French writer Tim Ribeiro recently sat down to talk about his writing process and journey to becoming an author.

When and why did you begin writing?
I began to write in 2009.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
To be honest, I considered myself a writer when I wrote the second part of my trilogy Help-us, Save-us.

Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre?
In fact, I didn’t choose a particular field. It’s when I wrote my trilogy Help-us, Save-us! that I realized my genres were thriller, fiction, spying, adventure, mystery. All my novels are thrillers, and nobody can guess in advance the ending. That’s the most important for me when I write [that no one can guess the ending].

What is the most important thing that people don’t know about your subject/genre that they need to know?
They never expect or guess the ending until they read the last page. They are very surprised.

Are you a full-time or part-time writer and how does that affect your writing?
Almost every day, I write or I correct my novel. The most difficult thing is when you have a full job outside your writer life, especially if you are a self-publisher and you do it all by yourself (like marketing, blogging)…

What are some day jobs you have held?
I know that it can be absurd or strange, but I remember having a blank page for two weeks almost. I wrote a big part of my first thriller novel but nothing [for a while after]. I was trying to find a good solution for the ending. But [I was finding] nothing. I was at my computer, but I was staring at a blank page, trying to find ideas. And after two weeks a great idea arose suddenly.

Do you have a special time to write, or how is your day structured to accommodate your writing?
No. The most important thing for me is not to write hundreds or thousands of words per day but to stay connected with my next story and to be a regular writer.

What have you written so far ?
I already wrote a trilogy. It takes place in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, USA, and Russia. To be honest, when I wrote the first novel, I never expected to finish with an international trilogy. I also wrote a novel Daï, translated in English.

Do you work to an outline or plot sketch, or do you prefer to let a general idea guide your writing?
I always have a rule to write free [free-write]. I note character details, chapter summaries and ideas, but I prefer to stay with a general idea even if I don’t know how it will come out.

How can readers discover more about Timothee and his work?
Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads Pinterest | Amazon Author Page | Book Link