Deborah Wright is author of Olivia's Bliss and The Rebel Fairy. Her most recent novel, Under My Spell is out now to buy. Deborah took time out from writing her next book to give us her top 5 writing tips and 5 essential reads.
Deborah Wright's top 5 writing tips
1. remember, starting is always the worst bit
Even now, after 4 years as a full-time writer, I procrastinate endlessly before writing my first word of the day. There's a weird inertia law concerning writing. It's hard to start, but once you do, it's hard to stop. You need to violently push through the blank wall in your brain that makes you sit and stare gormlessly at the page. If you can't think of what to write in chapter one, then just plunge in mid-way and write chapter 7, or the ending, or whatever springs to mind - anything just to break the ice!
2. write every day
Writing is like a muscle - you need to keep exercising it. Even if I go away for 3 days, I find that when I get back I'm a little rusty. So regular writing is important - even if it's only 20 minutes a day during your lunch-hour.
3. switch off your phone. . .
otherwise every time you sit down to write, it will ring. I promise you!
4. read
It's good to read at least a couple of books a week and go to the movies a lot. Whatever you read will have a huge influence on what you write - you can learn so much more about prose style, structure, technique, etc than doing that than from any course on 'How To Write'. Plus it happens very naturally - by a kind of mental osmosis. For example, if you're writing short stories, read Roald Dahl and learn from his structure and the clean, lean beauty of his prose.
5. try a course
Having said that courses aren't necessary, I would just like to put in a plug for the Robert McGee Screenwriting Course . It lasts for 3 days and covers novels as well as scripts. It wasn't nearly as formulaic as I expected and Robert McGee is one of the most scintillating teachers I've ever come across. I came away buzzing with ideas and full of fresh inspiration, so I'd really recommend it if you are just starting out and considering a course.
1. the english patient by michael ondaateje
The film was amazing but the book is even better. This book took Ondaateje 8 years to write and won the Booker. As far as I am concerned, it is the best of all Bookers. The prose is exquisitely poetic and I enjoy just picking it up and dipping in and out of it just for the beauty of his writing.
2. danny the champion of the world by roald dahl
Roald Dahl is my favourite author and I love everything he wrote - both his children's books and his adult stories with their deliciously vicious twist-in-the-tail endings. At the moment Danny is my favourite, though most people seem to enjoy The BFG or Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. I found the relationship between Danny and his father deeply moving, and the final denouement is fantastic.
3. the chocolate war by robert cormier
Although this book is for young adults, it is a classic that adults can enjoy too. It is set in an American boys' school and is a shocking, violent, brilliant read. It was published 20 years ago and is still read in schools today. Apparently it is on the top 5 of the most banned books in the US - perhaps because it is a little too honest.
4. the secret history by donna tartt
I enjoyed the recently published The Little Friend but The Secret History is still my favourite. Everyone who I've passed this book to has been completely enthralled by it.
5. the debt to pleasure by john lanchester
John Lanchester is one of my favourite authors, but I think his first novel is his best. It's hard to describe or define - it's a compound of genres: a cookbook, a stream of consciousness, a philosophical debate about sex, death and food, and an unnerving diary of a murderer. This is one of those books that makes you either sigh or smile at a wonderful sentence, a wickedly funny joke or a fascinating idea on every page.
Deborah Wright is author of Olivia's Bliss and The Rebel Fairy. Her most recent novel, Under My Spell is out now to buy. Deborah took time out from writing her next book to give us her top 5 writing tips and 5 essential reads.
1. the english patient by michael ondaateje
2. danny the champion of the world by roald dahl
3. the chocolate war by robert cormier
4. the secret history by donna tartt
5. the debt to pleasure by john lanchester