Questions for Freda Warrington

[scalem X]

part A; don't read when in a hurry :Mmm damn I always seem to come to find interesting stuff very late, I blame the fact that I have to study constantly because I don't study enough, yeah doesn't make sense. Not that I hate learning Japanese, it's fun, but time consuming damnit and (*insert random rant about other languages like traditional chinese and courses that I have trouble studying*).

B:Mmm your books look pretty interesting, must remember name when I have the time to get to a bookshop and must also find time to read it afterwards (see part A for further info concerning time). I usually ask authors about translations, but well for a change:
How do you do your research? Do you start with files bulking with info about the subject and plot outlines who run all across the room or is it in your mind and do you look something up when you need it?

C: Mmm Welcome to chronicles lolz, late and weird, but since it's at the end of the post it's too late to realize you shouldn't have bothered reading on. Since I've wasted your time (see part A how time loss affects your life), I feel sorry and should warn you:

warning:

Chronicles-network may bring huge hazard to your time schedule
But in a pleasant way

[Freda]

Hi Scalem - Japanese eh, good for you!

I try to keep research to a minimum and tend to look things up when I need them. It eats into writing time so massively. While I TRY to avoid inaccuracies, I'm more interested in creating story and atmosphere - eg the 1920s flavour of the vampire books - than obsessing over historical or technical detail.

I had to do a massive amount of research about Richard III for Court of the Midnight King and really it was a bit of a nightmare. The more you learn, the more you realise there is to learn - I could have spent ten years researching and never written a word! Setting it in a parallel world helped me get away with quite a lot! I don't think I would tackle another historical story for that reason. A friend of mine was once writing a wonderful period novel but unfortunately the 'facts' got in the way of the story she wanted to tell and she gave up in the end... such a shame!

Thanks for the time warning! I already know!

[G_wolf_P]

Hello all. I am new to this place, but I have read some of Freda's works. Thus, consequently I have some questions.
First and foremost I loved "Dark Cathedral" and "Pagan Moon". I have to say that I connected so well with Morgan (as well as the other characters) That I instantly developed a deep respect for your works and writing style. So this leads me to my,perhaps, obvious question.
"What, or who was your inspiration for Morgan?"
The way you portray him touches on almost all aspects of my life, and if you pulled him completly from you head I applaud you full well on your ability to develope a character so thouroughly without an outside source.

[G_wolf_P]

Originally Posted by G_wolf_P

Hello all. I am new to this place, but I have read some of Freda's works. Thus, consequently I have some questions.
First and foremost I loved "Dark Cathedral" and "Pagan Moon". I have to say that I connected so well with Morgan (as well as the other characters) That I instantly developed a deep respect for your works and writing style. So this leads me to my,perhaps, obvious question.
"What, or who was your inspiration for Morgan?"
The way you portray him touches on almost all aspects of my life, and if you pulled him completly from you head I applaud you full well on your ability to develope a character so thouroughly without an outside source.

Ok I have a small confession to make. while it would be nice to get an answer to the question, it's hardly necessary. ( I know you get questions like that all the time.) Actually quite honestly I would just love to have a conversation with you. I find you facinating,and weird (in a very good way). That, and I have never has the opportunity to talk to any of the authors I love to read. Thank you for bearing with me.

[Freda]

Sorry - I've been so immersed in trying to get my novel finished that I haven't been on the board for a while!

Where did I get Morgan from... H'm it's a while ago now and I can't remember specifically what inspired me. My male characters generally develop from maybe a particular image, or something I've read, or just an idea in my head. Generally, I'm trying to visualise what would be most attractive to my heroine, and in the case of Dark Cathedral, a person who would be absolutely irresistible to Beth regardless of the consequences... and Morgan was who turned up in my head! Yes, he behaved badly and hurt her, but redeemed himself in the end. It's interesting looking at good or bad, excusable or inexcusable behaviour from different perspectives, as I often try to do. He might look 'evil' to one character but merely young and impulsive to another.

He did kind of develop from an earlier idea, about a witch who lived on the edge of a forest and was visited by a 'demon lover'. The witch sort of turned into Beth and the 'demon lover' sort of turned into Morgan!

Anyway, I'm not sure if this is a particularly helpful answer but I'm really pleased to hear you identified with him and got so much out of it! Thank you!

[Freda]

Fascinating and weird, eh!

Apologies again for taking so long to answer... I always will eventually, even if Mark has to hit me over the head first!

[G_wolf_P]

actually that was very hepful. Thank you for taking the time to answer. well since I don't have much time to write, this is a short thank you. ciao.

[scalem X]

Freda, you're alive!

I was wondering about this and was going to ask some other writers too, but since you suddenly popped up I thought I should give you some piece of the action.
How about moods:
I personally am quite surprised by my sudden injections of creativity when I'm fairly down. (don't even get me started on the suicidal attitude of girls in Belgium, oh and what about turtles, they don't bring along their houses, they bring along their coffins) ahum anyway: when is your best or worst mood to write?
(I almost never write when down though I splurge my ideas to people through instant messaging, that's why I have yet an alternative mood that's fit for writing too)

[Freda]

Hi Scalem,

You paint an intriguing picture of Belgian girls walking around with coffins on their backs! That's a very good question. Not sure I can answer it clearly. If I'm feeling really down, I can't write at all. However, there have been times in the past when I have written obsessively to escape from bad things that were happening around me. So, there seems to be a difference between feeling down within myself, and feeling down because of external problems.

