10 Questions with... J T Scott

Tracey has been chatting with some of our authors recently, and we've shared some snippets across our social media platforms. Here is what JT Scott, author of Sammy Rambles and the Floating Circus, had to say in answer to our 10 Questions:

Tell us about your favourite place to write.

Great question! I don’t have a favourite place to write. This is simply because I’m not in any one place for long enough to write a lot at once. I tend to think about my stories, the characters and the adventures, obstacles, triumphs and adversaries all day long and write things down whenever I can. Then when it comes to typing things up, I use a laptop and have been known to write in the car, in the garden and every room in the house.
 
What inspired you to become a writer?
 
Looking back, it was probably the love of reading other people’s stories, the adventures they shared and wanting to try it myself. I used to create adventures for my Playmobil and Lego characters and write short stories for them to act out, and so I could remember what happened when the toys had to go back in the box and be tidied away.
 
What do you do when you are not writing?

I really enjoy meeting up with friends, catching up on their news, walking and photography. I also play a lot of sport and it’s been exciting recently to begin developing Dragonball as a recognised sport from my Sammy Rambles series.
 
Do you listen to music while you’re writing? If so, what’s on your playlist at the moment?

Sometimes having music (or noise) in the background really helps with my writing. It’s about creating a bubble to write in with things going on outside. It could be the football on TV, or repetitive arcade music. One of my favourite writing and thinking songs is Soldiers of the Wasteland by Dragonforce.
 
What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve been given so far, and why was it so significant for you?

The best advice was “you can’t edit a blank page” meaning it’s better to write something, anything, and then chop and change it later. It means you may not write your best words straight away and how it’s important to spell check, proofread, read aloud, etc. to make sure the words which you publish are the best they can be. Another quote is “hard writing makes easy reading” along the same theme.
 
Tell us about your current work-in-progress.

As usual, I’ve got several projects started. One project is telling the story of a bumblebee meeting friends in the garden who offer advice on how to fly, with an underlying theme that it’s ok to be yourself. This will be book one in a seven-book series. The second project is following a female protagonist, a detective who can talk to animals to solve problems.
 
Out of all the characters you have created, who is your favourite – and why?

This is such a hard question! I love Sammy Rambles and he has helped me through a difficult part of my life, my ticket out into the wider world, helping me with depression and anxiety through his ability to have that self-belief and empowerment that he can solve everything I throw at him. In the Sammy Rambles books there is a character called Karmandor which represents the three things I hope to achieve (Kar or car, transport, the freedom to travel. Man, or companion, a friend to share adventures with. Dor, a play on the word d’or or gold, representing treasure and earning my own money rather than relying on anyone else).

 Who is your favourite author and what is it about their work which appeals to you?

I still enjoy reading books written for children, although I mix up my reading with crime, thriller, romance, anything that looks good and reads well. My favourite book is still The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner as the story has a great twist and turn and the moral that maybe sometimes you should just keep on going.
 
Tell us two things about yourself that most people probably won’t know!

I used to want to be a rally driver and I learnt to write left-handed so I could keep writing when my right hand hurt from writing too much.
 
If you could choose which century to live in, which would you choose, and why?

It’s taken a long time to be happy in the here and now, so I don’t think I’d change centuries.

Thanks for sharing with us, Jenny!