The process of writing a book

It's 3:39 AM, here I sit in my small flat on the outskirts of a Yorkshire City few have ever heard of or know the whereabouts.

Many would wonder why on earth anyone would be up at this hour, but for me, as a writer it is these early hours I find the most fruitful, when the world outside my home is silent and dark a light still burns in my window.

I should be working on my latest book, yet find myself writing this blog instead.

What I wanted to talk about was the process I personally go through to create a written work such as my first book the Quest.

In this particular instance The Quest and it's sequel (yet to be released) was written in a period of around Three years,  as I wrote the words they were flowing onto the paper (monitor) like water droplets cascading down a smooth glass surface, the characters were born and their story took place.

I drew on a lot of self experience when writing the first Two books, originally writing them as one complete novel then later splitting them into two volumes, my many years of travel, hitch hiking around the UK served me well and a memory of my motorcycle breaking down and a beautiful blonde woman stopping in the middle of the dual carriageway of the A1 to give me a lift were I suppose the true beginnings as this is also the first scene of the Quest.

My knowledge of history, legends and myths is quite vast and from a young age I was happily dragged around many a museum or ancient monument by my parents, much to my delight, something about the past called to me, a feeling of belonging in a world where I felt for many years I had no place.

So the legends of King Arthur became my backdrop, I didn't want to retell the story of Arthur as this has been done to death and so omitting the King himself from the story (other than a cameo in volume Two) I twisted and contorted the legends, borrowing here and there from them to create an original story with a familiar theme.

I won't give too much away in regards to the plot of the Quest, you will have to buy the book to find out what happens, but I will say that it is a unique twist on an otherwise over-told tale, showcasing some of Britains most well loved landmarks and characters from the Arthurian legends.

The reason it took Three years to write?

I do not write constantly, day in and day out, for any writer to do this would be a drain on inspiration, imagine filling a car petrol tank to the brim, then you spend the rest of the day driving until the tank is empty, you can go no further as you have no more petrol, it is the same with writing.

To many whom see me at home they would think that I procrastinate a lot, spending my time watching documentaries, playing computer games or even trawling through social media, what they don't see is this.

The documentaries I watch are usually historical or Archaeological based which means I am always learning, the websites and stories I view on social media are always relevant to whatever I am working on and my mind is on constant overdrive, forever ticking over, contemplating character plots, descriptions or locations, questions like "where do I take the story next" or "do I introduce/kill a character" always flood my thoughts.

The games, I have no excuse for, I like to play them, not very well I admit I'm rubbish and nearly always get my ass kicked on MW2 but they are a good way to escape from my mind for a while.

While on the subject of my mind, I think it would be relevant to explain that I don't consider myself to have the mind of a "normal" person, this is to say being creative in many fields I often have trouble slowing my mind to focus on one subject at a time, imagine an idea as a spot on a piece of paper, now multiply this idea by Ten Thousand or so, roll the piece of paper into a ball and repeat the process until it is the size of a brain, now throw the ball into a washing machine and try and stop it and focus on a single spot, this is what it is like inside the mind of a creative person.

Thoughts are always spinning, some so quickly the idea arrives and is gone in a split second but on the occasions my mind is slowed enough to focus (usually this time of the morning) then something special happens.

Apologies to those who thought this would be a list of how to write a best seller (something I would love to know myself) this is simply an explanation as to how I approach my writing, I am not saying this is the correct way or the only way only that the following process works for me when creating my books.


1) don't spend all your time writing, save time for other things in your life.

2) procrastinate a little, spend your time listening to an watching/reading relevant content, go out into the countryside or somewhere else just as peaceful, be alone but also make time for others in your life I have drawn much inspiration from the people I know and have met over the years.

3) research, research, research, I can not stress this one enough, perhaps it is just me but don't you hate it when you're watching a movie say set in the Roman period and someone is using a 14th century sword? or wearing armor that wouldn't have been around? if, like me, you are writing Historical fiction or basing a story around legendary works it is imperative to get your facts correct and it can also help with describing locations if you are writing about somewhere you have never been.

