- Barbara Copperthwaite
BLOOD TYPE: Sheryl Browne @SherylBrowne #writingtips #writerslife
CRIME AUTHORS SPILL THEIR GUTS ABOUT WRITING. Every Thursday top-notch authors of psychological thrillers and crime fiction share their writing secrets – and the secrets to their success – with you and me.
“Sleep deprivation is definitely a downside of being a writer”
This week: Sheryl Browne
Tell us about yourself…
You mean fabulously interesting things about me? Hmm? Well, here goes. I’m a keen boater. I do strange things occasionally like skydiving from 20,000 feet. Living in leafy Worcestershire, I’m a mother and I also foster disabled dogs, mostly on a long term basis, which makes for a quite interesting life. I write contemporary fiction and psychological thriller (apparently I have a scary insight into the mind of a psychopath. Thank you Rachel at Rachel’s Random Reads. I’m flattered … I think). I’m a member of the Crime Writers’ Association the Romantic Novelists’ Association and have several books published, along with two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies where I completed my MA in Creative Writing, finally. Life, what can I say?
How do you go about plotting your book?
Plotting for me is … complete pandemonium. I start with a character and vague outline, i.e. pivotal plot points. In my second DI Matthew Adams thriller, for instance, the whole story is based around my protagonist making a bad judgement call and finding himself a victim of a drug related sexual assault. When you have a character in your head complete with traits and quirks, he’s inevitably going to lead the story and in this situation his emotions are going to be all over the place. He’s dictating his reactions so the outline goes out of the window and the post it notes begin to adorn my working surfaces, occasionally being seized upon as I actually remember them. The notepad inevitably accompanies me to bed, because those emotions don’t shut off at night. Sleep deprivation is definitely a downside of being a writer… TO CONTINUE READING, CLICK HERE