Where did the idea come
from for Words in Deep Blue? Can you describe the writing process?
I
can’t pinpoint the exact moment when the idea arrived. In the end I discarded the
first scene I wrote. It was of Henry’s dad sitting on the veranda. He was
writing to Pablo Neruda about love without an address for his letter.
A
while after that I opened a copy of A
Streetcar Named Desire to see that a stranger had underlined the same
phrases that I love. Of course you see this often – but the markings always
feel like notes taken in a class, markings directed by a teacher. The
underlines on Streetcar felt like a person marking them out of love, or need.
I
thought about a whole bookstore where people were allowed to write in books,
but that seemed impracticable, and so it became a set of shelves in the store,
a letter library: a place where people could write to strangers, to the poets,
to people they’d lost.
The
writing process was hard! It took me six years to write. The whole time I was
dreaming, writing, replotting, and then writing and replotting again.
Was writing this book
different from your other novels? In what ways?
I
tried to plot from the start! I was studying film structure at the time, and
reading everything I could about the correct way to write character - I wonder
now if that unsettled my process. I think next time, I’ll write the first
draft, and then apply my editing skills to it later. I need to give myself some
time to dream.
Your new novel, Take Three Girls,
is co-written with two other YA authors. Can you tell us about that process?
How did it happen? How did you go about writing it?
It
was a wonderful process. We had a lot of meetings where we talked character.
Fiona, Simmone and I had autonomy over our individual characters, but we did a
lot of group brainstorming. Fiona and Simmone have worked for TV, so I learned
a lot from their plotting sessions. It took us eight years to write, but we had
a lot of breaks in there. We always said that the friendship and individual
writing projects came first. Editing was the hardest part for me. It’s hard
enough editing when you’re the only one making changes. But when three people
are making changes, at the same time, on a manuscript, it’s logistically
difficult.
We hear a lot about
authors having to promote their books now. How do you approach this? Any tips
to share?
I
do what I love now – speaking to young people and running writing workshops. I
don’t have tips as such, but I would say you have to protect your writing
space. Take yourself away from the crowd (if you can) to write without
distraction.
You also teach creative
writing. What kinds of craft and skills do you think a writer can learn that
will help them? What can’t be learned?
I
do think writers can learn craft and skills. It’s good to study the work of
good writers – study how they write dialogue, structure scenes, use language,
write character. I loved studying structure. What can’t be learned? I can’t put
it into words, but I read a book like Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Good Squad, and I know there’s an X factor that
can’t be taught.
What are you reading at
the moment? What are a few of your favourite books?
I’ve
just finished State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
and loved it. Loved Hunger by Roxanne
Gay. I’m in the middle of The Answers
by Catherine Lacey, and loving it. My favourite YA of late is We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It’s a
brilliant read.
Thanks, Cath!
