Sue, On Writing
An extract from 'Telling Lies for a Living'
'...the art of pretence, fabrication and telling
lies is part of my stock-in-trade. To begin with, I must strive to
believe my own lies. It’s important that my characters become so
convincing - so ‘real’ to me - they take on a life of their own.
How else can I expect the reader to care about them? I need to
‘hear’ my characters speaking to me, each with their own
distinctive voice. In my completed novel the reader should be able
to tell which of them is ‘on stage’ from dialogue
alone.
The same principles come into play when creating
backgrounds and settings. Some writers use actual places they know
or have visited, especially for contemporary novels. I do this to
some extent, but as there’s often a strong fantasy element in my
books I also make a lot of things up. Of course that is true of all
novelists. A writer of thrillers doesn’t need to murder anyone or
commit a crime. A writer of historical fiction can take as much or
as little licence with the facts as they wish. Like me, they are
not above twisting facts, features and places to add drama....
'
Sue's guest post 'Telling Lies or a Living' was first
published by @Dough_nut81 on her Blog, Dash Fan Book
Reviews, on 25th May
2018.
Click here to read the
full feature.