NOTES

• Hopes to have PHD completed next year.

• Quote by Nils of Barr in Donna's book Shatterwing - “One must be humble to enter another’s abode. The smallness of the doorway forces one to remember.”

  • This was a way to make the culture live in the current story line. As the last person from his I wanted to shoe links to his history.

• First story was a Starwars novel at 19

• When 40 - while working as an auditor she realised that she wanted to get back to writing.

• First novel took 6 weeks (Never published) but started the obsession.

• Don't play comp games because she had to make time for the writing.

• Matthew understand the writer eccentricities (late nights and obsession).

• PHD helped learn more about self where obsession comes in.

• Pantser - but it can take a while to get things moving along. 

  • Uses bread for analogy, put yeast in their and waiting.​

• Two main series is the Silverlands (First) and then the Dragonwine.

• Had to spend a lot of time trying to make her story a little different.

  • ie. Silverlands everyone has magic and the main character doesn't.​

  • Real things inspire the story - mirror lake is from seeing a lake from a plane.

• ​Silverlands covers unequal distribution of resources.​
• Shatterwing writing about a planet with multiple moons and what would happen if one crashed into the other. 
• Worlbuilding Process: Imagining characters and their culture, developing histories for the character and the place. 
  • Will draw a sketch for maps​ to get a visual idea sometimes.
• Many books planned but there is only so much time! Don't want to stick to one theme'genre.
• Write something that I enjoy and hoe that someone else does. 
• Every story is unique and there are things that stand out in each individual piece.
• It is interesting to join all the different aspect together throughout stories.
• Real world issues find a way of inspiring the the aspects of the story as you write them. It helps process what is hapening in the world.
• Mindfulness - 100 day Process
  • Goals within a 100 days period that include balancing work an life. ​
  • Helps with completing mircoactions to complete goal.
  • Learned that you can make too many goals so you have to be realistic.
• Traveling throughout April/May with family - class it as research.
• World Science Fiction Convention in Dublin.
• Writes under alternative name, Danni Christoff.
• Committed to writing full time while completing PHD instead of going to other part time work.
• Revising is the hard part, that's where you fit in all the crafting and improvement of the story.
• Every section is different you need to use logic to repair and change.
• NaNoWriMo is encouraging gives a focus to get the words down.
• Advice - If it's your passion, go for it. Find what you are passionate about in your story.
• If there are things that are important to you, this is a change to think/talk/express ideas.
• Reading anything will all come in to writing experoence.
• Research - Don't let it get in the way - but use it as a tool.
• Write, Write, Write!
• Observe the world and use those details to help make the story real and better.