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It was great talking to you, and I hope my answers on this Padlet have helped you understand more about writing generally. Don't forget the Epic! writing competition I mentioned to you... who knows, you could be a winner, but even if you are not the process of polishing a short piece to enter will help your writing. Finally, if you are a keen writer, don't hesitate to ask for any advice via email: kenspillman@hotmail.com

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about my best selling book. The Jake series sells in very many countries, but I couldn't say which particular book in the series has sold the most. Apart from Jake, I have a book called Advaita, about an Indian girl. This book is on a major school curriculum in India, which means hundreds of thousands of copies are now in circulation.

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whether I consider my work art or writing. For me, they are the same. Using words to create pictures and emotionally real characters is like creating another world on a canvas or on the stage.

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about how long it takes to write my books - this varies from one day to 2 years. Aster, you also asked why I write. I started writing as a kid because I loved stories, and I still write because I love stories, and also because I love to be able to 'speak' through my books to thousands of people. But as I said on Skype, writing first became really important to me when I was a shy teenager. I felt that everything in life was out of control... but when I wrote, it was me who was in control. It was important for me to develop ideas and confidence as a person - by expressing myself at my own pace and in private.

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about which book took the longest. The non-fiction book that took the longest was a history of mining in WA - it took me 2 years. The fiction book that took the longest is called 'Blue'. It's a novel for older teens and adults, and I worked on it over many years while also writing non-fiction for a living.

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about genres. To be honest, I don't even think about genres - when I get an idea, I just write the story and let others think about the genre. However, I have been asked to write in particular genres... one publisher asked me to write horror. I said I was interested, but I keep getting ideas that are not horror stories!

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about the book that was quickest to write. Once I was in a cafe in Hanoi, Vietnam, and I had an idea for a story. The idea was about a girl born with a smile on her face... in a place where nobody ever smiled. I couldn't stop writing that story, and stayed in the cafe until it closed. Later that night, I finished the story in my hotel room. It's a picture book called "The Strange Story of Felicity Frown".

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whether the things I do for disadvantaged kids relates to my writing work. I'm not sure! Maybe in this way... I believe that all young people need support so that they can become the best people they can be. Stories are important in developing empathy for others, and that is also part of becoming the best we can be.

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whether I have favourite types of characters. Yes, I think I do... they are full of ideas (this sometimes leads to trouble) and also have a sense of humour.

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about settings. The secret is to make a clear picture in your imagination. If you can see it, you can put your characters into it!

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How do you set up your setting in your mod

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Do you have any tips for the "Write a book in a Day' competion

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Do you have any tips for the "Write a book in a Day' competion.

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Do you have any tips for the "Write a book in a Day' competition?

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Do you have any tips for the "Write a book in

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Do you have any tips for the budding writers?"

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Do you have a type of character which you favour in your written work ?

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Out of all the books you've written, which the most?

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Out of all the books you've written, which genre did you enjoy writing the most?

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Out of all your books which ones took you the quickest to write.

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You've written a number of non-fiction books about influential West Australian places and organisations. Is West Australian history interesting to you, and

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whether I prefer writing non fiction or fiction. I prefer fiction, for the freedom, for the play of ideas.

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Do you prefer writing fiction or non-fiction books?

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about my parents. I don't think they ever expected me to make a life of writing, but they always wanted me to do the things I wanted to do. They didn't want me to be anything in particular, I guess - just to be okay and to be myself.

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You've said that you enjoy travelling overseas so out of all the cities that you

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about inspiration - characters (people) are everywhere, and they inspire my stories.

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I remember a particular feeling I had in Year 4 - that when I wrote a story, I could imagine I was in it, just the same as when I read a book. That was when I started writing for enjoyment... I wasn't sure that I was a good writer, but I was sure I enjoyed it.

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Do you ever find yourself writing things that are similar to your previous books?

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Is it harder writing for

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Out of all the awards that you have recieved, which one do you hold in the highest regard

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Out of all your books which book took you the longest?

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How do you get new ideas to write? What do you research to write a story?

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What do you use as your inspiration

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What is your best selling book?

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Did your parents want you to be something else

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What age did you discover that you were a good writer?

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About how long does it take for you to finish a story?
Why do you write?

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What book did you take the most inspiration from?

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Do you call your work art or writing.

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o you do when you don't have ideas on what to write about?

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Also, it seems like you like to do a lot of charity work. Does   this have anything to do with your writing life?

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Why do you mainly like to write kids/young adult stories? Is there something that you enjoy about writing those kinds or stories?

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I'm Ken Spillman. I write. I love ideas. I believe that every person can be creative in their very own way.

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These are everywhere. All writers draw upon people they have encountered and themselves, and then reimagine some mix of all that in a fictional character. Often, the character represents some aspect of themselves. For example, Jake is an ideas guy, whose ideas are not always practical. That's me. But he's also uninhibited and goes for broke to bring his ideas to fruition. In writing that's me, but in life I'm more conservative and inhibited.

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On the subject of background research, it depends very much on the story. I have written many stories with characters as diverse as sick old men, homesick girls and professional surfers. To create believable and emotionally real characters, I sometimes need to do some specific research. But as a writer I try to observe people and listen as much as I can, and that helps. Sometimes I also research locations, either personally or online.

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When writing any story, I like the main character to be a hero of sorts, even if they fail to achieve what they set out to do. For me the important thing is to enlist the reader to their cause!

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Which character is the true hero of the story?

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Where did you get the idea for your favourite characters?

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Ken Questions: How much background research do you do prior to writing book?