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Live Event with Shaun Jeffrey - 25/11/11
message 201:
by
Patti (baconater)
(new)
Nov 25, 2011 12:48PM
I had sent several questions to Shaun earlier so he had time to ponder then. Should I ask them or will they appear?
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No Patti you go ahead, Shaun will reply :) He's in trouble if he doesn't !
Patti (Totally Bananas) wrote: "I had sent several questions to Shaun earlier so he had time to ponder then. Should I ask them or will they appear?"I'll post them and the replies if you wish?
uh oh I think goodreads is having problems. My last message was 5 minutes ago then I refresh and it was only 3 minutes ago !
These were Patti's questions:Which of your books should I read first and why?
That would depend on what you like. Evilution, Deadfall and Fangtooth are more horror orientated, whereas The Kult and Killers are more psychological thriller.
Which of your books is your personal favourite and why?
The Kult. It took me so long to write that novel, and it went through so many changes, but when it all fell into place it just felt ‘right’ if that makes sense.
Which was easiest to write and why?
I don’t find writing any of them easy. I struggle to find the right words.
Which was most difficult?
See above answer. They were all difficult. Writing doesn’t come naturally to me, and I’ll take ages to write a couple of pages.
Which of your characters do you truly dislike? Which would you like to share a pint with?
To be honest I don’t truly dislike any of them. I mean strange as it seems, I created them, so they’re all my children in a way, faults and all. In that respect, I’d share a pint with any of them. Although i may have to watch some of them very carefully, if you know what I mean?
If anyone else is hiding at the back of the room, please feel free to ask me anything you'd like ;)
What's happening? Where is everyone? I'm scared! Lorraine HELP.
Philip (sarah) wrote: "What's happening? Where is everyone? I'm scared! Lorraine HELP."I'm here. Muhaahaha
Lol we won't tell social services about your progeny creating havoc and turning into criminals Shaun, don't worry ! Thanks Patti for the questions !Ok maybe we'll just move on ... ;ooks like the questions about The Kult and Killers have more or less all been asked, so now we're moving on to Shaun's other works :) I had planned two parts, but we might as well group other novels and short stories together :)
What advice would you give to someone wanting to become an author?
Lol nothing for 5 minutes then 5 posts all at once lol ! My organisation skills totally suck !
Katy wrote: "What advice would you give to someone wanting to become an author?"Don't do it. Lol. Seriously though it's hard work with little reward for the most part. You have to really enjoy writing in and of itself above all else, because if you don't then it's going to make it harder. Also read a lot. Then write a lot. Then read some more. Also read books on writing. Then put it all aside and just start writing. Everyone starts somewhere. And don't worry, after the first million or so words, your writing will hopefully improve.
Sorry! Typical internet burp!
I think it's Goodreads Lorraine,don't worry you are doing great.Respect!
Hi guys, so sorry I'm late!! I don't know if someone asked already, but did you write the screenplay for The Kult for the film people?
Philip (sarah) wrote: "I think it's Goodreads Lorraine,don't worry you are doing great.Respect!"Thanks Sarah :) x
To further my reply, Katy, I think I wrote four novels before Evilution, which was my first published one. They will never see the light of day.
Shaun wrote: "Don't do it. Lol. Seriously though it's hard work with little reward for the most part. You have to really enjoy writing in and of itself above all else, because if you don't then it's going to make it harder. Also read a lot. Then write a lot. Then read some more. Also read books on writing. Then put it all aside and just start writing. Everyone starts somewhere. And don't worry, after the first million or so words, your writing will hopefully improve. "Have you ever thought about not writing anymore?
Shaun wrote: "To further my reply, Katy, I think I wrote four novels before Evilution, which was my first published one. They will never see the light of day."Would you not think about maybe re-writing them one day?
Mhairi wrote: "Hi guys, so sorry I'm late!! I don't know if someone asked already, but did you write the screenplay for The Kult for the film people?"Hi Mhairi. No, I didn't write the screenplay. I read it and made some suggestions, but that was the only involvement I had.
Do you prefer writing with men (the Kult) or women (Deadfall) as the main characters?
Shaun wrote: "No, I didn't write the screenplay. I read it and made some suggestions, but that was the only involvement I had. "You worked on a screenplay though, is it much different to writing books?
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Have you ever thought about not writing anymore? "I don't really think about it. Sometimes I don't write for weeks or even months though, but I always start again. When I was commuting to work, a round trip of 110 miles a day, I didn't write a word for five years!
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Shaun wrote: "To further my reply, Katy, I think I wrote four novels before Evilution, which was my first published one. They will never see the light of day."Would you not think about maybe re-w..."
In a word, no. There's maybe one that's salvageable, but whether I ever will look at it again I don't know.
Shaun wrote: "When I was commuting to work, a round trip of 110 miles a day, I didn't write a word for five years! ."Can't blame you that must have been exhausting in itself !
As Katy mentioned Deadfall, why the two different endings? How did they come about?
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Shaun wrote: "No, I didn't write the screenplay. I read it and made some suggestions, but that was the only involvement I had. "You worked on a screenplay though, is it much different to writing books?"
