Interview with NANOWRIMO enthusiast and entrant - Karl S. Green

Good afternoon/evening.
I really am sorry for the delay but I have no idea where the day has gone.
Anyway time for the interview with Karl S. Green.
Here it is, enjoy -

QUESTION 1 - When did you notice you had the 'reading bug'?

I can't really place a date on this one, I've always enjoyed reading, ever since I was a kid.

QUESTION 2 - Did you have many books as a child?

Yes, I had quite a few books when I was a child, plus I would also borrow books from the local library and my school's library - libraries are an important part of encouraging children to read!

QUESTION 3 - Favourite author as a child?

Hmm, this is a toughy. It's hard to pick one. But, if I had to, I say Roald Dahl. His children's books are always great!

(I also have to give an honourable mention to Jill Murphy, I loved her books about "The Worst Witch"! But my love of the Worst Witch is a very long story, and far too long to go into here...)

QUESTION 4 - What kind of books were you into as a teen?

This was when I started to get into fantasy fiction. I discovered "The Hobbit" when I was about 13, and then moved onto "The Lord of the Rings". I also discovered "A Game of Thrones" back in 1996 when it was first published, and I was 15 (and long before it was cool to know about it!). Back then it was unknown. In fact, it was so unknown the publishers appeared concerned that people may not want to buy a book from a new series by an author they may not have heard of before. So, what they did was publish a small sample book. It was a paperback containing the first few chapters (ending on a cliffhanger), and cost 99p. My mother bought it for me, and I loved it! I eventually went on to buy and read the full book. (I still have that small paperback - it's now worth about £200!)
I've grown to love fantasy stories - I like escaping into a different world, and I like stories about epic struggles, sometimes on a global scale.

QUESTION 5 - Name one author you couldn't be without?

Stephen King. I think his writing is fantastic. I'm making an attempt to get through all of his books, which I find incredibly readable.

QUESTION 6 - Name one author the world would be lost without?

J. R. R. Tolkien. He helped to revolutionise the fantasy genre. A world sans "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" I think would be quite dull.

QUESTION 7 - Favourite book of all time?

OK, this is a really, really hard question! It's hard to pick just one! But I'm going to go for "The Hobbit". When I first read it I found it to be an exciting adventure, and I was always keen to find out what happened next. I found it hugely entertaining as a young teen, and I still find it hugely entertaining now I'm in my 30's. I very rarely read a book more than once, but so far in my life I've read "The Hobbit" 3 times, and I'm sure I'll be reading it again in the future...

QUESTION 8 - Top three all time favourite authors?

Stephen King
J. R. R. Tolkien
George R. R. Martin
(Honourable mentions for Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, and Jill Murphy)

QUESTION 9 - How did you get into NANOWRIMO?

I've always been into writing stories, ever since I was a little kid. I also tend to prefer creating longer story forms, such as novels, as opposed to short stories. I'd heard about NaNoWriMo back in 2006, but decided not to go for it that year. But then, in 2007, I decided that I would go for it, as by that time I felt like taking on the challenge. I went to my first NaNoLondon meetup (i.e. a meeting of all of the Nanoers in London) at the end of October 2007, and they were all really great people. From that point on there was no turning back...

QUESTION 10 - When is NANOWRIMO held?

The main event is held every year in November. There are also smaller events held in June and August called Camp NaNoWriMo, although I'm yet to participate in those.

QUESTION 11 - Would you recommend NANOWRIMO to budding authors?

Absolutely! If you've ever wanted to write a novel, but just never got around to it, then you simply must do it! It will help to spur you on to get that first draft of a novel written. Don't have a plot? Don't worry about it - just write whatever comes to mind! You may be surprised at what comes out! Don't worry about the quality, Nano is all about getting a rough draft down on paper. No author's first draft of a story is great - they become great during the revision process. But for Nano, just enjoy the writing process, and get that first draft written...

QUESTION 12 - Do you find NANOWRIMO helps the creative juices going?

Definitely. When I write my novels I always have a clear end in mind, and I find it a thrill to build my story up to work towards that end. Also, the great community spirit during NaNoWriMo helps immensely. You're never alone when you do NaNoWriMo, as there are people throughout the world who are also struggling away on their novels. Interacting with all of these other people helps to spur everyone on.We have a great crowd in NaNoLondon (and anyone in or near London will be more than welcome to join us for NaNoWriMo this November!). And I would also like to give a special mention to Jenn and Claire, who are two of the Municipal Liaisons (MLs) for NaNoWriMo in London. They organise loads of events during NaNoWriMo. These include write-ins, where we all get together to write for a set time, an all night write-in at a local bookstore, and NaNoRilla, where we went on a tour around sites in north London and did some writing in them. These events always get a good turnout, and meeting all of these other people and sitting down to write at the same time as them certainly gets the creative juices flowing. I feel that NaNoWriMo in London wouldn't be anywhere near as fun without all these events, along with the kick-off, mid-month, and end parties that also happen with the help of our other ML's, Lily (who's standing down this year) and Tom.

QUESTION 13 - What is the BIGGEST word count you've done for NANOWRIMO?

My word count goes up every year! The official target is "just" 50,000 words. I laugh in the face of 50,000 words! Last year my final word count was a staggering 160,056 words! (In my 5 years of doing NaNoWriMo I've a written over 500,000 words in total!) And I'm not done yet. This year I've been challenged to do 200,000 words...

QUESTION 14 - Rumour has it you used to do SCRIPT FRENZY, could you describe the process and what happens?

Script Frenzy took place every year in April, where the aim was to write 100 pages of scripts in 30 days. The process is quite different to novel writing, as you have to adjust for the medium you're writing for. If you're doing a film or TV script you have to think visually, and if you're doing a radio script you have to bare in mind what the audience can "see", and what you need to tell them through sound (plus radio is even more heavily reliant on dialogue than any other medium, and writing good dialogue is hard if you're not used to it). I had experience of script writing before I did Script Frenzy - my degree is in Film & TV, and for part of it I wrote film, TV, and radio scripts (I enjoy writing for all sorts of mediums!).

QUESTION 15 - Is SCRIPT FRENZY still running?

Sadly not - 2012 was the last year for Script Frenzy. The organisation that runs it - The Office of Letters and Light - took the decision to close it down this year on cost grounds, and with the intention that they could focus their efforts on all of their other writing programmes.

QUESTION 16 - Do you find that writing helps you escape the real world?

In some ways yes, but in other ways no. I always find that the real world has a way of creeping into my writing. People who know me well may very well recognise various things if they read my writing!

QUESTION 17 - I heard through the grapevine you are writing an Autobiography, what type of content will be in there? And when do you plan on publishing it?

Yes, I've recently started work on this, and it will be called "Fifty Shades of Green". But don't expect to find any BDSM in it! It will be a collection of my thoughts and short episodes from my life. Don't expect a warts and all tell all - many things will be left out for various reasons! But it will still be an interesting and fun read (at least, I hope it will be...). I'm also planning to have a Q&A section where people can literally ask me anything about me, and I will answer it! (Although, there will be no guarantees that all questions will get a serious answer...) All things being well, I hope to have the whole book available by around October. This is quite a firm deadline - I have a feeling that I'm going to be busy in November...


Thankyou Karl, for the sneaky peek into your mind, thoughts, childhood and what you are upto.
Good luck with the Autobiography and best of luck for November's NANOWRIMO and your target of 200,000 words :-).

Okay again I am sorry for the delay, been a hectic day.

Tomorrows book reviews will be 'The Hobbit' By - J.R.R. Tolkien & 'Old Magick' By Kirstyanne Ross.

Thanks for reading x x x