About Rachael Farrimond:
Rachael holds a BA Honours Degree in Creative Writing and English Literature and a Level 4 Diploma in Proofreading and Editing. She has been putting these to work over the last few years, running a successful blog and website, and is now venturing into the realm of self-publishing.
She lives in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North-East of England and, although she is sure that, in an alternative universe, she is living somewhere much more exotic, she is quite happy where she is for now.
What inspires you to write?
So many things! As a Sci-Fi/Fantasy writer, my usual starting point is a simple "What if…?" – especially in the case of my current project, The Eternity Mirrors series, which involves exploring parallel worlds.
Beyond that, I am inspired by the area I live in, my friends and family, and just about every Sci-Fi/Fantasy writer I have every had the privilege of reading.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
There are so many to choose from, especially in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. Some of my favourites include Neil Gaiman, Ben Aaronovitch, Marisa Meyer, and of course, C. S. Lewis.
I am always on the look out for new writers and new stories to sink into.
Tell us about your writing process.
I learned the hard way that I am a planner. When I first started out, I tried just sitting down and writing, and soon discovered that, while this is wonderful when the ideas are flowing, it is actually extremely difficult to maintain long term.
I am much more productive, and much more comfortable, when I have a plan to follow.
I will start off by making notes on the overall story and where it is going – whether this is a short story, novella, novel, or even a full series. From there, I get to know my characters – the people who are going to inhabit the world I am building, and drive the story forward.
Eventually, I will start breaking the story down into smaller pieces, planning out each chapter, each scene, even some key exchanges of dialogue.
And when I do finally start writing, I find that very quickly a lot of that plan goes out the window anyway as the characters take centre stage, and I usually end up re-thinking and re-planning as I go.
Basically, I never stop planning!
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
Yes! That is to say, I don't go as far as holding full exchanges with them, but I will certainly try to inhabit their head space as much as possible, to find their voice, and to portray them as authentically as I can.
For me, that usually means sketching out (in words) their back stories, and working out what makes them tick.
What advice would you give other writers?
Work out what your process is. As I mentioned above, I learned the hard way that I am an planner. You will come across 101 different pieces of advice (especially online) for how to write a book, but finding out what works for you is possibly the most important thing you can do. When you know that, you'll be surprised at how quickly you will win the staring match with your blank page.
And after that, don't give up.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
There are so many pros and cons when it comes to pursuing either traditional publishing or self-publishing. Ultimately, what led me to self-publish The Eternity Mirrors series was that I wanted to test the waters, to see if I could make a go of it on my own. I like that self-publishing allows authors to keep creative control over their work. It is not an easy path (but there there is no such thing as an easy path in publishing), but so far, I am extremely thankful for what I have learned.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Self-publishing has already revolutionised the book publishing industry, and I hope that continues, as long as it is sustainable.
Given how saturated the market is becoming (or has become) with self-published books, I do wonder if some sort of regulation needs to be considered to ensure high quality work is making its way into the hands of readers. I have no idea what that regulation would look like, though!
What genres do you write?: Science Fiction/Fantasy
What formats are your books in?: eBook
Website(s)
Rachael Farrimond Home Page Link
Link To Rachael Farrimond Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
