Author Q&A with Jonathan Taylor

My pen name is Jonathan Taylor, I spent my childhood in Eastern Europe (will be more specific when I get closer to the release date), grew up in a major city, but spent most of my vacations with my grandparents in the country. I moved to Germany to attend a technical university, and have lived here ever since. I’ve had writing ideas for a long time, but it is really only now that I can say I am, both from a financial and a psychological perspective, in a position to explore those ideas.

My approach, in broad strokes, can be described as character, then world, then story. I figure out who my main/leading/principal/primary characters are, figure out what kind of world would have influenced them, or instilled upon them views they would hold, and then find the story or arc that would suit them, ways in which they crack or make the world around them crack or change. I also plot my books, pretty extensively. First I write out the broad strokes, then expand upon them, then divide events by chapter, then expand the chapter descriptions, and finally get to the actual writing and editing. I still leave some room for improvisation, I don’t have the entire book in my head before I start writing.

I schedule writing break days pretty regularly, in accordance to how I want to complete my chapters. Like an avalanche, writer’s block isn’t necessarily something you can stop, but it is something you can aim, let it run over places and time slots when they will do the least damage, and then you can do your thing when the risk of it is small.

I already mentioned I do. The first part is based on my real name, I often refer to it as the fully grown version of my name, and my surname is in reference to my mother. No, she’s not a taylor, but she does work in clothing/fashion retail.

I do in fact conduct research for my books. Mostly over the internet, but I know enough about the internet to be selective with my sources. I also generally keep myself informed and up-to-date on a wide variety of topics and subjects that attract my attention, or that I find particularly important. That helps.

My approach to worldbuilding consists mainly of replication and mirroring. I mostly look at what from our world I can copy and effectively set in place into my fictional world, then alter what I need to have differently, and explore how that change effects the rest of the setting. It’s a gradual and incremental process, but I get there eventually.

I actually have four main characters, two of whom are best friends at the beginning of the story. They are Martha Cinder, a dutiful and honour-bound cadet always looking to accomplish the duties assigned to her to the best of her ability, and Elisabeth Hale, an expert strategist and planner who can turn all situations to her favour. The other two are Giuliana Abaretto, a fiery up-and-comer hungry to prove herself, and Viktor Rednik, a principalled and empathetic soldier who does his best to protect those he cares for.