Ask the Author: Guy Winter
Answered Questions (6)
Guy Winter
Having recently released a novel (in November), I'm hugely inspired by the reviews that readers have posted on Amazon, and relayed to me in person. As a writer it's unbelievably exciting when readers connect with a character that you have created, or an idea that you have developed. Suddenly your imaginary world has real inhabitants. You can never quite tell until the book is out and people start reading it what will resonate with readers! But more generally I'm inspired by reading myself- by novels, poems or movie scripts, or by watching films or listening to music. You're not trying to recreate what may be matchless, untouchable art. But when you are captivated by a story, a phrase or a song, you are in a state of imagination and a creative mind-set that might just give you your own ideas.
Guy Winter
I am exploring a possible sequel to 'Watchdog'- it's a story that I'd love to tell, but I want to see how readers react to the cast of characters in that book- whether they actually want to continue the journey with them. There are also some technical challenges in the next story, because it involves the characters producing a movie of their own (i.e. a film within a novel). I've written the movie script for them, but still need to figure out how that will work most effectively within the novel format.
Guy Winter
Not every idea will work, but you have to keep writing them down, exploring them and using them as a stepping-stone to the ideas that will work for you. Writing is such an evolutionary process that there's no such thing as a completely blind alley.
Guy Winter
The best thing is creating a world and a set of characters with a life of their own. There's much more to a novel than that, but once you've done that, it's easy to layer on the detail and explore the themes that are important to you. After a while you know how the characters will respond, what they'll say, in any given situation that you choose to put them in. They have their own opinions on what you're doing with them. Opening a new chapter is like meeting up with old friends. Before you reach that stage, it can feel like trying to carry along a group of (potentially quarrelsome) strangers. So it's a great feeling when the ice has melted and the party is starting to come together!
Guy Winter
When I'm writing, I will always make sure I'm also reading some of my favourite stories, and especially movie scripts- even if only for a snatched five or ten minutes at a time. Generally these will be stories that I already know extremely well (like Chinatown, Withnail & I, Shallow Grave, Reservoir Dogs, PG Wodehouse novels). Movie scripts are great because they're much shorter than novels, and the way they're written (in scenes) makes them easier to pick up and put down again. The point is not to incorporate the style, or even the atmosphere, of these masterpieces into my own work- it is all about stepping into a different world, to give me more perspective on the one I'm writing about. I won't be reading new novels whilst I'm writing, because I want to save that exploratory mind-set for the world I'm trying to evoke. The familiarity as well as the rapture of the language of old favourites is what I'm looking for. It refreshes my mind. Often five minutes in a cherished alternative existence will be enough to unlock the next idea.
Guy Winter
My personal experiences working in the City of London during the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, and the ensuing global financial crisis and Credit Crunch. It was a time of huge uncertainty and upheaval for everyone involved with the financial services sector. 'Watchdog' is the story of a disillusioned young lawyer suddenly forced to find a new career and direction in a time of fundamental change. With the safety net of a recognised professional career-path no longer available, for the first time in years he has to rediscover his own identity and motivation. Far from seeking to find a way back into financial services, he finds an eclectic, supportive group of friends and aspires to a more creative future.
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