Dee Brake
asked
Deborah Harkness:
For years I have had story ideas and actual characters in my head. I've never been able to effectively translate them to a written story (even for my own purposes--not necessarily publication). Have tried to start writing even the smallest parts down--but get caught up in the "boil the ocean" of writing the whole thing--and stop before I really start. Any tips based on your experience with fiction you can share?
Deborah Harkness
Books are written one word at a time. One page at a time. If you try to take on the whole book, you are bound to be overwhelmed. Just write *something*. A word will do for today. Put another word down tomorrow. Try for a sentence next week, then a paragraph, then a page. If you can write two pages a day, every day, for a year…well, you will have something the size of A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES at the end of it.
More Answered Questions
Stacy Brunner
asked
Deborah Harkness:
Would you ever consider teaching an open online course on the history surrounding your trilogy? I loved how you connected a fictional story to real people and events of the past. I listened to Shadow of Night on audiobook with my ipad open looking up details on all the historical figures. It would be fun to have a guide taking me through the history, culture, art, society of Europe in the 1590s.
Mandy
asked
Deborah Harkness:
I love the depth of research apparent in your books. The thing that always blows me away is the science talk. Can you tell us a little bit about if you already had science leanings or if you had to do a bunch of extra research to make Matthew, Miriam and Marcus sound so real?
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