#Something something historical geographical inaccuracy of making maps

[crafter273]

hey wait

Guardian of the eastern gate

And the most east place on earth(before the discovery of america and all that) is the British isles

Is that why aziraphale, being the guardian of the eastern gate, has been stationed in london?

#Something something historical geographical inaccuracy of making maps #Based on the crackpot theory that at some point the british isles must have thought they are the MOST EASTEST in the world #Not counting africa its at the south #And we didnt have satellites before at least 1800 #And then #aziraphale #Guardian of the Eastern Gate #Of the Garden of Eden #And then he settles down in London #SEE THE PARALLELS??? #good omens meta #good omens parallels #good omens theory #good omens s2 #Not to forget people usually navigated only by carriage #Horses and bicycles #And by ships for extremely long journeys

[imsfire2]

18, 19, and 24 for the 'get to know author' meme please?

Ah, thank you for asking, nonnie!

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

Well, on one level, I would say that everything you read is an influence in a way; all well-written work helps to build a framework of “this is how to do this well” and all badly-written work can serve as a guideline as to what to avoid doing.  The more you read, the better you get at spotting which is which for you, and at working out why they are well done or badly done. 

More specifically, I can give you one very significant example from about ten years ago.  I remember starting to read “Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazier and putting the book down after the first three paragraphs to just sit and stare at my hands and feel awed, because the sheer quality of the writing, the balance between deep richness of world-building and absolute clarity of exposition, was so stunning.  I made myself go back and re-read those first three paragraphs as a kind of gesture of honour, and to try and understand how the hell it had been done, to grab me so entirely, and so swiftly, and put me right down inside a complete world and a complete experience with such simplicity of style.  And I remember thinking “this is how I want to write” - not in the sense of copying Frazier’s style, so much as just the idea of being able to grab and hold a reader’s attention, and the idea of maintaining that balance between the rich and the clear, became clarified as writing goals from that moment.  That was in December 2007, on holiday in Funchal, and I’ve been writing pretty solidly ever since, trying to reach that as I tell the stories that come to me. 

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Mostly in my head.  I tend to make a few notes right at the start - basic story outline, lists of names and places, etc, and maybe draw some maps - but otherwise I just roll with it.  In many other areas of life I’m an obsessive planner but I’ve learned the hard way that my fiction doesn’t want to be marshalled too much or it dies on its feet.

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

I don’t think I’m an expert in anything!  I do try to do adequate research to avoid historical or scientific gaffes, culturally offensive ideas, geographical inaccuracies, etc.  I have had to do some pretty weird research on occasion.  I read up a lot on 19th century handguns when I was writing “The Healers”, and spent hours poring over maps of the Kansas/Missouri border.  I have happy memories of sitting in a pub on Richmond Green with my best friend a few years agodiscussing how to accidentally blow up a chemistry lab...  But in the end, I’m writing fiction, not fact, and it isn’t generally set in the exact world we live in but in other versions of this world, where magic really exists, for example, or a faith healer can bring a man back from the dead; or even on other worlds altogether.  So I think I have some leeway.

Thank you for asking!