4) create strong characters, in this sense the word strong means giving them personality traits that people can relate to, story lines which are believable and sincere, if your character is heartbroken or happy you want your reader to feel this when they read that particular scene.


5) re-read what you have previously written, many times I have done this and found errors or had to rewrite paragraphs to make the story flow better and take notes.

6) write about what you know, this is one of the most important things to remember, if you are writing about a subject you have lived or studied your story will seem much more believable than if you were to write about a political upheaval in Africa when you know nothing of politics or the African continent or their customs and beliefs.

7) discuss your story ideas with others, even if someone isn't creative themselves or doesn't have the ability to write a book often great ideas can come from bouncing ideas off of friends/relatives or even complete strangers, my first book I wrote whilst bouncing ideas off a friend of mine who had no knowledge of the subject, and despite the fact many of his ideas weren't suitable or didn't fit with where the story was going, it was doing this which brought my own ideas forward, where as others suggested ideas which I did use.

8) don't worry about spelling or grammar when writing your first draft, all this as well as formatting can be done once the story is told, but when you do get to this point either use a professional editor service or get several different people to proof read and proof read it yourself before submitting for publication

9) Eat, drink and write, food is good for the brain (so I'm told) I have found that I can concentrate better when I have a full belly and a plentiful flow of coffee when I settle down to write.

10) relax, meditate, be at one with the world...okay I'm not really into that hippy stuff myself, for some that works, for me I find playing relaxation or chill out music low in the background helps with my writing, especially if, for example, I am writing about Scotland and I am listening to Celtic music.


Music is in fact an important piece of my writing tool kit, and I find that certain types of music affect the style and direction of my writing, I wrote a big battle scene in The Quest Volume Two whilst listening to Pantera and Metallica, a romance scene while listening to Corey Taylor and a tragic scene while Princes "Purple rain" blasted through my speakers at a low level.

I could probably write so much more in regards to this subject but at the risk of boring people I think I should end this here.

If you are interested in any of my writing to date I have written Three books, Two of which are available in paperback from Amazon and the Third I will be releasing sometime in the New Year.


Available now: The Quest (Vol 1)
                          The Templar Curse

Coming soon: The Quest (vol 2)

Click here to visit my Amazon page.

Phillip Ross Amazon books

As promised here is the trailer I've been working on with Storymax Productions.

Click Here To Buy The Quest.



Click here to view my Author page and other books written by me.

Take only photographs and leave only footprints

You may have heard the term "Urbex" whilst browsing Facebook or Google and wondered what it is.

I discovered Urbexing purely by accident whilst, out of boredom, I was browsing images on google looking for inspiration, something new and different to shoot with my camera.

Among the menagerie of articles I read about Night photography, wildlife, light painting etc I came across a local photographer who's name escapes me at the moment, but the images on his website were what caught my attention.

Among dust covered units, cobweb encrusted books and rusting vehicles this man had captured something disturbingly beautiful, an art form that creates beauty from decay and ruin.

Of course I had to find out more and so I began researching Urban Exploration, it seems it began mostly in the USA and Japan then spread across to Europe and Britain, however do not quote me on that one as it was a long time ago and my memory isn't what it used to be so I may be recalling it incorrectly.

To begin Urban Exploring all one needs is a camera, flash, tripod, a torch and sturdy footwear and a bit of courage to potentially break the law.

Some would call it trespassing, Security guards may be present and be prepared to be arrested by the Police if caught.

Personally I tend to seek out places which I know either have no security or that I can gain access to easily, often I will try to find out who owns the property and gain permission or will shoot from a public access rather than entering a property.

Others will break into a location and explore the inside fully, and in the process often take much better shots than I get.

I am not going to break copyright by sharing others images, just search for "Urbex" "Urban Exploring" or even visit my Facebook group Urbex Yorkshire and view some of my own and our members images.

