Writers' Rituals – M. R. Sellars
The Mysterious Writing Habits of Crime Writers From Around the World
Mar 3, 2009
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 M. R. Sellars who writes The Rowan Gant Investigations.
How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
Nothing outlandish. I generally spend 2 to 3 months investigating locations, religious procedures, and whatever else may be a part of a given manuscript. Plotting for me is a basic, one page outline that is more a suggestion than a hard and fast template.
What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
I do the bulk of my writing between 10 AM and 6 PM, Monday through Friday. In the past, I have gone through phases where my preferred time is in the middle of the night. These days, however, I tend to tailor my “work hours” to the time when I have my home office to myself – i.e. when my wife is at work and our daughter is at school.
Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
Sure. As to what I do, it largely depends on the moment. I take a few minutes every couple of hours or so to simply walk around the house or out in the yard just to keep the joints loose and blood moving. Of course, there are also things that need doing around the house, such as laundry, mowing the lawn, etc. So, I will occasionally take a break in order to tend to a household chore or two.
Where do you write?
Two places, primarily. My home office – that being a room that is an actual dedicated office – and the dining room table if I am after a change of scenery. Other than that, when on the road I will write wherever the mood strikes – hotel room, airplane, airport, etc.
What do you write with?
When in my office, I use my desktop computer. When at the dining room table, I use my laptop with an accessory full-sized keyboard. When doing the airplane/airport/drop of the hat thing, spiral notebooks and a #2 pencil.
...and why is that your preference?
I’m actually a faster typist than scribbler, not to mention that for some reason it is actually easier on my hands. The computer also gives me the ease of shifting text around when my brain starts running faster than my fingers.
Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
Coffee, spiral notebooks or some other kind of notepads, and #2 pencils... I take a lot of notes, and will sometimes draw diagrams to help my brain understand where the story is going.
Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
- My reference books
- A corkboard with notes, plane tickets, maps, and other sundries tacked to it
- A large calendar with travel dates, blogging dates, and other important info noted on it.
- My PDA.
- A stack of flash drives I use for backups.
- Pictures of my wife and daughter.
- Average everyday desk type items – stapler, calculator, pens, pencils, paperclip holder, etc…
- And my “muse altar”. While I can be described most accurately as a Secular Humanist, I have a rich background in alternative religious paths. My “muse altar” is the top shelf of a bookcase that contains various trinkets as a symbolic “offering” to my muse. For instance, she has her own fancy ink pen, a fancy coffee cup, a pair of high heels, some silk flowers, a bottle of rum, a logoed baseball cap that was presented to me by an FBI employee who answers procedural queries for me, just to name a few of the items…
What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
An angst-ridden, free-verse poem written way back when I broke up with a girlfriend in high school…too many years ago to think about.
What is your latest book?
Blood Moon, a Rowan Gant Investigation - #9 in the series.
Miranda, the latest Rowan Gant Investigation, is due out in October 2009
Find out more about M. R. Sellars and his books, here.
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals.
 |
 |
