Q&A WITH N.L. HINKENS

Did you always have lots of ideas or was it one burning idea that sparked your first book?

I was always the kid who got elected to tell the scary bedtime stories at sleepovers thanks to my vivid imagination! Whenever I babysat as a teenager I would make up stories for the kids and leave them on a cliffhanger to make sure I was invited back to babysit. Thankfully, the ideas keep coming to this day.

Have you always written the same genre?

No. I started out writing young adult books, thinking it would be easier than writing for adults. I wrote a post-apocalyptic trilogy, a science fiction trilogy, and an epic fantasy trilogy. After that, I was ready to move on and try my hand at my favourite genre — psychological thrillers — and I’ve never looked back.

How many hours do you write a day?

I max out at about four hours. Brain drain is a real thing. I try to write five days a week for several weeks until I have my book finished, and then I edit, after which I take a few weeks off to recover and mull over new ideas.

Where do you start when you’re writing a book?

I start by coming up with the big twist and the ending. After that I roughly plot out the book, writing a sentence or two for each chapter, so I know which scenes need to go where. New scenes and twists always emerge once I begin writing, which is part of the fun of the process.

Do you write chronologically or do you write some later chapters first?

I always write chronologically. I would get myself tangled up in knots with all the plot twists and cliffhangers if I jumped around too much.

Do you ever write more than one book at the same time?

No, but while I’m writing one book, I’m always thinking about the next one in my head when I’m out walking or in the shower or at other random times..