There are some unwritten rules to Urban Exploration, the first and foremost being "Take nothing but photo's and leave nothing but footprints" in layman terms.... many properties which have been abandoned still hold the previous owners possessions, and we like to leave a place as we find it, this means no stealing items left behind.

Trespass at your own risk, as I mentioned earlier personally I try not to trespass onto a property but many places can only be accessed illegally so be cautious and do not damage any part of the property.

  Enjoy, the reason for Urban Exploration is enjoyment, as all photographers know, the taking of an image is a personal thing, we choose our frame and lighting to create what either our own eye sees or what we envision in our mind and that is part of the enjoyment to create a mind capturing image.

The World at war

I tend to try and avoid writing about political matters but with the recent activity and killings across the globe, and at the risk of  "jumping on the bandwagon" I thought it time I wrote something about what is happening with the world today.

Before I begin with my rant (or is it an observation?) I recall many years ago finding myself with an interest in the Occult, Tarot reading, Demonology and Witchcraft  were all on the menu, not a phase that lasted long I will admit.

It was during this time of my youth that I read about a prophet named Nostradamus, many will have heard of him if not read or seen documentaries about his prophecies, there was one translation which caught my attention.

As it was so long ago and it is quite late (2:17 AM) I can not recall the exact text but it said something about a war beginning in the latter end of the 20th Century in the East and this being the beginning of the end of the world.

Now I don't wish to alarm anyone and I am in no way a conspiracy theorist or a religious person but I have to admit old Nostra was right so it seems.

This aside, what happened in Paris on Friday the 13th November 2015 can not be put into words, I watched it live on Sky news and spent hours the next few days reading and listening teary eyed to interviews with the survivors about the horrors they witnessed.

Many of those who lost their lives were just kids, no older than my own eldest Two, out for what they thought was just a good gig watching The Eagles of Death Metal, I can only begin to imagine how scared these kids were when the bullets began to fly.

The bravery of those who survived and have to live with the sight of all that blood in their memories is admirable to say the least.

Now comes the part where fingers are pointed and blame is cast upon the innocent.

The media had waged war before it has even begun, this however is not a war between the East and West as Nostradamus predicted this is a war devised to divide the country, those who are more than happy to believe the propaganda that papers such as the "Sun" print and those of us who want nothing more than to live in harmony with all creeds and religions.

What I have viewed on Facebook over the last few days since the killings in Paris boils down to
segregation, people flaunting their views and opinions, some of my own friends have posted what could be considered racist or hate mongering posts whereas others have posted about peace and unity.

Unfortunately every man, woman and dog/cat has an opinion, the events of Friday the 13th seem to
have separated our communities, I have seen posts where people say "how do we tell the difference between a Muslim and a Muslim terrorist" people are looking at every person of a different skin colour or faith and putting them in the same category as ALL Terrorists, my answer to this one is, Joe Bloggs from number 22 could be a mass murderer or rapist, the fact is you can not tell by looking at a person no matter their creed what their beliefs are or what their intentions are.

The fear that is being instilled into us by the media along with hatred and distrust in fellow human beings is the spark to the flame, do you smell that? in the air, the faint tint of death drifting through the wind a smell which, if the segregation of British people continues will become stronger.

These will be deaths of your brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, is this what you want? does the world really need this? did we learn nothing from the sacrifice of our grandfathers and great grand fathers, yes Isis needs to be stopped as do all terrorist groups but if war is coming we should stand together, neighbor helping neighbor despite their background or origin.

This brings me to my good friend Malcolm Shipman the Landlord of a popular local Wakefield Rock music venue called The Snooty Fox.

Malcolm was touched so much by the atrocity of what is happening through out the world that he is arranging several events at The Snooty Fox over the coming months to raise cash for the families of the victims of Terrorism below is the video he has shot announcing them, he will also be offering Live Stream events as Pay per view for those who can not make it to the venue.

Please support Malcolm with this venture by sharing the video below and perhaps attending one of the gigs or watching the pay per live view.

Click the link below to view the video.


https://www.facebook.com/malcolm.shipman.3/videos/1093246704049523/?pnref=story