Blog Tour: Tall Oaks by Chris Whitaker

00:00

Title: Tall Oaks
Author: Chris Whitaker
Published: 7th April 2016
Publisher: twenty7 

Today I have the pleasure of being on the tour for Tall Oaks by Chris Whittaker sharing his journey from reader to writer. Don't forget to follow along with the tour; all stops listed below.




The Move from Reader to Writer
When I was two years old I ate the entire jacket of a book. It was a Spot the Dog book, one of my brother’s favourites, and I devoured it in one sitting. My mum took a picture shortly before I vomited up the barcode. I look happy in it. So I suppose my love of books began at a really young age. 
I’ve always been an avid reader, I think as a writer you have to be. Reading a good book is inspiring, reading a bad book is encouraging (well, he/she managed to get a publishing deal!) 
When I was at school my love of reading soon led to a love of writing. Every day I’d ask the teacher to set us creative writing homework. Needless to say I was one of the popular kids.  We had an author come and talk to us once, I can’t remember his name but he gave a really inspirational speech (then ruined it by charging an extra 50p if we wanted him to sign a copy of his book). I remember thinking how lucky he was, that he got to tell stories for a living. 
I wrote some bits and pieces in my late teens, all of it bad enough to see me head into the city and pursue a career in finance (yawn). So I buried my dream for a while, though every time I picked up a book it surfaced again. 
When I turned thirty I decided I’d give it a proper go. I quit my job (scary) and then proceeded to write some of the worst fiction known to man. Really, really awful stuff. I threw cliché after cliché at each story, gave little thought to structure and even less to pacing. 
I persevered though, writing hundreds of thousands of words, printing them out, reading them back and then feeding them to the shredder.
It was only when I sat down and gave real thought to the type of writer I wanted to be that something clicked. I like to read crime, but am also a fan of any book that can make me laugh. So with that in mind I began to work out a rough plot for Tall Oaks. 
Then I sat down and began to write it. For the first time it wasn’t a struggle and I started to really enjoy the process. I wrote a first draft in four weeks, then spent a further six months editing it. I worked on characterisation, on narrative and dialogue and making sure the plot holes were filled in. I knew it was better than anything I’d written before. 
Looking back now I think the problem had always been that I was trying to emulate my favourite writers rather than find a style of my own. As soon as I did, the long and difficult journey from reader to writer suddenly felt entirely worthwhile.



Tall Oaks is available as an ebook on 7th April 





Share This Story

Tags:
Shahryar Sultan

You Might Also Like

0 comments

Popular Posts

  • Singalong Saturday (Outside)
    Today's prompt: Favorite Song Outside Your 'Usual' Taste This meme is hosted by Bookish Things & More . This was tough becau...
  • Week in Review - Week 45
    Random Thoughts It has been a long time since we had a kitten. Casey was our last about 5 years ago, but we got her at a few months old. Now...
  • Movie Month - Day 1
    What was the first movie you really remember loving? ~ There are probably others, but one that definitely sticks in my mind is Beauty and th...
  • The Heart of Betrayal
    The Heart of Betrayal (Remnant Chronicles #2) Mary E. Pearson. 2015. Henry Holt. 470 pages. [Source: Library] First sentence: One swift act....
  • October Wrap Up
    As usual I am late in posting my monthly wrap up, such is it that real life gets in the way of me wanting to do bloggy things. The things or...
  • Book Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
    Jay Kristoff is an author I have definitely heard of before, particularly from his Illuminae series- which I have, but have not yet read, b...
  • Book Review: My Sister's Bones by Nuala Elwood
    Today brings my stop on the epic blog tour for My Sister's Bones by Nuala Elwood. I am thrilled to be able to share my review for this b...
  • Blog Tour: The Story of Our Life by Shari Low
    Today I have the pleasure of being part of the blog tour for The Story of Our Life by Shari Low. Shari is telling us about her friends worr...
  • 30 Days of Books ~ Day 12
    Day 12 ~ A book you used to love but don't anymore It pains me to admit that I do not love this series the same way that I used to... Wh...
  • Blog Tour: Relativity by Antonia Hayes
    Title : Relativity Author : Antonia Hayes Published : 7th April 2016 Publisher : Corsair Happy Monday everyone (or there abouts). Today I am...

Like us on Facebook

Flickr Images