Hi everyone!
In this Issue:
Questions I Get Asked
An occasional series in which I address some of the questions I’m frequently asked in interviews and at events.
News and events
SJW recommends
The Writers’ Lodge
Questions I Get Asked
An occasional series in which I address some of the questions I’m frequently asked in interviews and at events.
Q: Would I have written Before I Go to Sleep had I not been on a creative writing course?
This is an interesting one, and a tricky questions for me to answer. Usually I’ll reply that of course I think I’d have written my novel had I not been on the course, but I think it might have taken a lot longer. I compare it to skiing – by myself I’d probably learn to ski eventually, but taking lessons kind of speeds up the process. My answer is glib and also disingenuous; it implies the course did little more than provide me with a shortcut to publication.
In fact, the course did so much more for me. When I began it writing was something I took seriously, and though it had never crossed my mind that I might one day be capable of writing a bestseller, I thought I could write reasonably well. But I wasn’t a writer. Writers were professional, they wrote every day and they took notes everywhere they went and… and… well, I wasn’t sure what they did. I just knew I wanted to be one and saw the course as a way of finding out whether that might one day be possible.
Then something odd happened. On the first night of the course Louise Doughty gave us a pep talk. ‘You’re all good,’ she said. ‘But that’s the last nice thing I’m going to say to you. If you want to get better you’ll have to start taking it seriously.’ And then she said, ‘For the next six months, I give you permission to think of yourselves as writers.’
For me, it was a pivotal moment. ‘F*ck it,’ I thought. ‘I will!’ And I did. I wrote until my fingers bled and read until I could no longer focus. I drank many coffees and sank many pints while discussing books and language, and writing, and words, with people who cared as deeply about those things as I did.. I carried a notebook everywhere I went and stopped being embarrassed to whip it out and take notes in public. At parties, when asked what I did, I said, ‘I write’, and when asked what I’d had published, I said, ‘Nothing. I work in the NHS, too. But I still write.’ Gradually, it started to feel comfortable. During our lessons I learned about dialogue and character and the importance of conflict. I learned never to start a book with someone being woken up by an alarm (oops!), and to carefully avoid adverbs and clichés like the plague (ahem). But the more important lessons were deeper and more fundamental, and they were related to Louise’s comment. In calling myself a writer I learned that that’s what I am. A writer. I love language. Writing is how I make sense of my world. It’s part of me. I worked harder than I’d ever worked before during those six months, and they were amongst the happiest I’ve known, because finally I was sure what I really wanted to do with my life. I learned who I am, and began the process of learning how I work best.
Mostly, though, the course gave me focus. Through it I learned that writing is hard work. Writer’s write. They don’t sit around thinking all day, or lounge about in their pyjamas with a bowl of Coco Pops, watching daytime television while they wait for the muse to descend (though a little bit of that is permissible). Lessons about plot and setting and structure and voice can help, but the only way to become a better writer is by writing. Discussing your work with a wonderful tutor can help, but your tutor can’t write it for you. For that, you’re on your own. Just you and a pen, your courage, and the whole world of your imagination. It’s terrifying, and exhilarating. Could I have written Before I Go to Sleep before learning those lessons? No, I don’t think I could. Did I need to go on a course to learn them? Yes. At that point in my life at least, I think I did.
Have you got a question for me? Ask it here…
News and events
There are a couple of new events on the horizon.
First, I’ll be appearing at Goldsboro Books in Brighton, where we’ll be discussing writing in general and her phenomenal thriller, Truly, Darkly, Deeply. That’s on July 12, 6.30pm -8.30pm. Tickets are £5 and we’ll be signing after the event. Details here.
I’m also thrilled to (finally) be able to reveal that I’ll be appearing at the 2022 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which is in Harrogate, UK, from 21- 24 July. I’m going to be interviewing the amazing Tess Gerritsen about her life, her writing, and her new book, Listen to Me. That will be on July 22, at 5 pm. Details here.
SJW recommends
I’ve read a couple of cracking novels recently, that I thought I’d recommend.
In Deep Water by Christobel Kent
Sukie is twenty-something and inexperienced. Browbeaten by her mother and tired of being described as timid, she decides almost on a whim to push beyond the bounds of her comfort zone by accepting the offer of a trip to a Greek Island with Jake, an older man she’s barely begun dating. But at the airport they’re spotted by Heather, who understands immediately that the younger woman is in danger and decides to follow them. For Heather has history of her own with Jake and, as well as saving Sukie, this might be her opportunity for revenge.
(Read my full review here)
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian Mcallister
Solicitor Jen witnesses Todd, her teenage son – her happy, geeky, funny son – stab a stranger in the early hours, right outside their home. With him under arrest, his bright future ruined, a tearful Jen eventually falls asleep on the sofa. The twist is that when she wakes, desperate to understand why her son committed such a crime, it’s Groundhog Day: time has wound back to the day before and Todd lies asleep in his bedroom, hours away from becoming a murderer. She has her longed-for chance to understand what led to the killing… and yet it happens again that night, and again, and again. Each time she sleeps Jen slips back further in time, giving her yet another chance to understand what triggered the murder, and hopefully to save Todd, by preventing the sequence of events.
(Read my full review here)
(NB I receive a small payment if you buy the books through the above links)
The Writers’ Lodge
“Chock full of brilliant insight and advice. It’s things like this that help to keep the flame alight.”
Are you a writer? Do you want to write?
In this weeks issue we looked again at agents:
Why you should never give up
How to know when your book is ready to submit
Staying sane while you wait for a response
Dealing with feedback
How to cope with rejection
The Writers’ Lodge is a nurturing and supportive newsletter for anyone who is writing, or who is considering embarking on a writing project and wondering whether they have what it takes, or may even just be considering their first tentative steps into writing fiction.
How to sign up
I’ll be sending The Writer’s Lodge updates to all those with a paid subscription to this newsletter. I’ve kept the price affordable, so for less than a pound a week you’ll receive the updates and full access to the archive, plus you’ll be able to leave comments and be part of the growing community.
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Happy reading/writing!