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What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
Very little. I do what’s necessary to make the setting/character/etc. believable, which is a good method to increase focus. For instance, my next book will be about a radio ad exec who has a late-night show, so I needed to get an idea of what a studio layout is like, how the schedule runs, who he would naturally come into contact with during the course of a day, that sort of thing.
I research everything else as I go, screeching to a halt if necessary. If I plow ahead, everything from that point on might be based on falsity, and the hardest things to edit are bloopers. It’s not just about fixing the mistakes, it’s about trying to remember the consequences of the change, like character reactions. You might end up with new bloopers!
Do you see writing as a career?
As romantic as it sounds, I don’t think I’d enjoy it. I don’t want writing to become a chore; it shouldn’t feel like a job. Even if I were lucky enough to sell a lot of books, there’s no guaranteed salary, no benefits. I’d rather not rely on my passion to put bread on the table.
Though I’d like to give the bestseller thing a shot and live high on the hog. My cheese addiction gets expensive.
Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
Silence, unless the noise isn’t directed at me. For example, in The Beforetimes, I attended film festivals that lasted the better part of a day. Between movies, I’d take my iPad and keyboard to a café, have a nosh, and write for a few hours.
Once I spent the wee hours in the back of a Subway, bogarting wifi from the closed Dunkies next door while I waited for my husband to get out of a midnight showing of Opera.
When you’re surrounded by the din of other people involved in their own lives, it’s great for inspiration. You hear so many snippets of conversation, different accents, tones and turns of phrase.
It’s also a good way to avoid procrastination: if you stare at a blank screen too long, you just look like a nutter.
Thanks for hosting me!
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