An interview with LN Hunter
Tell us one of your first experiences where you realised that language had power.
I think I first appreciated the power of language when I became aware how many words and phrases Shakespeare invented that are part of everyday English, but for me, it’s recent politics that shows the mindboggling power that empty, misleading, and downright untruthful words can have.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would you say?
Don’t wait so long before starting to write! Don’t wait for time (you’ll never find enough); don’t wait for ‘permission’ (you don’t need it); don’t wait until you’re ‘ready’ (that’ll never happen) – just start.
Have you ever written under a pseudonym?
Always…
What kind of research do you do for whatever it is you’re writing?
As little as possible. ‘Write what you know’ is really ‘Write what you think you know and check the uncertain bits with some internet research’ (and by that, I mean more than just Wikipedia) – I haven’t yet strayed far into areas where I need to put a huge amount of effort into research.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters of a different gender to you?
I tend to cheat by avoiding situations where gender matters or where differences need to be addressed in any detail. Part of the reason for this (and more generally, for not writing about people vastly different to me in any way) is the fear of getting something wrong and not noticing (Rumsfeld’s ‘unknown unknowns’), or worse still, accidentally offending people.
Do you believe in the dreaded Writer’s Block?
No, it’s an unhelpful term for a huge range of reasons (excuses?) for not writing, some more legitimate than others. Rather than give up because of ‘writer’s block,’ you need to work out what it is that’s really getting in the way. For example, it could be that you don’t know what you should be writing next, and research or planning might be a worthwhile activity; or you could be overwhelmed by too many ideas, so do a brain dump onto paper and shuffle the pieces around. Perhaps something else is occupying your mind, leaving no room for writing - perhaps it would be beneficial to step back and focus on that for a while. There have been periods when I haven’t been able to write, but I’ve found it more helpful to think around the situation than to just accept it as ‘writer’s block.’
I think I first appreciated the power of language when I became aware how many words and phrases Shakespeare invented that are part of everyday English, but for me, it’s recent politics that shows the mindboggling power that empty, misleading, and downright untruthful words can have.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would you say?
Don’t wait so long before starting to write! Don’t wait for time (you’ll never find enough); don’t wait for ‘permission’ (you don’t need it); don’t wait until you’re ‘ready’ (that’ll never happen) – just start.
Have you ever written under a pseudonym?
Always…
What kind of research do you do for whatever it is you’re writing?
As little as possible. ‘Write what you know’ is really ‘Write what you think you know and check the uncertain bits with some internet research’ (and by that, I mean more than just Wikipedia) – I haven’t yet strayed far into areas where I need to put a huge amount of effort into research.
What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters of a different gender to you?
I tend to cheat by avoiding situations where gender matters or where differences need to be addressed in any detail. Part of the reason for this (and more generally, for not writing about people vastly different to me in any way) is the fear of getting something wrong and not noticing (Rumsfeld’s ‘unknown unknowns’), or worse still, accidentally offending people.
Do you believe in the dreaded Writer’s Block?
No, it’s an unhelpful term for a huge range of reasons (excuses?) for not writing, some more legitimate than others. Rather than give up because of ‘writer’s block,’ you need to work out what it is that’s really getting in the way. For example, it could be that you don’t know what you should be writing next, and research or planning might be a worthwhile activity; or you could be overwhelmed by too many ideas, so do a brain dump onto paper and shuffle the pieces around. Perhaps something else is occupying your mind, leaving no room for writing - perhaps it would be beneficial to step back and focus on that for a while. There have been periods when I haven’t been able to write, but I’ve found it more helpful to think around the situation than to just accept it as ‘writer’s block.’