Kevin Mcclintock
asked
Jeremy Bates:
Hello Jeremy. I love your books. I was hoping to ask you more technical questions, such as: 1) How long does it take you to research a novel? 2) How long to write it? 3) Do you write from detailed notes/outline or are you a free-flow writer? 4) What do you consider to be your favorite novel?
Jeremy Bates
Hey Kevin,
Thanks for the questions! I'll answer them in line.
1) Depends on the novel, but I tend to research as I go... So for example with Suicide Forest, I new about the forest before hand, and just got a couple chapters down without researching anything, and when the characters got to the forest, I started researching it...but it was a day to day thing... (what do the trees look like there, whats the weather like etc...)
2) Most novels take about 8 months to get a decent draft. I don't write one draft, then rewrite it...I sort of rewrite as I go...so by month 8 I usually have something pretty close to the finished thing, but then I will spend a couple more months fixing everything up....so I guess I would say 10-12 months total.
3) Free flow, baby! Lol... I just can't write notes... because they always turn out to be wrong... I have a basic idea...I have notes scribbled on loose leaf...but I often don't even look at those again... it's more to get it in my head... I preferably enjoy writing and seeing where it goes each day
4) The Shining, Elfstones of Shannara (one of the first adult novels I read), Phantoms by Dean Koontz..... The Association, Bentley Little, and The Travelling Vampire Show, Richard Laymon (those last two were a couple of my favorites growing up, though I've read them again recently and don't know if I'd say they are my favorite anymore, but they get on the list for influencing me to like writing!)
Thanks for the questions! I'll answer them in line.
1) Depends on the novel, but I tend to research as I go... So for example with Suicide Forest, I new about the forest before hand, and just got a couple chapters down without researching anything, and when the characters got to the forest, I started researching it...but it was a day to day thing... (what do the trees look like there, whats the weather like etc...)
2) Most novels take about 8 months to get a decent draft. I don't write one draft, then rewrite it...I sort of rewrite as I go...so by month 8 I usually have something pretty close to the finished thing, but then I will spend a couple more months fixing everything up....so I guess I would say 10-12 months total.
3) Free flow, baby! Lol... I just can't write notes... because they always turn out to be wrong... I have a basic idea...I have notes scribbled on loose leaf...but I often don't even look at those again... it's more to get it in my head... I preferably enjoy writing and seeing where it goes each day
4) The Shining, Elfstones of Shannara (one of the first adult novels I read), Phantoms by Dean Koontz..... The Association, Bentley Little, and The Travelling Vampire Show, Richard Laymon (those last two were a couple of my favorites growing up, though I've read them again recently and don't know if I'd say they are my favorite anymore, but they get on the list for influencing me to like writing!)
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