Author Interview: Jon Jones

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

My name is Jon Jones. I live in Sheffield, where I am a full-time primary school teacher. I enjoy writing crime fiction novellas with exciting twists and plots, and I have self-published three on Amazon. The Mystery of the Vanishing Bullets, The Case of the Carlisle Diamonds and The Conundrum of the Dead Pop Star.


2. What are your favourite books?

I like to read crime fiction, and I like popular authors such as Conan-Doyle and Christie, but I also like lesser-known authors such as John Dickson-Carr. I also enjoy reading about psychology by authors like Professor Steve Peters and Professor Richard Wiseman.


3. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

Only when I started teaching did I realise how much I enjoyed writing short stories for the children to use in English lessons. I wondered if I could come up with something that would be baffling and fun for the reader to solve.


4. What are your favourite and most minor favourite parts of the writing process?

 
I enjoy writing because I get a feeling in the flow of it all. You can have an idea, but as you type or handwrite, your ideas change as they flow from the original idea. I am not keen on editing, but I can see that as you reshape the writing, it really takes shape and starts to improve.


5. What is your writing routine?

I just write. I know this sounds a little silly, but I carry around a notepad and write if I am waiting for a meeting to start. If I am stuck in a queue, I write. If I am working on something more formally, I tend to come in from work and write for 30-60 minutes. I also write a weekly Substack (www.animated.substack.com), where I research a cartoon's history and publish it every Sunday. That means I must be disciplined to study and write this, too, as I am on the clock. This has meant that I have become more disciplined with all my writing.


6. How do you balance writing (and everything else to do with it) with the rest of your life?

I try to be as organised as I can during the week. I use methods advocated by Cal Newport, such as time blocking, to fit in everything. Admittedly, this doesn't always work, as my job can and does throw some curveballs at me!


7. What inspires you? How do you beat writer's block?

I get inspired by small things, like a conversation I overhear or an image I see, and wonder what would happen if. As for writer's block, I have a little online notepad called Nuggets and Random Thoughts, and I have been filling it out for about five years. So, if I feel that a block is coming up ahead, I look through it and usually get inspired by something I have written in there.


8. How do you keep consistent/write a lot?

Time blocking has been an eye-opener for me. I was a little hit-and-miss originally with vague goals. Now, I write for time rather than a word count, which really helps. I know that I am going to have 30 minutes here or 20 minutes there, so I get prepared rather than being ready but with nothing to write.


9. Does anyone read or edit your work before publication? If so, how did you find them?

My wife and eldest daughter have read my work before, but I am on the hunt for a good editor at the minute as I know that this is something that I need to develop my writing further.


10. Can we have a sneaky look at your plans?

I plan to continue with a crime fiction book I am writing at the minute, which is at novel length rather than a novella, and to complete a children's book by the end of the year I have been working on.

11. Finally, what advice would you give to other writers (inspiring, those publishing and those published)?


Although I am sure writers hear lots of writing advice, as I know I have, what works for me might not work for you. You need to find your beat and stay away from the distractions.