Marcel Nyeholt Information Resource Centre

Wonderful Australian author Ian Irvine will be visiting for a virtual blog tour.  This will be on June 17th.  Stay tuned to this page for a chance to have all your questions answered by Ian Irvine.  Visit his website at http://www.ian-irvine.com/

 

Ian answers qustions from the Year 6 students

Zara: What do you do when you are stuck in the middle of writing?

I don’t get stuck very often these days, Zara, because I’ve done about 40,000 hours of book writing and usually know what to do. But if I do get stuck I just ask myself a whole lot of questions about what could happen next, or what the characters might do or so, and keep writing down questions and answers until I come up with an idea that seems right.

Sophie: What was the first book you wrote?  What inspires you?

The first book I wrote is called A Shadow on the Glass, and it’s the first book of a great big 11-book fantasy series for older readers which runs to 2.3 million words (over 7,000 pages). You can read about it on my website, here: http://www.ian-irvine.com/threeworlds.html. It’s been published all over the world and has been a bestseller in some places, and I think the series has sold a million copies. What inspires me: life, and nature; great art and wonderful stories. Lots of things.

Genevieve: How many books have you written? and Do you have a favourite book that you wrote?

I’ve just finished my 27^th book, Genevieve. 26 are published already, The Calamitous Queen being the latest, and the 27^th will be published in October. It’s a big fantasy novel called Vengeance. Sometimes I think A Shadow on the Glass is my favourite, because it was first, and because I spent so many years writing it. And sometimes it’s The Desperate Dwarf, which is the funniest. It changes all the time.

Madelaine:  You are an environmental scientist did you write factual reports and things before you became a fictional author?

Yes I did, Madelaine. I’ve written more than 30 published scientific reports and articles, including Australia’s National Environmental Assessment Guidelines for Dredging, and nearly 300 other reports.

Emily:  How long does it roughly take you to write a book?

It depends on the book, Emily. Each of the Grim and Grimmer books took a bit over a month; they were quick. Some of my really big fantasy novels, which are 700-800 pages long, have taken nearly a year to write.

Anna: How many books have you written? What are they?

27, Anna. 12 are fantasy for older readers. 12 are children’s books, and three are thrillers about climate change. You can read about all of them here: http://www.ian-irvine.com/

Maeve: I know how hard writing is, so does writing just come naturally to him, or does he find it hard.

It’s never easy, and it took me a long time to become good at it, Maeve. But I still love doing it, even when it’s hard.

Cailtlan: What is the longest book you have ever wrote?  What made you want to start writing books?

My longest book is Chimaera and it’s over 800 pages, or 265,000 words, Caitlan. You can read about it here: http://www.ian-irvine.com/threeworlds.html

Ally:  I would like to know how you get ideas for writing books?

Ideas are everywhere, Ally. I get ideas every time I read a book or the newspaper, or go for a walk in the city or the country. But I also read a lot of non-fiction, and I’ve travelled a lot and worked in many countries, and ideas come from those experiences too.

Riley: What sort of fantasy do you write?

My big books are epic fantasy, Riley, huge books in huge series about the fate of whole races and worlds. But the books I’ve written for children are much smaller. My Grim and Grimmer books, which are written for people your age, are funny adventure stories. You can see the covers and read the first chapters here: http://www.ian-irvine.com/grimgrimmer.html

Sam: Do you like videogames!!!???!!!???

Never played them, Sam. I don’t have the time, to be honest. My kids do, though.

Joshua: My question is how many years have you been writing for?

24, Sam. I started writing in 1987.

Elizabeth: What types of books do you like to write?

I like fantasy, mostly. I love adventure stories where people have to leave all the comforts of home and survive in the hard world with just their wits to protect them.

Tess: My Question is what books did you read when you were a child?

That’s so long ago, Tess, that there probably wouldn’t be any of them in the school library. I really liked Enid Blyton’s Famous Five stories, and Biggles when I was older (stories about fighter pilots in the war).

Nick: Question 1. What made you change your mind about marine science and made you turn to writing?  Question 2. How did you come up with the ideas for your books?

I didn’t change my mind about marine science, Nick. I still do some of that work to this day, and still enjoy it. But I also wanted to write stories, really badly, and since I work for myself, from  my own home, I figured I might be able to do both. And I have been able to, fortunately for me. Re: ideas, see my answer to Ally, up above.

Paris: Is anyone else in your family a writer?

