Pulkit Goyal
asked
Mark Lawrence:
When you are writing or reading a book, does it ever happen that you are so engrossed in the plot that it keeps playing over and over in your head or you keep imagining how it will unfold when you try to sleep? How do you cope with it?
Mark Lawrence
Certainly I will have a great many possibilities for what happens next vying for attention, especially when I'm doing things that require little attention, such as walking somewhere, digging the garden, falling asleep etc. It never seems like something I have to cope with - it's very useful to me. Many great ideas come to me in empty moments, many story problems solve themselves. I try to note them down in a line or two, or commit them to memory so I will remember them when I wake up. The worst thing is to have a great idea and then forget it before I have a chance to record it.
More Answered Questions
Acciaio Aldo
asked
Mark Lawrence:
I have read both trilogies. I really enjoyed them. In Nona Grey, the scene of the test of the shield and the test of fire of the Abbess Glass was one of the most emotional moments I have read in a fantasy book. When you finished writing it, were you satisfied? Did you write it in one go? Or did you change it several times?
Thomas
asked
Mark Lawrence:
Afternoon, Mark. Do you have any tips on discovery writing? I've written two novels now that feel so 'meh' using extensive outlining. I'm writing a third, but I'm already losing steam following the outline. There's just no life or finesse in my work--nothing jumps off the page. I want to be able to write more character focused. However, I think of sitting down to write with nothing to follow, and it scares me :)
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