plot and the characters’ behaviour in a way that binds it all together.In Remorseless, my first British Crime Thriller, the theme I chose is ‘guilt’ and how it affects us all – from someone suffering too much of it, through to someone incapable of feeling it at all. My protagonist, a forensic psychiatrist, blames himself for the death of his wife and consequently struggles to maintain his sanity as his subconscious mind torments him. This guilt ridden character is in direct contrast to my psychopath, who, by definition, cannot experience feelings of guilt, of remorse – hence the title of the book. The plot also contains a mystery element, with questions about who really was guilty of a double murder, and each of the other main characters has some internal struggle with this emotion too.The reader may be blissfully unaware of this theme, but I find this approach helps create a coherent whole, and aids the process of writing. In Mutilated, the newly released sequel to Remorseless, I chose ‘the abuse of power’ as a theme. The Hack, the first novel in a separate trilogy, explores ‘dissembling’, the masks people wear in public compared to their private – and sometimes criminal – lives. Like that evil barista…Why do you write?Well, in my ’umble opinion, creating characters and setting them running in a world that exists only inside your own mind is one of the most rewarding activities any creative person can undertake. This is particularity so when they come to life, and start doing things that the writer did not expect!The real surprise for me was the discovery that it is possible to become so emotionally attached to these fictitious characters that they become almost impossible to kill off. Not a good thing in murder mystery…When characters come to life to such a degree that they surprise the author, well, the chances are the reader is going to find them similarly ‘real’ too. Hopefully they will also feel some empathy, some degree of attachment, and be similarly surprised by their actions. I hope so, anyway.Mind you, in Remorseless, a very dark, gritty crime thriller, we spend a great deal of time inside the head of a psychopath. Not much to empathize with there! Readers seem to find the experience uncomfortable but thrilling, a little like being strapped into a rollercoaster, blindfolded, not knowing where or when it will end.I find psychopaths fascinating, and, thanks to extensive research over the years, I am considered something of an expert now with a website dedicated to these creatures, so within each of my novels I aim to create characters with genuinely psychopathic traits. These are not the sugar coated Hollywood variety, the killer with the obligatory heart of gold, but the genuine article.This desire for realism means I describe some very dramatic and disturbing events, including many involving unemotional, yet truly vicious brutality. Hence my reviewers often warn other folk about my writing - ‘not for the faint hearted’ and ‘not for the squeamish’. Violence is not added for gratuitous shock effect, but to allow the reader insights which other authors sometimes shy away from.One of Amazon’s top reviewers said this about my writing: ‘Patching goes where other authors fear to tread’ - while also praising the way the issues were handled. Sharing my expertise about psychopaths, but in a way that is primarily about entertaining and thrilling the reader, is another reason I write.How do you deal with bad reviews, rejection and criticism?I try not to ‘deal with’ either - I try to ignore negative feedback!That’s not arrogance talking:The problem is that you can recieve ten great reviews, all four or five stars, singing your praises, then a one star comes along and re-affirms your worst fears. ‘I can’t write – I’m a terrible author!’ ‘Why do I bother?’ For the next few days you forget the ten positive reviews, but obsess about the opinion of one person, who, from the safety of an armchair and an anonymous internet connection, spewed some bile onto their retailer’s page. Maybe they were just in a bad mood, who knows?So, to avoid this self-flagellation, I try to read my reviews in batches, checking no more than every week or two, to see what people have to say. That way I can at least try not to allow the evil monster of self-criticism to rear its head too frequently. It does help that I have hundreds of reviews for Remorseless (US and UK combined) averaging around 4.5 stars, and similar averages for my other novels, though from fewer readers.Having said that, I saw the Amazon India page has a single review for Remorseless – a one star as it is ‘too violent’. Oh well, I won’t be selling many books there, then!What do you find difficult about writing?Apart from deciding on a theme, until this year (2017) I was only writing part time, so found it difficult to get the space I needed to write the novels I felt I had bubbling away inside me. Mutilated launched in December 2016, and this year I hope to finish two more novels, now that I am full time. However, the books are longer than average (125k words plus) as I