They both have the same structure, but with a novel you often have internal dialogue and you have to describe each scene, which you don’t have to do with a screenplay. Screenwriting is far more concerned with visuals, movement and speech than with the art of language.
Katy wrote: "Do you prefer writing with men (the Kult) or women (Deadfall) as the main characters?"
I don't really have a preference. I guess it's easier for me to write from a male perspective, but I hope I can open up to my feminine side too :)
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "As Katy mentioned Deadfall, why the two different endings? How did they come about?"The book was previously published, but I had rewritten the ending for the original book, so I thought people might be interested in reading the original ending. I’ve seen it done with films before, so I thought why not. I also tweaked parts of the story from the original novel, so hopefully this version is far better.
Do you find it easy to write the gory scenes, or do you really have to think about it? (:Sorry Shaun, I seem to be bombarding you with questions! Maybe I should take a break.... haha
I'm late to the party and did skip after the first page, so hope i'm not repeating a ques you've answered 50 times already... what made you start writing or is it something you have always done?
Shaun wrote: "but I hope I can open up to my feminine side too :) "Lol - how far would you go to try to unlock your feminine side Shaun ?
Hi Kate and thanks for joining us :)
I'm sorry I have to go. This discussion has been really interesting. Thank you to everyone who was involved in organising it. Good luck with your future projects Shaun.
just to a question about unlocking feminine sides.... lol. why would i stay away!?! :)
Thanks E x Have a lovely evening ! x
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Shaun wrote: "but I hope I can open up to my feminine side too :) "Lol - how far would you go to try to unlock your feminine side Shaun ?"
Again, you'd have to see the photos ;)
Kate wrote: "I'm late to the party and did skip after the first page, so hope i'm not repeating a ques you've answered 50 times already... what made you start writing or is it something you have always done?"
Hi Kate. I suppose I started writing because I just thought it was something I could do. How wrong was I!!! At first you think everything you write is fantastic. The truth is it's not. But I persevered. And here I am, 20 odd years later. I'm not famous and I don't make a living from it, but I still enoy making stuff up :)
Katy wrote: "Do you find it easy to write the gory scenes, or do you really have to think about it? (:
Sorry Shaun, I seem to be bombarding you with questions! Maybe I should take a break.... haha"
No problem. That's what I'm here for. I don't have any problem writing gory scenes. Is that as wrong as it sounds? Lol
Stop teasing about the photos ! You know what you're in for, I'm going to be a pain until I get to see them !!!!
E A M Harris wrote: "I'm sorry I have to go. This discussion has been really interesting. Thank you to everyone who was involved in organising it. Good luck with your future projects Shaun."Thanks for taking part :)
Can I ask... I saw that some of your books were printed with luxury cover and trimmings, have you ever sold any? Why did you opt for this kind of books?
A little off topic.. (sorry Lorraine!) but which authors do you look up to? Who inspired you? (:
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Stop teasing about the photos ! You know what you're in for, I'm going to be a pain until I get to see them !!!!"Lol
Katy wrote: "A little off topic.. (sorry Lorraine!) but which authors do you look up to? Who inspired you? (:"That's ok Katy, actually I had a question from Eastwood along the same lines, haven't got to ask his questions yet :)
Katy wrote: "A little off topic.. (sorry Lorraine!) but which authors do you look up to? Who inspired you? (:"My favourite authors are Graham Masterton, Stephen King and Richard Laymon. When I started reading books, I read a lot of the Pan Books of Horror, which were short story anthologies. They probably warped my mind. Lol
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Can I ask... I saw that some of your books were printed with luxury cover and trimmings, have you ever sold any? Why did you opt for this kind of books?"
I don't sell them myself. They are published by Dark Regions, and yes, they do sell them. There was a very limited deluxe edition of Fangtooth, which had 13 copies printed. They all sold out.
Shaun wrote: "Katy wrote: "I don't sell them myself. They are published by Dark Regions, and yes, they do sell them. There was a very limited deluxe edition of Fangtooth, which had 13 copies printed. They all sold out. "Awesome ! So you don't actually get to know how much of your books they sell, do you?
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Awesome ! So you don't actually get to know how much of your books they sell, do you? "I will when they send me a sales report. Again though, by self publishing I know instantly when something sells!
Got some other questions from Eastwood, here they come :)First one: Where do your ideas come from and how do you create them to paper?
Lorraine SPOILER CODE IN THE FIRST POST wrote: "Got some other questions from Eastwood, here they come :)First one: Where do your ideas come from and how do you create them to paper?"
My ideas arise from anything that sparks my interest. It might be a news report, a picture, a snippet of conversation. Anything that conjures a 'what if' scenario. Then when I have an idea, I just expand upon it to create a story.
Eastwood (do you feel lucky punk, well do ya ) asks: How do you build a story from scratch and create characters.There are some other questions which have already had a reply above, so I'll spare your fingers for now :) There are still a couple of mine coming !
Must interject, sorry! Have any conversations with fans given you a 'eureka' moment?
