Markus Zusak interview at the Guardian.

From the Guardian:

What preparation do you do before writing?
I procrastinate in spades. In my defence, I also try to have all other distractions solved before I can concentrate on writing. My small theory is that to write for three hours, you need to feel like you have three days. To write for three days, you need to feel like you've got three weeks, and so on. Ultimately, though, it's the feeling in my stomach that's similar to the night before the school assignment is due...and you haven't started yet. That's my preparation.

Comments

[Brian F.]

If some intergalactic inquisitor shows up on your doorstep with a time gauntlet and demands you account for yourself and justify your life, point to this post and say, "See, this is why I'm very much awesome. I direct Brian to things like this that make him feel he's not a total loser."

I don't even bother searching the internet for cool stuff anymore. I can find it all here. Thanks.

[theduckthief]

For my personal writing I usually talk out loud to develop dialogue and plot. This usually also involves staring at a blank computer screen for three hours, procrastinating with food, books, movies, laundry, etc before coming up with something.