FAQs
When did you start writing?
I was a full-time primary teacher for twenty years and Head of English,
during which time I wrote stacks of guidelines and school reports - Ofsted
said I had the best schemes of work in the country! When I stopped that
I had already written two books in long-hand. I took on part-time work
from home that enabled me to give time to writing. It just took off from
there really. I wrote stories back-to-back that I was in no rush to publish
on lined A4 pads from the local newsagents. I was never happier knowing
I had the time and energy to come up with more ideas.
I remember my first story because it was so terrible! But that was the
start of it all. My sister typed it up for me and I was so engrossed reading
it I found I was stuck on a tube train terminating at Liverpool Street.
When I looked up everyone had left the carriage, the train was in a siding
and I had to ring the communication cord to contact the driver. Thankfully
he was still there and after making my way to the front of the train he
shunted me back on to the line again. Otherwise I might have been there
all night! I revised the story several times and hopefully, it’s
better now. But I was on a steep learning curve and learned by doing and
making mistakes. And still do, of course.
How do you write?
I used to write in long-hand but lately I tend to type straight onto
my computer in the upstairs study. I prefer working there to using a lap-top
around the house. I tend to do all my planning, revising and redrafting
in the front dining room. I can’t do that on a screen - I need to
work from a hard copy and scribble over it. A lot of my early stories
were written in the garden. If needs must, I can write anywhere: sitting
on a train or a park bench, perhaps. I like unspoilt beaches too if I
can rest up against some sand dunes and get comfortable.
What inspires you?
I love travelling and I find it very satisfying to write about places
I’ve visited. I take lots of photographs to remind me of details
-especially old houses - to give me a spirit of place. Often a poem or
a piece of music can start me thinking about a story. I like listening
to music and stitching needlepoint when I’m working out ideas.
Have you studied Creative Writing?
I studied early Italian Art History at the Open University and part
of my BA course included a year of Creative Writing. It affirmed lots
that I had picked up along the wayside and was very helpful in boosting
my confidence to keep writing.
What did you learn?
At one of the tutorials a lecturer said more than half-way through
a student’s story, ‘I’m beginning to get interested
now.’ So it’s important to ‘get into’ the story
straight away. Watch out for words you tend to repeat that can be crossed
out in a second draft. Our word-counts for assignments were very strict
which was probably a good thing as your writing becomes tighter.
I’ve always found Susan Hill’s advice very useful and Julia
Cameron’s books inspiring, especially The Right to Write.
Do you belong to a writers’ group?
I started a writers’ group years ago in my sitting room and
we are all very supportive of each other. We now meet monthly, rather
than fortnightly, which gives us more writing time. We are all working
on different projects but trust each other enough to share some very rough
drafts! I edit a magazine featuring local writers that is published twice
a year (it used to be quarterly) and everyone contributes to that.
Who inspires you?
Writers who keep producing well-crafted novels inspire me lots: Michael
Morpurgo and Susan Hill, for example. I admire Penelope Lively, William
Trevor and Niall Williams’ writing.
What are your favourite books?
Short novels with a strong spirit of place. A favourite one was Le
Grand Meaulnes by Henri Alain-Fournier I studied in French while still
at school. Thirty years later my husband took me to all the places associated
with the novel: something I knew I had to do before I could let it go.
Novels that always cheer me up are I Capture the Castle by Dodie
Smith and The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford.
What did you read as a child?
I still have a story book called The Magic Horse, the first
book I learnt to read, sitting on my father’s lap. It evokes that
1950s sitting room: a standard lamp, gas fire and three-piece suite: a
very cosy secure world. I loved the Flower Fairies, Beatrix Potter and
Milly Molly Mandy stories and recall all their illustrations. I think
it was the watercolour painting of the unfinished waistcoat in The
Tailor of Gloucester that made me love textiles. I still love children’s
picture books especially those illustrated by Angela Garnett. My father
used to make up stories and read Hans Christian Andersen stories to me.
The Little Mermaid was a favourite. I still have a couple of Cinderella
picture books I read as a child. I used to read Princess Picture Library
stories featuring a ballerina called Sally Doyle on tour around the world
- recently my daughter tracked some down on the internet for my birthday!
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild was a favourite novel –
I could give a guided tour of that tall house in Kensington. As a teenager
I read my way through historical novels by Jean Plaidy, Gone With the
Wind and most of Daphne Du Maurier. I loved Rebecca. There
were lots of glossy magazines around because our mother had worked on
Vogue. I thought every family poured over the latest Paris collections.!
So I suppose a lot of early influences were visually beautiful details,
fairy tales and historical or exotic settings.
I studied English and French literature at A level and went on to study
Victorian and Modern writers at college so I’ve read my way through
lots over the years. Although it’s good to keep up with new writers
I think it’s important not to neglect re-reading old favourites
- Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy for me especially and Dickens’ Great
Expectations.
What tips would you give other aspiring writers?
Just do it! You learn by doing, then lots of redrafting, although
I don’t redraft as much as some! But you have to let your work go
‘cold’ and spend a lot of time thinking about what you’ve
written and how you can try to improve it. When inspiration comes you
have to go with it and get it down in rough otherwise it just evaporates
before your eyes - I’m still trying to recall a story I made up
in Japan that didn’t get written down at the time. I tend to brainstorm
a little on paper before I start writing and then I’m ‘driving
in the dark’ fairly fast to get there. All I really know is the
direction in which I’m heading! The task is to complete the journey,
usually within about three days. With a novella I’m much more organised
but not obsessive. Sometimes I write the bits I like best to get me going
and fill in the rest like a jigsaw puzzle. It’s important to keep
up the enthusiasm and not talk myself out of actually writing the story
by knowing too much detail. I keep a hardback diary for writing and jot
down notes about where I’m heading and other ideas for future projects.
