Question and Answer- Melanie Milburne
At what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I was about six or seven when I started writing my own stories. Before that I made them up in my head. I remember being frustrated at age four that I couldn’t read for myself. As soon as I attended school I was one of the first to learn to read. I still remember the wonderful feeling of losing myself in a story.
What made you choose romance as a genre?
I think it’s hard-wired into my personality to make everyone around me happy. I’m a fix-it person. When I read my first romance at seventeen it sealed it for me. I knew that was what I wanted to write.
Where do you get your ideas?
I get inspired by things that happen to me or to other people, things I’ve read about in books or hear in the news, or things I observe in popular culture – even a line or two of a song can trigger a story idea. I think writers have a type of radar that is constantly on the lookout for story possibilities. That’s why is so important to write regularly as it keeps that radar tuned!
How do you stay fresh and original when you’ve written so many books?
That is certainly the challenge for a series romance author as there are a limited number of themes that we have to revisit over a career, sometimes many times. I try to twist old themes in new ways. I turn things around or look at it from another angle. I really like the challenge of digging that little bit deeper to find some way of telling a story in a fresh and innovative way.
Are you a plotter/outliner or a wing- it, see how it goes type of writer?
I used to think I was a wing-it writer but lately I’ve realized I do both. Some books seem to write themselves, but I think it’s because I’ve done a lot of subconscious processing before I sat down to write them. There is no right way to do it. I think each writer has his or her own process. I switch between both processes now depending on the book and the amount of time I’ve had to indulge in thinking time.
What is your writing routine?
I find it hard to write straight off the block. I have to get other things tidied up first or I can’t get in the zone. I do all the business stuff first thing, and then I go for my walk or my swim before I sit in front of my computer. It is usually late morning or just after lunch and I work until it’s time to do something about dinner. I have numerous cups of tea and the odd biscuit to keep me going!
What do you do when you are not writing?
I read and watch movies, have coffee and people watch. I have regular massage, which helps me to relax. I envy serene, chilled out people. I haven’t got an off switch. My mind is revved like a Ferrari. I’m always thinking of the next story I want to write. I drive myself nuts!
How long does it take to write a book?
I’m a fast writer so usually it takes me four to six weeksAnchor. I like to have the framework of the story there and then I can deepen the emotional intensity and conflict. It helps to have some distance from it and then go back with new eyes to see how I can make it better.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block and how do you overcome it?
I have never had writer’s block per se but I’ve had scene block, setting block or character block. If I have stalled it is usually because the story isn’t strong enough in some way, or I’ve overwritten it, or written myself into a corner. I find it helps to go for a long walk to clear my head. Even taking a day or two off when I ban myself from my work in progress and just read can be an amazing breakthrough. Staring at the screen in a rising panic never works.
You write for both Harlequin Presents/Modern and the Medical romance line. Is it difficult moving between the two?
My voice is the same so I don’t find it difficult at all. I have the same amount of sensuality, and while the heroes in a medical might not be quite as alpha as in a Presents/Modern, mine usually are.
What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Everyone says it: read, read and read. I think that’s terribly important but what is even more important is to write. It is in the process of putting words on a page that you learn how storytelling works. You can’t read it in a book or learn it in a workshop quite the same way as doing it for yourself, finding your voice, developing your unique way of saying what you want to say. I read thousands of books over the years but it was only by sitting down and writing that I found my voice and style.
What are three words that best describe you?
Enthusiastic, passionate and energetic.
If you could have your time over what would you do differently?
I would have started writing earlier. I talked about writing a book for years without ever doing it. I’m so glad I eventually sat down and believed in myself enough to do it. It horrifies me that I could have so easily missed out on the joys of being a published author.
What do you love most about being a writer?
I love the process of writing. I love exploring characters and their emotions. I love the sense of achievement when I’ve typed The End. And of course I love hearing from my readers! It is so humbling to be told your book/s have touched someone deeply.