So yesterday and today I went to a literary festival. I wore my PJ's and dressing gown and had copious cups of tea brought to me by my husband.
The reason why the dress code was so lax was because it was held on line! I had tabs open linking me to Twitter (where I am to be found as @MaryLewisWriter) and to Facebook (where you will find me at Mary's Writing Page).
I asked Jill Mansell a question and got a reply. My question was:
Hi Jill. Firstly let me say I am a huge fan of your work. I was wondering do you ever worry where the next book is going to come from? I am trying to write my first and have so much self doubt that I am wondering if I have another book in me. x
Jill answered:
I always think the good writers are the doubters and the confident ones might be less good! I always worry that I won't have any more ideas - luckily they always seem to turn up though!
There was a line up menu and I honestly didn't know where to go next as there was so much going on.
Today I asked Katie Fforde about place names. I have asked Milly Johnson the same question too. They both tend to make up place names for their settings. I have been doing the same, but basing them on real places in Kent.
When I "go to" the village in my book I can see clearly the village green, Church, duck pond and pub in my head. This really helps me get a feel for how the characters would be behaving. For instance you wouldn't expect noise, lots of traffic etc in a village like you would in town or in the city. You would expect a more sedentary pace to life. This sounds like a cliche, but I've yet to read a book set in a village where the villagers are speeding around in cars and using the village green for anything but the odd picnic or short cut to the pub!
Really looking forward to next years festival and I'm really hoping I can be involved in the authors Q&A. Who knows? Maybe?
Facebook: Mary Lewis Writer
Twitter: @marylewiswriter
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