That tends to keep me focussed when I’m busy with lots of other
commitments. All my work in progress is kept in separate card folders
I often buy in stationers or museum shops abroad. Every writer’s
different and I think it’s important to find your own voice and
not compare yourself to others, especially those who are really gifted
and talented. I think two important questions need to be addressed: What
would you like to leave behind? and What would you like to have
written in your life time? Getting caught up with what’s fashionable
or commercial seems a pity given that life passes so swiftly and you never
know how long you’ll have, or how your health and energy’s
going to pan out. Writing, however enjoyable, is hard work and it’s
important not to squander time and energy on other people’s ideas
about what you should be writing. I think it’s good to sound out
ideas but remember it’s your story, not theirs, so beware of being
hijacked along the way! Also, don’t give too much time to editing
journals and anthologies otherwise you tend to be sorting out others’
writing to the detriment of your own. Having edited a poetry anthology,
a recipe book and an Arts Society journal for several years I limit my
input these days. And obviously read as much as you can, all the while.
I think you have to keep a balance between writing and spending time
with family and friends and pursuing other things. Creativity is important
but not at the expense of relationships and enjoying the rest of your
life. You have to have something left to write about!
Do you do lots of research?
Not generally, although I am always jotting down details of places
and taking photographs. I give a lot of talks so I’m usually looking
things up and love planning holidays, staying in unusual places. Predella
was inspired by research I undertook in London and Florence as part of
an art history degree and a couple of trips to New York.
At the moment I’m working on a novel set in France, inspired by
a chateau we stayed at recently and reading about the life of Marie Antoinette
for a talk later this year.
What do you like to read?
I’ve always read lots and have several books on the go: a couple
of novels, spiritual reading (I always go back to Michael Mayne and John
O’Donohue) beautifully illustrated children’s picture books
and art books, often about textiles. I host a monthly poetry group so
I’m frequently leafing through anthologies looking for material
on a theme. I read The Times every day but no Sunday paper and
few magazines. I belong to a book group that broadens my horizons beyond
what I might normally choose. A monthly short story group I started in
my sitting room is very popular because you don’t have to ‘do
the homework’ but just come along, read stories aloud round the
room and join in a discussion.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always liked reading and admired writers who wrote lots.
Looking back, two films inspired me especially: Romancing the Stone
starring Kathleen Turner and My House in Umbria, based on a William
Trevor short story. Both were about women writers and I knew that’s
what I really wanted to do: create my own little world.
Do you have favourite films?
Often romantic, visually beautiful films with a period setting such
as Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, to make me feel sixteen
again, Dangereuses Liaisons, Marie Antoinette, Atonement, Fools of
Fortune. I love French films: Jules et Jim, The Wanderer, Indochine,
Les Choristes. I like re-watching 1930s-40s black and white films
I saw while growing up: The Glass Mountain, Rebecca, Waterloo Bridge.
I’ve always enjoyed ballet, especially Kenneth MacMillan’s
choreography; I love escaping into another world.
What music do you listen to?
I love dancing as a form of exercise: stretching to Faure’s
Pavane or Satie’s Gymnopodie. I like English composers:
Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Holst. I used to listen to Kabalevsky’s
A Short Story on Saturday afternoons and that’s become a
very calming habit. I have very broad tastes from Joni Mitchell to Puccini,
depending on my mood. I love listening to soothing film music and piano
sonatas as a background to writing.
How do you fit writing into a busy schedule?
I run a large family house for four people which means organising
cooking, laundry etc. and work part-time from home. I’m a carer
for my mother-in-law and our grandson comes to stay in the school holidays.
Some days I stay in and get stuck into some writing before I start work
later in the day. I don’t squander time shopping unless I’m
on what Julia Cameron calls ‘an artist’s date’ up in
London. I try and plan ahead as much as possible to give myself the space
I need throughout the week. I try and avoid answer machines and limit
e-mails so as not to get side-tracked. I cut corners by going out for
a run before I have a bath and get ready each morning and doubling up
on cooking pies etc. for the freezer. I always seem to be working ahead
of myself, just in case something unforeseen crops up. Also I don’t
have a mobile phone – no texting or tweeting! The older I get the
more I love periods of un-interrupted silence, punctuated by birdsong.
We’re surrounded by lots of trees and it’s good to stop momentarily
and listen to a blackbird singing.
2010
2016
Postscript
Five years on there are only two of us living here but little has changed.
Both grandsons come and stay frequently. I still enjoy writing but am less
driven; my main ambition is to travel as much as we can while we are still
able. Life passes so quickly: we need to take time to stop and smell the
flowers and be grateful for all that has been.
I have now written over fifty books and booklets since I stopped full-time
teaching. I started slowly, writing by hand on lined A4 pads from the newsagents,
and taught myself to type, still with one finger, but much faster, on my
first computer in the study upstairs. Some of my early pieces were printed
in anthologies and magazines; that was the start of it all. I'm fond of
everything I've written - each book came from the heart, from somewhere
deep down I can't fathom. I loved writing them all, however hard, and am
thankful for all the inspirations that came my way. It would have been easy
to have talked my way out of it but something inside me kept me going -
I look back with amazement at all I've done. Writing books took me back
to familiar places I may have forgotten by now. It's been a glorious pastime
from the moment I started so tentatively all those years ago. Creating something
from nothing takes energy, time and courage but there is no feeling so satisfying
as seeing it come to fruition. It's a way of living life to the full, an
enrichment that knows no boundaries. And when we die, we have left something
unique behind.
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