My best mood for writing is when I can get into what I call the 'zone' - completely wrapped up in my imaginary world and completely oblivious to what anyone else might think of what I'm writing! I only wish I could conjure it up to order!

[Mark Robson]

Freda, I'm now intrigued to see what sort of writing schedule, if any, you set for yourself in an average week. Do you have word targets that you aim for, or do you write for a certain amount of time? Or do you not have rigid targets at all? Writers seem to vary on this a lot. Also, do you plan in detail before getting going on a novel, or do you get an idea in your head and let your pen (or equivalent) run wild?

As I finished writing this I've got the spookiest feeling that I might have asked you these things before. If I have, then apologies - in one ear and out of the other I'm afraid!

[G_wolf_P]

I want to touch upon what mark is asking (or as the case might be,already asked). My question; do you plan your writing "scheduale" differently based upon the genre you're writing? I know I do. For instance if it is realistic fiction I make sure I do alot of research so I know what to tweak without sounding like a dumbass.I try to spend "X" amount of time per day. But when it comes to fantasy....well I just let er rip and see what this head of mine comes up with. (of course I do suffer throught alot of editing, as what comes out of this head does not always coincide with story at hand.)

[Freda]

I've never managed to make that 9-5 thing work. I don't know about you, Mark, but my schedule seems to work on a kind of sliding scale. Or do I mean an exponential curve?? What I mean is that when I first start a new project, I find it hard going and may only manage a couple of hours, or many hours but only a handful of words, per day. The further I get with it, the faster it grows and longer I'm able to work. I always find the first draft really hard. My favourite part is the second draft and subsequent drafts, when you can really get your teeth into it and flesh it out. The more I'm enjoying it, the longer I work! By the end, when I'm doing the very final draft ready for my agent, I can be working 12-hour days or more by then! So I guess my procrastination at the start and long hours at the end balance each other out.

I'm just at that difficult first-draft stage again now... I do try to set targets, which can be helpful but can also give me a lot of grief when they come off the rails. Every book is different, but I tend to start with a patchwork of scenes that gradually merge into a picture. So no, I'm not very disciplined but I suppose we have to do what works for us! How about you?

I don't really consider that I work in different genres as such, G wolf, and I just research bits and pieces as I need them really. Ha, I like that - what comes out of your head doesn't always coincide with the story at hand! Me too - so true!

[Mark Robson]

Oh, my! We are sooooo different! I find that I throw myself into the first draft and rattle through the opening chapters before getting bogged down for a couple of months in the middle section and then, once I hit the beginning of the resolution phase, I race through to the end. I suppose I expect to write a first draft in about 4-5 months these days, but the editing ... yeuch!

I normally put the first effort aside for at least a month, preferrably more if I have the flex. Then I come back to it, having let several proof readers loose on it in the meantime. I look at their comments and compare them to see if there are any common themes, then I hack through the manuscript with what I hope is a fairly objective view. By the time I've done this, it is usually pretty clean. I then send it to the editor for comments before starting all over again. However, I much prefer the sensation of creating the initial draft to that of editing an existing story. Maybe that's why your description has so much more depth than mine. Every time you revisit the manuscript, you have the opportunity to notice more detail in each scene.

[scalem X]

You paint an intriguing picture of Belgian girls walking around with coffins on their backs!

I did date a girl who, among other weird stuff, had a coffin in her bedroom...

Anyway what I really wanted to say is that I tend to take more after Mark.
Go fast, then downtime. Then just finish it and then comes the editing.
I kind off dislike the editing, but on the other hand the major works seem to be done (of course the editing turns out to be the major work, but we keep ourselves in blissful ignorance, don't we? )

Question: after editing, do you sometimes look back upon the original version and compare it with the fully edited one? If so, are there any things that keep coming back.
examples:
-favourite (overused) adjectives
-stress on certain parts that are in fact not part of the main plot
-favourite phrases/parts to dispose of a possibly long subplot (an example could be: "and then he fled with the gold, which attracted a dragon who ate him and thus he was punished for his crime ")
-any other habbits that you have and things you use, while you know you'll edit them out later on?

[Freda]

Mark, I envy your ease in rattling off the first draft! I'm not sure I'd swap it for the pleasures of rewriting, tho! The fastest I've ever written a book is 3 months... I wrote A Blackbird in Darkness in 3 months, because a lot of it derived from splitting A B in Silver into 2 books. I wrote Dark Cathedral in 4 months, and most of Dark Blood of Poppies in the same year, but that's really unusual. I usually take at least a year... All About Elfland has taken more like 3 years, mainly because I didn't have an editor breathing down my neck, and also because I've been doing a part-time job...

Scalem, yes I do tend to overuse certain words, phrases, images. Sometimes I know I'm doing it, other times it takes someone else to point it out! I think that's why writing never gets easier, because you become aware of your own habits and you're always trying not to repeat yourself. A lot of editing DOES take place and I often cringe at the things I wrote the first time!

Wrapping up a subplot in a single sentence - not guilty! I do the opposite, wrap them up so completely that the book ends up WAY too long!

By the way, have you had anything published?