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dannyg
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YouWriteOn
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Doug would really like to thank everybody for their questions and good wishes and says that he'll try to answer all the remaining questions tomorrow. He is off for a well deserved glass of wine now, if his typing fingers are able to hold the glass after the extensive exercise.  For anyone who would like a copy of Caligula, it can be bought from all good bookstores now Click here to view in bookstores and onlineWe hope you all enjoyed the chat, and many thanks to everyone for their participation which was very much appreciated. Ted
This post was last edited by YouWriteOn, 16 Aug 2008, 17:23
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Anna Hunt
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Thanks to ywo and Doug from someone who's popped in too late (no - that's not the story of my life) and who has found the q & a session very useful. Congratulations, Doug, especially on saying that you intend to carry on with the day job too. Now that is amazing.
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tomkeal
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Quote: Anna Hunt, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 18:12Thanks to ywo and Doug from someone who's popped in too late (no - that's not the story of my life) and who has found the q & a session very useful. Congratulations, Doug, especially on saying that you intend to carry on with the day job too. Now that is amazing.  I'd also like to add my thanks for an interesting discussion, which I blame the Olympics for missing.  Tom
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Callant
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Quote: plumboz, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:35The tux, bow tie and mysterious kilt is an excellent ensemble choice for these informal get-togethers. Classic. My last serious question: Do you think your credentials as a journalist were at all helpful in getting the serious attention of the publishing world? And my last not serious question: Have you received any nasty emails from Albert Camus regarding using his title? Congrats many, many times over. And thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Best, Alan Hi again Alan, to be honest I don't think my credentials as a journalist made any difference, although my experience did. It meant that the stuff I presented to my agent and the publisher was pretty tight and mistake free and that I wasn't fazed in any way by meeting deadlines. Albert hasn't been in touch yet
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Callant
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Quote: Linda, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:44Hi Doug. Congratulations. Can I ask please ask about your writing methods? As you're able to work on the train, you must be able to switch off from what's going on around you. Did you work the plot out in detail before writing, or did you just have a rough idea where the story was going? Thanks. Hi Linda, the reason I can switch off on the train, I think, is that I've spent half a lifetime working in big, open plan offices and writing complicated headlines in five words while someone is screaming that they needed them five minutes ago. It tends to concentrate your thought processes. With The Emperor's Elephant I started off with an end point, the Emperor Claudius riding in triumph on his elephant after the Roman invasion of Britain, although the actual book ended 17 years later when Boudicca besieged the Temple of Claudius in Colchester. When I turned the first third of it into Caligula, I had Caligula's assassination as an aiming point, but I had to fill in lots of gaps and create a life for the Emperor, which was a lot of fun. It's also probably worth knowing that I created a life for Rufus that started when he was six years old and was sold into slavery. Ten years of his life and 20,000 words that won't appear in any book, but wasn't wasted because it gave my character depth and thoughts and memories.
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Callant
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Quote: demolinero, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:46Hi Doug Congratulations of writing a great page-turner. I think my previous question has been answered, but can you tell us how much difference it made to you when you actually found an agent and could spend more time writing rather than pitching? -Liz Hi Liz, I think the only difference it made was that it took the pressure off a bit. As everybody on this site knows writing's a very solitary occupation and it makes a huge difference when you know someone else is on your team after years of struggling away on your own. I didn't really spend a lot of time pitching. I think I sent three synopsis out to a couple of agents (including Jenny Brown who I'm now with) and a publisher. I sort of got Stan by mistake. I met him through a friend at The Scotsman and he agreed to help me develop Brothers in Arms, the other book I have on this site., on an informal basis
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Callant
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Quote: Lawrence Poole, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:52Hi Doug, did you try to ignore the Caligula of Robert Graves' 'I Claudius' books, and Juhn Hurt's famous portrayal of Caligula, when you decided to write your book? Hi Lawrence, I tried to ignore everything fictional and Roman while I was writing, and to a certain extent still do. I wanted to write about a Rome and Romans based purely on my own reading of the original sources, Tacitus, Suetonius and the like, and the research I did. The tone of some of the characters is influenced by a translation of Herodotus I read and some letters of Pliny's that I found on the internet.
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Callant
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Quote: jillprewett, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:57Hey Doug Congratulations! It's an amazing book. Everyone's asked what I wanted to know, but just one thing, how did you celebrate when you discovered you would be getting your story out there? All the best for the rest Jill Hi Jill I couldn't celebrate right away because Stan phoned me at work. But when I got home we opened a bottle of champagne. I was at my agent's party last year at the book festival and Alan Guthrie, who's a crime writer, gave me a piece of advice - 'Celebrate everything' - which I've taken to heart. There have been quite a few champagne days since.
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Callant
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Quote: HJW, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:51Quote: Linda, Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 16:44Hi Doug. Congratulations. Can I ask please ask about your writing methods? As you're able to work on the train, you must be able to switch off from what's going on around you. Did you work the plot out in detail before writing, or did you just have a rough idea where the story was going? Thanks. I'd like to know that too! Also, with the fictional characters, are you the sort of writer who writes pages of notes about character's favourite biscuits etc, or do they reveal themselves to you as you write the first draft (the characters that is, not the biscuits!)? Hi Justine, I've answered the first bit already, as for characters, they kinda write themselves in my head. I don't have any notes but I seem to know them as well, or better than, my friends, which I suppose makes me a bit sad.
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