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Posted by Adriana Marachlian
July 16th 2010Dear Mr. Nicholson, I just wanted to tell you how much I LOVE your Wind On Fire Trilogy. I know, right? How many times have you heard that? However, I didn't think this would make much sense unless I said that. Your trilogy has been among my all time favorite books ever since I first read it. Before I ask my question, I feel I have to tell you that I had NO idea you wrote in English... I read your trilogy more than six years ago, when I was still in high school and knew not an ounce of English. I read them in Spanish and they were called El Viento En Llamas (EL Silbador del Viento, Los Esclavos del Maestro, and El Son del Viento). Anyway, my two brothers, both seven, have been wanting to read my books so I handed them the first two and told them to haven fun. Then I re-read your name on the cover and realized how un-Spanish it sounded. May I say that I was thoroughly shocked? I was. In any case, I searched the internet and landed on your official website and thought I should tell you this pointless story. Oh, the never-ending circle of life. On to the actual question: what would you say is the hardest step of the writing process? (planning, characterization, editing, etc.) I like to write and I'm always curious about how other writers go about it. Keep writing, it makes the world a better place. Love, Adriana. P.S.: This is rather strange, but I think the name of Firesong sound better in Spanish than in English.
William Nicholson responded:
In six years your English seems to have gone from zero to perfect. Which is great for a writer, as you plan to be, because English, for better or worse, has become the global language. The hardest step for me: maintaining belief in your book through the long business of actually writing it. Just keeping going. And then doing what you know has to be done, which is rewriting. All the best with your own creations.
Posted by Michele Stapleton
July 14th 2010I happened upon The Trial of True Love during a vacation at a lovely cottage in Quebec,Canada. What an enjoyable way to spend a day and a half. And yes, the ending surprised me mightily! sincerely, Michele Stapleton
William Nicholson responded:
Maybe you'd enjoy my newest novel, The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life. It's contemporary and very real, whereas True Love was a little more fantastical; but everything I write has the same mind behind it. And I am very proud of this new book...
Posted by Iman Abbasi
July 14th 2010Hi dear Mr. Nicholson. Would you help me giving some tips how to adapt from a novel? Actually my problem is how to figure out a novel is or isn't copyrighted and I can adapt it? Thanks a lot
William Nicholson responded:
The odd thing is I've never adapted a novel for the screen. I write my own novels and my own screenplays, mostly, because I love creating characters and plot. So I haven't even tried to enter the world of copyrights. Sorry.
Posted by Judith Parmet
July 13th 2010More a comment: we can love more than once albeit in a different way, therefore which kind of love impacts one's life the most?
William Nicholson responded:
Oh boy. Yes, we can love more than once - why not? The more love the better. Love generates love. If you mean love-and-marry, then I guess one at a time is the only way. But all love has massive impact on one's life. I realise that more or less tells you nothing. Sorry. I'm stumped.
Posted by Kim Crissey
July 13th 2010Dear Mr. Nicholson, My father is big fan and avid reader of your books and I was hoping you could send him an autograph to cheer him up, he just had quadruple bypass heart surgery and I know receiving an autograph from you would put a smile on his face. I have included his name and address below. Thank you very much, Kim Crissey
William Nicholson responded:
I shall do so with pleasure.
Posted by Evelyne
July 13th 2010I can't quite put my finger on what draws me to the Wind on Fire trilogy over and over again. Maybe it's the way I seem to discover another layer of it every time I read; but at the same time, each time I read I don't feel like I'm not quite understanding anything. That was slightly convoluted, I realize, but I hope you see what I mean. There are authors who write such pretty sentences I feel I have to read them aloud to others. You aren't one of them; your writing isn't ridiculously pretty, it's just.. real. Maybe that's why I never tire of it. On to the questions- I'm sorry if they've already been asked, but I can't bring myself to look through over 95 pages of Q&As- When did you discover you were a writer? Do you think everything you write is at least a little autobiographical? Which authors most heavily influenced you? Are your characters mostly based on people you know? When you write dialogue, do you imagine each character's to be speaking in a distinct voice, or is it more..words that suit the character's personality?
William Nicholson responded:
I don't think I discovered I was a writer, I just really wanted to be a writer. What I write is definitely autobiographical - I've felt the feelings of my characters - but of course I'm not telepathic and can't fly. The characters similarly are based on people I know and on jumbles of people I half know and on bits of myself. When I write dialogue, I am that character, so I just 'speak'. I'm not conscious of the voice. Maybe I should be more so. The authors I love most - eg Tolstoy, Chekhov - have a style that is clear as glass, and doesn't draw attention to itself. I'm less enthused by writers whose prose style is the star.
