Writers' Rituals - Jane Tesh
The Mysterious Writing Habits of the World's Top Crime Writers
Oct 16, 2008
Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security for writers who never know where the next idea, or the words to write it, will come from?
Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Jane Tesh author of the new Maclin Investigations mystery series from Poisoned Pen Press, which features ex-beauty queen, Madeline Maclin, and her best friend, junior con man and fake psychic, Jerry Fairweather. A Case of Imagination is Jane Tesh's playful first mystery, the start of the series and was followed by A Hard Bargain.
Q: How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
A: Very little. I usually have some idea for a story, so I sit down at the computer, my characters start talking, and off we go.
Q: What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
A: 9-11:30 AM and 1-3PM usually.
Q: Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
A: Yes. I watch TV, garden, mow the lawn, and play with my Chihuahua, Winkie -- oh, and eat.
Q: Where do you write?
A: In my downstairs office.
Q: What do you write with?
A: Computer
Q: ...and why is that your preference?
A: It's so easy to make corrections and move things around.
Q: Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
A: A glass of iced tea and a jar of peanuts.
Q: Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
A: A bulletin board filled with cartoons, photos of family members, and pictures from magazines of people who resemble my characters.
Q: What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
A: A play for children called Grammar Gulch, published in Plays Magazine. The outlaws, the Done Got Gang, tried to make everyone use bad grammar.
Q: What is your latest book?
A: A Little Learning, book #3 in the Maclin Investigations series, which should be out in June '09 from Poisoned Pen Press.
Jane Tesh was born in Thomasville, NC. City of the Big Chair. She now lives and writes in Mt. Airy, NC home of Andy Griffith where in her spare time, she plays piano for productions at the Andy Griffith Playhouse, teaches aerobics and kickboxing as well as spending time with Winkie, her one-eyed chihuahua. Find out more about Jane and her Maclin Investigations series at her website.
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals
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