Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
Growing up, I spent a lot of time at our local library. My favourite books were the Hardy Boys series, which had titles like ‘The Disappearing Floor’, and ‘The Twisted Claw’. I found the author’s writing exciting and inspiring, and wanted to be able to create stories like those for myself. Years later, I discovered the author – Franklin W. Dixon – was a pseudonym for a group of writers who worked for a guy called Edward Stratemeyer. Stratemeyer came up with the storylines and the other writers wrote the actual books. Rereading those books now, I find them badly written, full of plot holes and crammed with inaccuracies, which shows how my critical powers have developed.
Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?
I think too many writers don’t bother to try and improve the quality of their writing. It’s important to listen to constructive criticism and eliminate those things which make your writing sound boring. Too many people think it’s okay to use clunky dialogue tags, overlong sentences, and repeated phrases. Also, that old adage – show don’t tell – is vital if you want your readers to stay interested.
Has any hugely popular novel left you thinking you could write it better?
The older I get, the more disappointed I am with other authors. We should all strive to write good books, and too many writers churn out the same dross over and over, using the same tired phrases. Even some of my favourite authors have habits that annoy me, including Patricial Cornwell, Margaret Atwood and Peter Carey. That’s not to say I could write their books better, but I’ll often spot things which a good editor should’ve picked up on.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
Years ago, I used to try to come up with puzzle titles, like ‘The House That Wasn’t There’, and ‘A Long Cool Glass of Murder’. I would write the book to discover what the title meant, so it worked like a writing prompt. In my more recent books, I tend to pick titles that are more generic, like ‘Deadly Black’, and ‘Body Parts’, that don’t necessarily relate to the story.
How do you come up with character names for your stories?
Character names need to sound realistic. They must also not be difficult to read or pronounce – lots of sci-fi authors give their characters ridiculously long names that readers struggle to remember. Principal character names will appear maybe several hundred times throughout the book, so it’s important to choose ones that won’t irritate you every time you write them. Also, it can be confusing to have names that sound similar or start with the same letter. In ‘Death on a Dirty Afternoon’, I had characters called Carol and Charis. I decided to change one of them so they wouldn’t sound too similar, but never got around to it, so I’m stuck with them.
How important was professional editing to your book’s development?
It’s important to have a good editor but in my case, it doesn’t really affect the development of the book. My editor knows my work intimately and will always suggest anything that doesn’t feel right or doesn’t seem to fit with how a character might behave. However, mostly she picks up on spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues, as well as the occasional poorly constructed sentence. Her suggestions always improve the writing, and I’d hate to think what my books would read like without her input.
How long does it take you to write a book?
How long a book takes to write depends a lot on my motivation and how much I’m enjoying the process. Anything that interrupts that process and stops me writing for a few days slows the whole thing down and it takes me longer to get back into it. I write best when I’m working quickly (writing for several hours per day, every day), and my best books have always been written in under three months. One of my children’s adventures, ‘The Axeman of Manslaughter Mansion’ took only a week, whereas the first Relic Black thriller (Terminal Black) took nearly seven years.
What are common traps for new authors?
I think too many authors try to write what they think readers will want, rather than what the writer him or herself wants to write. They say ‘write what you know’ but that only works well for people who have had interesting lives and experiences (and even then, isn’t always a sign of a good book. A perfect example of this is Karen Blixen’s ‘Out of Africa’, one of the most boring books I’ve ever read). What we all know about is relationships, and that is central to most novels. Also, it’s important not to stereotype characters: real life murderers are rarely totally evil – most have redeeming features, such as the bank robber who killed anyone who got in his way, but still had time to visit his mother and take her flowers on a Sunday.
What author in your genre do you most admire, and why?
I mainly write murder mysteries and my favourite author in that genre is James Ellroy. He does things with language that no-one else does, combining slang words, an unusual kind of swearing and police jargon. His books can be a little hard going at times, but it’s well worth it for the sheer brilliance of his writing.
What do you think is the best way to improve writing skills?
I’d always go with Stephen King’s advice – If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot.
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