James Hywel & Generative AI

I always have several books on the go at any one time. But I am predominantly working on 'Theodore' and 'Walter Shrew' at the moment.

My writing process is what's called a 'Pantser' as opposed to a 'Plotter'.  Meaning there is no research, no outlining of the content and no storyboard.  I just sit down at the computer and write from page one through to the end, just as the story comes to me. 

It varies. A Mr Milliner-type story is about 50k words and takes me a month or so. However, an Albert Mouse adventure is about 10-12k words and usually just takes me several days - such is the joy of Albert! The Mouse who wanted to see the World took me just eight hours to write in a single sitting.

That's a difficult question. I owe Mr Milliner a great deal as he set me on the road to becoming a children's author. But then we have Albert Mouse, I mean who could not love little Albert? He's adorable.

Since 2001, I've written a total of 50 books (37 for children). I did total up the amount of words in all those books and it came to  1.1 million words which was a bit of a surprise!

For me, it wasn't selling my first book, although it was a nice feeling. I'd have to say my proudest moment was when all the staff of Feniton Church of England Primary School dressed up as Albert Mouse on World Book Day. It made me realise that my books were changing people's lives and it was very emotional.

As I child I remember reading classics like The Wind in the Willows, The Tales of Peter Rabbit, Tom Sawyer and The Jungle Book.  However, since I've become a children's author, I've made a point of not reading any children's books or watching any children's films. I want to keep my stories as original as possible and fear that if I read someone else's work I will lose that originality. An author must always be themselves and not try to write like someone else. 

AI? (taking a deep breath) I believe it has no place in the creative writing process. After all, isn't the clue in the title? I also feel AI will jeopardise real authors out there who spend many hours and even months creating their beautiful stories. I continuously make a stand against the use of AI in any form of writing.