I have spent the greater part of my life inside my head. It’s a happening place to be, if I do say so myself.
A lot of the work of writing, the day to day work of it, is staring off into the distance. I spend more time thinking about my characters than almost anyone in my real life. The actual sitting down and typing side of things is quite a small part of my day.
Once I’m up and filled to the brim with coffee, I do whatever simply must be done, blog like a fiend, check my notes, and consider book four until it’s time to start typing.
Generally, I type from midnight to five a.m. If I’m using Aimée’s laptop, I’ll usually make some good progress, a couple of thousand words and an inkling of which direction the story is going in. If I’m using my old laptop, I’ll get distracted by Solitaire and lose a couple of hours. (I only use my old laptop when Aimée’s is throwing a hissy fit and failing to move beyond the Apple logo.)
On my way to bed, I leave notes for myself. Little things I should have thought of while I was typing: which character should be going to pieces, which one has gone silent, which one is planning an escape or an affair or some minor meltdown.
Most of my night-dreams are like anyone else’s, except they take place during the day. Now, because I am aware that other people’s dreams are really boring, I won’t explain too much, but the fact is – I’m often the hero in my head. However, over the last couple of years, more often than not, the contents of my sleeping brain have revolved around Amberleigh.
And then, once the coffee cup is drained and the day is ready to start properly, I fall back into the daydream, until it’s time to write it down.
Petrina Binney - Author 