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Posted by Jong student
March 24th 2010Were did you live when you was a kid
William Nicholson responded:
Seaford, a seaside town in Sussex.
Posted by Rodney
March 23rd 2010I very much enjoyed many of your screenplays, including "Gladiator" which was, in my opinion, very well crafted to carry the audience along and make them feel the power and tragedy of the story. You said that finding a publisher for "The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life"--a completely different kind of story than "Gladiator"--was a struggle. I found much the same thing when I wrote a charming but nearly-true-to-life book about a young witch growing up in Salem (home of the infamous American witch trials). Kids flying on brooms was fine, but realist teens with a mystical world view--what's that about? I have about come to the conclusion that you can write whatever you want--as long is it is impossible. What do you think?
William Nicholson responded:
Actually I don't think there are any rules. Publishers are groping in the dark like the rest of us. Post-Twilight I would have thought your mix of realism and the supernatural would be a sure thing. It all depends on how compelling your writing is. Maybe your subject matter's okay, but you've not yet got it to come through with power. If you're pretty sure it's doing what you want, then keep on trying publishers. There's nothing wrong with the subject matter.
Posted by Louise Naylor
March 22nd 2010Dear Mr. Nicholson, I am a big fan of your Wind on Fire series, and am just beginning to write the opening chapters of my own story for a school assignment. Part of this, is research your favourite authors and the writing techniques they use, so I thought it would be best to ask you personally. I was wondering if you have any tried and tested way of making your story openings engaging. Do you try to start immediately with action or have background first? Do you base your character's on real life people? And finally how do you decide on character's names? Thanks for your time, Louise Naylor.
William Nicholson responded:
I don't have any tried and tested methods. Some of my books, I suspect, do this better than others. But in general I'd say never start with background. Find a way to weave the background in as something more interesting and active is under way. Doesn't have to be action - my new novel, Rich and Mad, starts with the heroine announcing she's decided to fall in love, but hasn't yet found who to fall in love with. I do use real people a lot, but never directly. I use parts of other people, parts of me, and so on. Names matter a lot. I fiddle about with them till they feel right. Sometimes I change them much later. Hard to say what makes a name right - part sound association, I suppose, part just an instinct. Not that I always get it right. Best of luck with your own writing.
Posted by Rhys
March 20th 2010Hi again; I recieved Rich and Mad the other day (Thankyou ever so much!) and I've been reading it (I love it) and I was wondering 1) if it is hard to write about a different generation who live lives totally different to when you were young, 2) if you based the story on your own experiences when you were young (you said in a previous Q&A that you had wanted a girlfriend a long time before you actualyl got one) and finally, I found Rich and Mad to have some similar qualities to the film 'the Dead Poets Society'. (Mr Pico= John Keating character... Rich = Neil Perry...) Is this just a coincidence, or did you purposely plant some similarities? Sorry the Q is quite long...I shall be posting a review of R&M very soon -Thanks, Rhys
William Nicholson responded:
You're right that in Rich and Mad I'm writing about a very different generation to my own. But in a sense, that's just a research job - like writing about gladiators in Ancient Rome. The key is the core emotions of the characters. In that, yes, I have looked back at many of my own experiences; but I've also made use of a great deal of information I've gained from others. As for Dead Poets Society - no, I hadn't spotted that similarity. But wouldn't you say that there are many stories that feature a mentor/teacher in a key role? Also that the Pico character, though important, is not remotely as central as John Keating in DPS? Hope you enjoy the rest of the book.
Posted by Anthony
March 19th 2010Hi again Mr Nicholson, I am directing your play "Katherine Howard" and about to hold auditions on 10th April *which I am very excited about). Just a question: It seems in my research Katherine Howard was a bit of a 'ladies man'. Is this true ? and if so, why is your play portrayal of her so innocent ?
William Nicholson responded:
I guess you mean she was a 'man's lady'? I too have done my research, and my belief is that what you have read is the contemporary propaganda created to justify her downfall. She was a pawn in a power game - in my opinion.
Posted by Olivia Dunn
March 18th 2010Hi, I am nearly 10 and I have read both of your fantasy trilogies (so has my mum). They were brilliant. I adore books and I love to write. I started writing a story for a gifted and talented group at school to be published in a Scolastic book, but in the end it ended up being far too long (I still havent finished it) for what they wanted, and they are just going to use the first chapter. I am at 8000+ words so far. The literacy teachers and headmistress have told me it is so good that they think I should try and get it published when I finish it. So, my questions are, how do you go about getting a book published and how many words does it need to be for a novel. Also would a publisher take any notice of a story written by someone my age? My mum is letting me submit this to you.
William Nicholson responded:
There's no bar to getting a book published at your age, but it's hard. Don't expect too much. There's no trick to it - you send it to a publisher, or to a book agent, and you hope they like it. If they do, they publish it. If they don't, you feel like killing yourself. But don't. Becoming a good writer is a long process, basically the more you do the better you get, like learning any skill. But unlike most other training processes, this one is thrilling all along the way, whether you get published or not. So I advise you to finish your book, test it on others, rewrite in the light of their criticisms, and send it to a publisher. Then don't hang about waiting for the reply, start at once on your next book. To succeed you need talent, but almost more than talent, you need persistence and stamina. I wrote eight books before one was published. Pretty silly, really, but I don't regret it. Good luck.