No, Paris, but my wife is an etcher and printmaker, and my oldest son is a movie animator. He worked on the fantasy movie about owls, Legend of the Guardians, that was out in the movies last year.

Sarah: Is the reason you write fantasy books because you enjoy reading fantasy books? If not, what books do you like reading?

Yes, Sarah, it is, but I read all kinds of books, crime, thrillers, romance, non-fiction. Some of the fantasy series I’ve enjoyed recently include: Sabriel and The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, the
Monster Blood Tattoo series by DM Cornish,
Worldshaker by Richard Harland,
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn,
The Laws of Magic series by Michael Pryor,
The Spook series by Joseph Delaney,
The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling,
Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman.
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud.


Audrey: When did you start writing fantasy books?

Way back in 1987, Audrey, though I’d been thinking about writing, and planning it, for years before that.

Lachlan: What is your favourite book you have read ( that is not one of your own books) ?

It used to be The Lord of the Rings, Lachlan. I don’t have a favourite book these days, though I’ve really enjoyed Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus books recently.

Bessie: Do you have children? If you do they inspire you to write children fantasy books?

I have 4 children, Bessie, and I’ve written books for all of them. I started writing children’s books years back when my youngest daughter was 12, so I could write a book for her (The Runcible Jones books). But all my kids are grown up now.

Sabrina: Why did you choose to drop your old career and start writing even though becoming a writer is incredibly hard and become a published one is even harder?!?

I didn’t drop out, Sabrina. I wrote for years in my spare time, still doing my marine science work, and only became a full-time writer after my books became really successful. And I still do a bit of marine science, in my spare time

James: What inspires you to write the books you write?  Do you use scientific language in them?

Basically, it’s a love of storytelling, James. I just want to tell the best and most entertaining stories I possibly can. My thrillers about climate change have scientific concepts in them but they aren’t written in scientific language as that wouldn’t be good for the story.

Steph: What school did you go to as a kid?

My  first primary school was Bathurst public school. My high school was Chevalier College, in Bowral, NSW. It was a great school.

Alice: Where were you when you got your idea for your first book?

Probably at home, or maybe overseas. I honestly can’t remember. I don’t really ‘get an idea’ for a book. I sit down at my desk and write down idea after idea and character after character until I hit on something I like.

Charlotte:  Where do you get all of your ideas from?

See  my answer to Ally above, Charlotte.

Joel: Why did you decide to be a writer?

I loved reading, so I thought I’d have a go at writing. I wanted to tell stories.

Ben:  Why are you an author?

See my answer to Joel above, Ben.

Did you always want to be a writer?

Nope. I wanted to be a scientist. I didn’t decide I wanted to be a writer until I was in my 30s.

Sarah: When did you write your first book?

1987, Sarah.

Ella: What was your inspiration to start writing?

I loved reading, Ella, so I thought I’d have a go at writing. I wanted to tell stories.

Abigail: When did you decide you wanted to become a well-known author?

I’m not sure I ever decided that, Abigail. I wanted to be a writer, and after I’d written a book I wanted to get it published. And once it was published, I wanted it to be successful. And fortunately for me my books have been successful.

How did you start writing?

I just did. I wanted to tell stories, so I said to myself, if I write three pages  a day, at the end of 3 months I can have the first draft of a story done. And I did. Though it wasn’t easy.

What school did you go to?

Chevalier College, Abigail.

What is the title of the first book you wrote?

A Shadow on the Glass.

Alyeshia:   How did you become an author?

I rewrote A Shadow on the Glass more than 20 times and eventually got it published. Then many other books. And suddenly I was an author. My ‘overnight success’ only took 13 years.

What sort of books do you like to read?

See my answer to Sarah, above, Alyeshia.

Laura: Have you always had the passion to write?

No, Laura, it only started after I was grown up.

Scarlett: When you were a child did you have a main genre of theme that you enjoyed reading or would you read anything?  Also how do you choose a book do you smell the cover, flick through and see if the book has good illustrations, skim read, read the blurb etc.?

I read everything, Scarlett. Kid’s books, adult’s books, girl’s books, crime, you name it. I don’t often smell the cover, though I do like the smell of old books. And I do all the other things you mentioned, especially reading the first page or two.

Michael:  If you had a super power for a day what would it be?

To see the winning numbers for next week’s lottery.

Issy:  Who/what is your inspiration?

My inspiration is to be the very best storyteller I possibly can, and never let my readers down.

Charlotte: What made you want to write?

See my answer to Ella above, Charlotte. I just wanted to tell stories.

Cover of the latest book.