Vlad The World’s Worst Vampire by Anna Wilson

Vlad The World’s Worst Vampire by Anna Wilson

Hello All!

Today is my stop on the Vlad The World’s Worst Vampire blog tour and I have for you today a very fantastic guest post from Anna Wilson!.

About the Book

Vlad is the youngest member of the Impaler family, the bravest vampires that ever lived. But Vlad isn’t very brave at all. He’s even a little bit scared of the dark!
All Vlad wants is some friends and he thinks he knows just where to find them… Human school!
So off Vlad goes, along with his pet bat Flit.
But how will Vlad keep his true identity secret from his new friends? Not to mention keeping them hidden from his family!
Life just got a lot more complicated…
A gentle and funny story of a little vampire who wishes he was human – this is DIARY OF A WIMPY KID meets Hotel Transylvania.

Goodreads. Amazon UK. Waterstones.

Where and How I Write

By Anna Wilson

People always seem curious to know where authors write, as though finding the right place will mean that the words will flow more easily – as though there is something magical about a writer’s place of work. The fact is, a writer’s job needs very little in terms of equipment. As long as you have somewhere half decent to plonk yourself down, and you have something to write with and on, you can work.

I write anywhere and everywhere – as do most writers I know. Sometimes I take myself off to a café because I know no one will be able to phone me there; I can be more disciplined about not accessing the distractions of WiFi and there is no laundry basket or ironing pile screaming, “What about me?” I also like to work in cafés because of the opportunities for people-watching and eavesdropping which it affords. Sometimes looking at the way people are talking (nor not talking!) to one another can help with the development of a character I am creating. Sometimes it’s just the fact that the coffee is better and the building warmer than at home.

Trains are good too, especially if the journey is longer than an hour. I often prefer to write in notebooks when travelling as they are easier to carry than my laptop and don’t need recharging. Then there’s writing while walking the dog in the fields near my house, or sitting by the sea, or strolling by the river – yes, all these places can be perfect writing locations too. I always have my phone with me, so the Notes app is perfect for jotting down thoughts on the go. Basically, as long as I have something to write with and somewhere to sit, lean or lie down, then I’m good to go.

Of course I have a desk too, and that is where I spend the majority of my writing time. It is a stand-up/sit-down desk so that I can give my problematic back a change from sitting all the time. I don’t have a study, though – the desk is on the landing in our house. In many ways it’s not the most ideal spot as when the house is full of people I can’t shut a door for privacy. But it has the best view – the window looks out on to the most magnificent beech tree I have ever seen. When I am not glued to my screen, typing away, I gaze up at it and watch it change its clothes as the seasons roll in and out. It is a comforting presence, always there, reminding me that however badly my writing is going, things will take a turn for the better soon – just as winter will turn into spring.

I suppose I don’t believe in the perfect place to write. The main thing is to “just do it” as a famous sports brand extolls us to do. There are days when the cry of the ironing pile is mysteriously more attractive than my pen or keyboard, but I still make myself write something. Books are not made by ideas and blank pages. Which leads me to the next question we writers are often asked, namely: how do you write?

Again, this is asked as though magic must be involved in the creative process. Not true. I just sit down (or stand up or lie or flop or lounge) and begin. That’s it. No muse comes to sit on my shoulder, no great revelation comes to me in blinding light. I start to write words and I see where they lead me. Sometimes they lead to me dead ends, sometimes they bore me and I wonder why I am still trying to bend them to my will. But more often than not, they begin to pick up momentum, and before I know it I am building castles and creating vampires out of thin air. Maybe that is where the magic is, if it exists at all. However, as any magician will tell you, you have to work hard to be able to make your tricks look easy. And so my top ten tips are these:

Write.
Write when you want to.
Write when you don’t want to.
Write when you have something to say.
Write when you don’t have something to say.
Write when you’re happy.
Write when you’re sad.
Write when you have spare time.
Write when you’re busy.
Write more and more and more than that. And never give up.

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What a fab post! What do you think of Anna’s tips?