You know when you lie in bed daydreaming about some of your favourite memories? I was doing that the other day, remembering the time I chatted to Harold Pinter. Because of the university I went to, I got to meet several writers when I was younger. So, in 1994, Pinter came to open a new theatre. I know it was 1st April yesterday but I kid you not – he was a really nice guy. I doubt if he wanted to spend a couple of minutes chatting to an undergraduate but he didn’t show it! Have you ever met one of your heroes? Getting to meet one of mine was amazing – in fact it was so inspiring it’s fair to say it changed my life – and I’ll always be so grateful for that.
Funnily enough my wife and I often end up going on behind the scenes tours when we’re on holiday, now I come to think about it. We’ve been behind the scenes at the Carlsberg factory in Copenhagen, and at the home of Guinness in Dublin. We went on the Ice Wine tour when we were in Niagara Falls, and learnt about the history of wine making at the Palais des Papes in Avignon, while we were on honeymoon. (Why all these involved sampling local beverages I have no idea!)
That brings me to the point of this post. Recently someone asked me to share the ‘behind the scenes’ of my novel writing process. And I could do with some accountability – so I actually turn up and write. So I’m going to share the process with you.
In other words, you get to share my novel writing journey. You’ll get a live report of how it’s going every week: a glimpse behind the scenes, as it were. And I promise to be honest. So, I’d like you to let me know what you’d most like to find out about. (Yes, I know I’m not Harold Pinter, but you get to ask me questions for longer than two minutes if you want to.)
“I’d like to know how you start.”
“Where do you write?”
“Where do you get your inspiration?”
“How do you stay motivated?”
“Do you write every day?”
“How do you know when it’s finished?”
“How do you go about marketing your book?”
These are some of the questions I’ve had so far on my Facebook page. If you’d like to get updates each week on how it’s going, then sign up to my mailing list by click on the link to get the free short story – it’s blue and at the top of the screen on most pages of my website, including this one. (Scroll back up!) Then you’ll be sure to get updates.