Malcolm Rose

I have one simple method of writing. I set out with the basic idea, the main characters and an exciting opening scene in my mind. Then I start to write and see what happens. The plot is totally flexible. I don't know the ending or the middle. I write my characters into situations and then watch how they react and get out of them. That way, rather than knowing where I'm headed and force my characters to go there, they decide. For me, the end result is more natural and unforced. I don't know who will survive and who will not, whether it will be happy or sad. Also, it's great fun for me, like the reader, to find out what's going to happen. It encourages me to keep thinking and writing because I really want to learn the ending.

I used to be told off at school for daydreaming. Now, as a fiction writer, I make my living from it! Turning daydreams into stories began while I was studying chemistry at university. It allowed me to be anyone, go anywhere and do anything. In my imagination, I am a devious murderer, a great musician, the best footballer, the world's leading detective, a very bright girl, and many other characters.

I write only about topics that make me passionate. That might be because I really like or really loathe them. I am inspired by things I like (science, medicine, nature, music, football, etc), and angered by things I dislike (the corrupting effect of money and politics, racism, bullying, cruelty, etc). I often get ideas by looking through newspapers and science magazines. There's a weird and wonderful - and sometimes horrible - world out there with plenty of inspiration for a writer.