personally like novels with complex characters and intricate plots, rather than quick-read thrills, so they take a lot of research and work to complete.Getting started is an issue for me too. I don’t write copious notes on characters or plots, but have ideas based on my theme that I encourage to propagate during the lead in phase – which lasts months. Actually opening up a brand new document, and then typing the first words, is something of a hurdle, but once I start, the ideas generally flow.The other difficulty is editing, rewriting, proofing etc. Much of this I do myself, then offer beta readers a ‘final’ draft to give feedback, then edit again, then have a pro editor/proofreader check it over. That lot is time consuming and not an easy process for any indie author.Do you ever outsource (editing and cover design) your work?I have a professional proof reader who is also an editor, but his view is that my novels don’t need editing by the time he sees them, though do need proofing. As for covers, well, I create the initial design, choose the images, then send them to my cover designer to knock into shape.What is your opinion on the indie vs traditional publishing argument?I think there is a lot of snobbery and resentment from established authors because they had to jump through hoops to get a publishing contract, with the result that some of them look down on indies as inferior, unworthy of publication. Not ‘proper authors’.A recent Huffington post article by one such author said that ‘indie writing is an insult to the written word’. Her view was that the general public needs the old gatekeepers – the publishing houses and their editors and scouts - to filter the mass of written words from authors of all genres to inform them of what is worth reading.Mmm. I disagree.Publishing houses are about profit, about branding super successful authors like James Patterson and Lee Child, thereby maximising their returns from those ‘brand names’ by pushing them above all others. New authors ‘chosen’ by said gatekeepers occasionally bubble up and join these lofty ranks, but many more languish in the lower echelons and, despite their precious publishing deals, make barely enough to live. The old system stinks.The great joy of the new publishing world has been the freedom for authors to write in sub-genres and cross-genres that the gatekeepers ignored as ‘unprofitable niches’ - just look at the growth of adult erotica and steampunk-vampire-romance novels, to mention just two.Of course, there are some books published by indies that would, and probably should, have got no further than the agent’s slush pile in the old days, but does that matter? If a book is no good, no one will read it, or if they do, the reviews will be terrible, and bear in mind the customer can return the book if it is not what they expected. No one loses. Apart from the shareholders and executives of the big publishing houses.Talk us through your creative process from start to finish.Firstly, there is no ‘finish’. I think all books are really a work in progress, and the great thing about digital publishing is that a novel can be refreshed, edited to include up to date events, and tinkered with to take account of reader feedback. In the past, a book was done and dusted the moment the publisher hit the ‘print’ button to start the presses rolling, but no more.My process involves a lot of thinking about ideas and themes, researching, drinking coffee, more thinking/researching, more coffee, and, eventually, a blank page as a starting point. In the past, I hand wrote the first draft, but now I type directly into a computer. I found that change of approach very difficult to start with, as I ended up editing as I go rather than furiously scribbling to capture my thoughts, but now I am just as comfortable using word processing software from the outset.Once the first draft is done, I ignore it for a month or more, to give my brain a chance to recover and gain some distance. I drink lots of coffee in this phase while trying not to think about my story, then start editing. Mutilated went through about fifteen editing ‘passes’, including three where I read the entire novel out loud to make sure the dialogue and narrative flowed. With long novels, this is time consuming, but worth it. Also, if I am still suitably enthralled by the story after so many read throughs, I can only hope that new readers will be too.What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Write. Get your story down.There is no such thing as a bad first draft – just a bad blank sheet of paper. Fill the first one, then fill lots more. Let the story flow, don’t allow your inner critic to stop you or make you hesitate along the way.Once you have that first draft, you have something to work with, to edit, to cut, to reshape and mould into a final masterpiece.In the immortal words of the ancient shoe god, Nike:Just do it!Many thanks to Will Patching for this interview - to show your support please consider purchasing a copy of the book, as below:
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