For me writing is a time to
relax, to dream, to fantasize about mythical creatures and imagine how my life
could have turned out differently if I had made different choices. I know some
people can write in public places with all sorts of noise and people around but
for me I need quiet, solitude and something to look at. I also find that
generally I am at my most creative in the morning. For me the best writing
occurs when I’ve had a good night’s sleep, get up at 6 or 6:30 and start
writing by 7 or 7:30 AM.
I also find that I need an
outline. I like to have a clear idea of where I’m headed in a story so I always
plan a novel at least two or three chapters ahead of time. Before I write I
have a look at my outline (especially if I’m at the end of a chapter). Also at
least once a month I look over the tips my esteemed editor, Pat, gave me from
my first book (this was done during the writing of book 1 as well). I find that
generally I only write in short bursts, 20-30 minutes tops then I’ll look out
the window, possibly check my e-mail or pet one of my cats if they happen to be
on the table with me. Generally I do most of my writing at home but since my
wife gave me an iPad for my birthday a few months back I find myself using that
to do a little writing if I’m at a book signing, a flea market, on a train,
boat or plane. A friend gave me the idea of writing just 1 page a day,
surprisingly by sticking with that I found writing to come along quickly and
before I knew it (well 8 months for the first, 4.5 months for the second) the
rough draft was done.
With
my first book published, I also find it useful to keep a copy of “The Newfoundland Vampire” nearby, it
serves as both an inspiration and a guide as I work on book 2. For me I try to
write about places that I’ve been (or wish I’d been) and either way I like to
look at pictures of that place before I write the scene. As the main character,
Joseph, is about 90% me, it is always a lot of fun to revisit these places in
my mind and see how I would act differently in my imaginary world. For some
scenes I try to imagine the whole thing in my mind and then get it down on the
screen as accurately as possible.
When
it comes to personal preference, I find I enjoy writing the sex, action and
humor scenes the most. The best scenes for me just fly out of my brain and I
worry about cleaning up dialogue, punctuation and grammar at later time. While
I’m certain writing could be taken a scientific approach for me its artistic
expression and the best way I have to communicate my ideas and feelings to the
world.
-Thanks
so much to Bob for hosting, much appreciated! If you haven’t checked it out yet
perhaps you’d like to see the first fruit of my labour, The Newfoundland Vampire, I hear it’s
got bite (sorry couldn’t resist! ;)
αωαωαωαωαωαωαω
αωαωαωαωαωαωαω
About the Author :
Charles O’Keefe lives in the beautiful province of Newfoundland, Canada, with his wife and two feline ‘children,’ Jude and Esther. He works as an inventory manager and enjoys many hobbies and activities that include writing, reading, watching fantasy/science-fiction movies and television shows, gaming, poker, walking, acting, and of course fantasizing about vampires.
www.charlesokeefe.com
http://p45crok.wordpress.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/TheNLVampire
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=826155483
0 comments:
Post a Comment