Dan

Dan asked Mark Lawrence:

Yo Miggity Mark, What would you say to an aspiring author who knows that their prose sucks? Was the development of your prose and style a conscious effort? Peace, DFO

Mark Lawrence I'd tell them to write an awesome story. Most readers don't really care about prose - it's mainly us writers who do that. Many of the world's most successful authors have very pedestrian prose but are fantastic storytellers.

I don't think anyone makes a conscious effort to develop a style ... just an effort to write something they're happy with. I wrote poetry before I wrote stories. That may be a factor in the way I write now.

More Answered Questions

Blessing Njodzi

Blessing Njodzi asked Mark Lawrence:

I write two stories a week, started off with one every Sunday for 3 months. Total 5 months now of continuous writing. Somehow I have grown out of writing them (500 to 3000 word stories). I find myself writing longer, wanting series more. Is that a typical transition, did you ever experience such? Or it's just a phase or it will come back? Does reading novels more and less short stories affect that too?

Craig

Craig asked Mark Lawrence:

Hi Mark, love the series and I'm almost at the end. As a fellow author who wants to pants my way through a fantasy story but feels unsure, can you let me in a little bit on your process? I know you make it up once you've got a character but how much is just pantsed? The Broken Empire series has a number of twists that seem to be pre-planned.

Brian Smith

Brian Smith asked Mark Lawrence:

If you ever get to writing again about the brothers, theives and road scum they may be, I would love to hear more about Emmer. What we learned about him was so brief but so important and incredibly intriguing that I can't help but feel like we are missing an amazing story there. I'd happily pay 3 to 5 busks for a self published ebook short and think it a deal. Bring shorts back in style!?

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