RogerJgreen.net - Frequently asked questions

I get asked lots of interesting and different questions about writing and being an author, here are some of the most frequently asked questions. If you have a question that isn't answered below, you can contact me here.

Click on a question to see the answer

What made you first start writing?

When you get an idea for a book what do you do next?

How do you know you have a good idea?

Do you make a plan for a book?

What is the best bit about writing a book?

Do you work every day?

What was your favourite book when you were a child?

What in your opinion were the best books of the last hundred years?

What are your favourite children’s books that you have read while you have been grown up?

How long does it take you to write a book?

Can anybody be an author?

What do you think is the best book in the whole world?

When you get an idea for a book what do you do next?
I write it down in a notebook before I forget it. Sometimes it can stay like that for a long time, sometimes years.
Back to the questions

How do you know you have a good idea?
Some ideas do not stay in the notebook. They become a small scene in the mind like a clip from a video and I find that I have a scene of a few seconds running in my mind over and over again. It could be a scene of a standing stone against the sunset with a boy staring at it. Or a girl being arrested in the nightime by police with a lantern. Or a workman digging up a skeleton hand with a ring on one of the bone fingers. If this video in my mind begins to grow and take longer to play then it is time to get a notebook again and write out the story so far.
Back to the questions

Do you make a plan for a book?
Yes. But remember every author works in a different way. I like to know exactly what is going to happen before I sit at the word processor.
Back to the questions

What is the best bit about writing a book?
When you have a good idea and you are sitting and day dreaming it and writing the plan in a notebook. Suddenly you have discovered a whole new continent in your mind and you are exploring it. It’s the best bit of being a writer.
Back to the questions

Do you work every day?
No. I do lots of other things because ideas are like cakes or pies in the oven. Sometimes they are best left deep in your mind for days and when you get back to them they have changed. I am always amazed at what goes on deep in my mind when I am doing other things. Ideas are melted and changed and cooked and reforged or redreamed.
Back to the questions

What was your favourite book when you were a child?
Kenneth Graham’s THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS.
Back to the questions

What in your opinion were the best books of the last hundred years?
ULYSSES by James Joyce and J.R.R. Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS.
Back to the questions

What are your favourite children’s books that you have read while you have been grown up?
Susan Cooper’s THE DARK IS RISING and recently Philip Pullman’s THE AMBER SPYGLASS.
Back to the questions

How long does it take you to write a book?
The first two bits, getting an idea and building up a video in my mind can take days weeks or years. Once I can run the video through in my mind and write a plan a book takes about a year to write after that. But often the publishers or editors want you to change bits so it can take longer.
Back to the questions

Can anybody be an author?
Yes, if they know a good story that has come from deep within themselves.
Back to the questions

What do you think is the best book in the whole world?
THE LEOPARD by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. A book about Sicily in the nineteenth century. It’s got everything I want from a book.
Back to the questions



THE HIDDEN HAND DAGGERS CUCKOOS WOLFECHO SHE WAS A WITCH DREAMGOLD THE THROTTLEPENNY MURDER THE FEAR OF SAMUEL WALTON THE LENGTHENING SHADOW THE DEVIL FINDS WORK THEY WATCHED HIM DIE	I get asked lots of interesting and different questions about writing and being an author, here are some of the most frequently asked questions. If you have a question that isn't answered below, you can contact me here. Click on a question to see the answer What made you first start writing? When you get an idea for a book what do you do next? How do you know you have a good idea? Do you make a plan for a book? What is the best bit about writing a book? Do you work every day? What was your favourite book when you were a child? What in your opinion were the best books of the last hundred years? What are your favourite children’s books that you have read while you have been grown up? How long does it take you to write a book? Can anybody be an author? What do you think is the best book in the whole world? When you get an idea for a book what do you do next? I write it down in a notebook before I forget it. Sometimes it can stay like that for a long time, sometimes years. *Back to the questions* How do you know you have a good idea? Some ideas do not stay in the notebook. They become a small scene in the mind like a clip from a video and I find that I have a scene of a few seconds running in my mind over and over again. It could be a scene of a standing stone against the sunset with a boy staring at it. Or a girl being arrested in the nightime by police with a lantern. Or a workman digging up a skeleton hand with a ring on one of the bone fingers. If this video in my mind begins to grow and take longer to play then it is time to get a notebook again and write out the story so far. *Back to the questions* Do you make a plan for a book? Yes. But remember every author works in a different way. I like to know exactly what is going to happen before I sit at the word processor. *Back to the questions* What is the best bit about writing a book? When you have a good idea and you are sitting and day dreaming it and writing the plan in a notebook. Suddenly you have discovered a whole new continent in your mind and you are exploring it. It’s the best bit of being a writer. *Back to the questions* Do you work every day? No. I do lots of other things because ideas are like cakes or pies in the oven. Sometimes they are best left deep in your mind for days and when you get back to them they have changed. I am always amazed at what goes on deep in my mind when I am doing other things. Ideas are melted and changed and cooked and reforged or redreamed. *Back to the questions* What was your favourite book when you were a child? Kenneth Graham’s THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. *Back to the questions* What in your opinion were the best books of the last hundred years? ULYSSES by James Joyce and J.R.R. Tolkien’s LORD OF THE RINGS. *Back to the questions* What are your favourite children’s books that you have read while you have been grown up? Susan Cooper’s THE DARK IS RISING and recently Philip Pullman’s THE AMBER SPYGLASS. *Back to the questions* How long does it take you to write a book? The first two bits, getting an idea and building up a video in my mind can take days weeks or years. Once I can run the video through in my mind and write a plan a book takes about a year to write after that. But often the publishers or editors want you to change bits so it can take longer. *Back to the questions* Can anybody be an author? Yes, if they know a good story that has come from deep within themselves. *Back to the questions* What do you think is the best book in the whole world? THE LEOPARD by Giuseppe di Lampedusa. A book about Sicily in the nineteenth century. It’s got everything I want from a book. *Back to the questions*

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