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。 there is also a fifth stage； that runs concurrently with the above： staying motivated。
thinking most of my books seem to stem from a single image or thought that lodges in my brain and slowly grows into something that needs to be expressed。
that thought may be a 鈥渨hat if？鈥潯r perhaps just an image。 sabriel largely began from a photograph i saw of hadrian鈥檚 wall； which had a green lawn in front of it and snow on the hills behind it。 many other thoughts； conscious or otherwise； grew out； upon； and over that single image； both before and during the writing of the book。
typically i seem to think about a book for a year or so before i actually start writing。 in this thinking stage； i often write a few key points in my 鈥渋deas鈥�
notebook。 at this stage； i merely put down bullet points or mnemonics that will remind me of what i was thinking。 this can be very useful later on； particularly if the gestation period for a book is several years。 titles are also handy to jot down。 the right title can be very useful as the seed from which the whole idea of the book can grow。
planning for all my longer works （i。e。； the novels）； i write chapter outlines so i can have the pleasure of departing from them later on。 actually； while i do always depart from them； writing a chapter outline is a great discipline for thinking out the story and it also provides a road map or central skeleton you can e back to if you get lost。 i often write the prologue or initial chapter first to get the impetus for the story going and then write the outline。
usually； i have to write a revised chapter outline two or three times in the course of writing the whole book； but once again it does focus the mind on where the story is going and where you want it to go。
writing short stories； articles； and items on my website i type straight into the puter （mostly a macintosh； though i also use a pc） in microsoft word。 however； i write the novels longhand first。
nowadays i use a waterman fountain pen （for shade鈥檚 children and lirael）； though i used felt…tips earlier。 i was interested to see that stephen king wrote one of his recent novels with a waterman fountain pen。 he reportedly found that this did influence the actual style of the book。
the advantages of writing longhand are several； at least for me。 first of all； i write in relatively small handbound notebooks which are much more transportable than any sort of puter； particularly since you can take them away for several weeks without having to consider power supplies； batteries； or printouts。 parts of sabriel； for example； were written on a trip through the middle east。 parts of shade鈥檚 children and lirael were written at the beach。
the other major advantage of writing longhand is that when i type up a chapter from my notebook； i rewrite as i type； so the first printout is actually a second draft。 sometimes i change it quite a lot； sometimes not so much； but it gives me a distinctive and separate stage where i can revise。
the first page of the first chapter of sabriel （as opposed to the prologue； which i wrote earlier； before i did my chapter outline） was actually writ… ten in a spiral…bound notebook； which i tore out and pasted into my preferred black and red notebook （ /鈥潯 /鈥潯r mm x mm 鈥渟ewn memo book鈥潱�
at the typing stage； i cleaned up the writing a bit and it had further minor revisions later； but in this case at least； it stayed much the same。 you can see the original manuscript page and pare it to the finished version on my website。
which brings me to revising。
revising as i said； when i type the handwritten words； i am also carrying out my first major stage of revision。
however； i usually have to go through at least two revision stages after that。 the first of these is when i first print out the typed chapter。 i go through it and make changes in pen； which i will incorporate later。 the second stage （and sometimes a third time as well） occurs when the entire manuscript is finished for the first time。 i leave that big； beautiful pile of printout on the shelf for a few weeks； then sit down and read the whole thing； making corrections as i go。
finally； i bundle the ms。 off to my australian and u。s。 publishers and wait for their reaction（s）； which generally will include some suggestions for revision and occasionally a request for rewriting。 sometimes these will be good； worthwhile changes and i work them in。 sometimes they are not； and i argue about them and 鈥敗nless i can be convinced otherwise 鈥敗efuse to alter the text。 basically； i try and keep an open mind； since there is nearly always room for improvement。
staying motivated i鈥檓 often asked by aspiring writers how i can invest a year or more in writing a full…length novel。
my stock answer is that i never sit down and think 鈥渋 have to write a novel today。鈥潯 sit down and think 鈥渋 have to write a chapter；鈥潯r 鈥渞evise a chapter；鈥�
or 鈥渇inish the chapter。鈥潯hat way； it鈥檚 only ever ；…； words that are the immediate goal。
as a further motivational gimmick； i always use the word count utility when i鈥檝e finished typing a chapter； and write that down； with a running total of words and the date in the front of my first notebook for the current work （each novel takes between five and six of those red and black numbers）。
i also write down the music i鈥檝e been listening to as i write and anything else that might be interesting to look back upon。 like the fact that i uploaded my first home page on april ！ the word count is a relatively small thing； but it has an amazing psychological effect； particularly as more and more chapters appear and the word total grows。 i find it very encouraging； particularly in the first third of the book； which always seems to take the majority of the time。
summary here are several one…liners that sum up my writing philosophy。 some i鈥檝e made up and some are probably paraphrases of other people鈥檚 sayings； only i can鈥檛 remember who said what。 （though i think the 鈥渞ead； write； revise鈥潯ne is from robert heinlein。） 鈥測ou can鈥檛 write if you don鈥檛 read。鈥�
鈥渏ust write one chapter at a time and one day you鈥檒l be surprised by your own finished novel。鈥�
鈥渨riting anything is better than not writing something perfect。鈥�
鈥渞ead； write； revise； submit； repeat。鈥�
鈥渆xpect rejection； but don鈥檛 let it stop you submitting again。鈥�
鈥渟ubmit the very best work you can； not the first draft。 always read it again before you send it。鈥�
about the author garth nix was born in and grew up in canberra； australia。 after taking his degree in professional writing from the university of canberra； he slowly sank into the morass of the publishing industry； steadily devolving from sales rep through publicist； until in he became a senior editor with a major multinational publisher。 after a period traveling in eastern europe； the middle east； and asia in ； he left publishing to work as a marketing munications consultant。 in ； he was lured back to the publishing world to bee a part…time literary agent。 he now lives in sydney； a five…minute walk from coogee beach； with his wife； anna； and lots of books。
garth is the author of； among other books； sabriel； lirael； and shade鈥檚 chldren。
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