Writers' Rituals - Vicki Delany
The Mysterious Writing Habits of the World's Top Crime Writers
Oct 12, 2008
Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Superstitious? Do habits and rituals provide a security blanket for them? Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Vicki Delany. Vicki is best known for her Constable Molly Smith series.
Q: How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
A: I consider research to be a chore, like work. In my standalone novels I had to do a lot of research, but when I need to learn certain things, I'll pull out library books and dive in. As for plotting, it varies. The third in the Molly Smith Series had nothing but the opening scene when I began. I worked out the plot as I wrote. But I'm unlikely to do that again. I like to have a solid outline before beginning writing, so I know where I'm going and how I plan to get there.
Q: What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
A: In the morning, usually from 8 or 9 until noon or one. I usually devote time in the evening, after dinner, to the business part of the writing life. If I don't have a window of at least three hours ahead of me in which to write, then I don't even start.
Q: Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
A: All I do for a break is make coffee.
Q: Where do you write?
A: In the summer, on my deck, otherwise in my den.
Q: What do you write with?
A: Computer
Q: ..and why is that your preference?
A: I was a programmer for many years so using the computer is the way I've learned how to think.
Q: What do you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
A: A cup of coffee and a scrap of paper for notes. I have a hand-drawn map of the town in which the story takes place and sketches of the protagonist's home or office.
Q: What can you see when you look up from your writing.
A: As it's fall and the mornings are chilly, I've moved inside to work. Outside I see a field of wheat stretching all the way to trees on the horizon, brilliant red and yellow. Inside, my bulletin board with postcards from Nelson B.C. and Dawson City. Pictures of my family, the schedule for my forthcoming book tour to Arizona and California, reference books. An action figure of Aragon, from the Lord of the Rings.
Q: What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
A: A standalone called Whiteout, published by a small publisher who went out of business.
Q: What is your latest book?
A: Two new books will be out in the spring. Valley of the Lost, the second Constable Molly Smith book, from Poisoned Pen Press in February, and then Gold Digger: A Klondike Mystery, from Rendevous Crime in April.
Vicki Delany was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and now lives and writes in Picton, Ontario, Canada. Find out more about Vicki and her writing at her website.
Source:
Interview with Vicki Delany conducted by E-mail, October 2008
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