Finding Ideas for Stories

Q.Where do you get your ideas from?
A.They jump out at me. I'll be reading something, or watching TV, and POW, there it is, a good idea. When I get goose bumps then I know it's a very good idea.

How to Write a Book

Q. How do you go about writing a book?
A. When I have an idea - and sometimes that is just a picture in my head of a single scene, I get to work. I commit to 1000 words a day, and just start writing. I have a voice inside my head that narrates the story to me, and I have to follow that voice very carefully. Lots of other voices interfere, especially the bossy inner editor, who always thinks she knows better. I know when I'm following my inner storyteller, because the story seems 'hot.' The moment the trail goes cold, and I can't hear the storyteller anymore, I go back to where I last heard her, and try and pick up the trail again. I write the first draft like this. Then I go back and do a rewrite, tidying up loose ends, repetitions and messy sentences.

Then I find a class of children to read it to. I usually ask their teacher if I can take all their English lessons for a week or however long it takes to read. (The teachers are usually thrilled to have time off.) Then I read the story aloud, with a pencil in my hand. I note in the margin whenever the kids get restless or bored, or when they seem to not have understood something clearly enough.

At the end of the lesson I ask them questions to make sure they know what's going on, and I may make a mark to rewrite a section that has gone too quickly and needs fleshing out. When the story is finished I ask them for suggestions about the story line. They often make excellent suggestions, and can be very vocal about what should happen to this or that character. I consider their suggestions very very carefully. Sometimes I completely rewrite the ending and go back and read it again to see if they are happier with it.

When I've finished rewriting the story, using their suggestions, I send it to a publisher. They always want bits rewritten, which I do, after some discussion. It goes onto an editor then. I usually request my favourite editor, Glynis Lloyd, who understands me and my writing process particularly well. She usually makes me do some rewriting too. So all in all I will do a minimum of six drafts and often double that before the manuscript finally gets sent to the printers.

Q. You have described yourself as a 'blue-collar writer.' What do you mean by that?
A. I nicked this phrase from Joyce Carol Oates. It described exactly how I feel about my writing. I put in the hours and work hard at it, day after day.

I used to waste a lot of time moaning about how hard it is to sit in front of a computer all alone, trying to generate the creative energy to complete a story right through to the very last word. Then I became friends with Cape Town artist, Jenny Parsons. She and her studio partner, Mary Visser have a pact that they are not allowed to grumble or complain about how hard it is to paint. She made me realise that either writing was too hard for me, and I should give it up and go back to teaching, or I should embrace it and stop whinging.

So I decided never to complain again. I made a pact with myself that when I was writing I would do a minimum of 1000 words a day and that I had to keep to it, even if I sat down at 10.00 at night to get my words done. The results have been astonishing. I found that the more disciplined I was (and I'm not naturally disciplined) the easier it became. The story flowed smoothly, I grew more confident in my voice, and I didn't feel the need to moan anymore.

Being Creative

Q. How do you maintain your creative energy?
A. It's hard to sit down in the morning feeling empty, knowing that you have to generate a thousand words. When you work from home, and you have a family and maybe a part time job, there are always plenty of important things to drag you away from the computer. I used to just give up, and put off writing until I was in the mood. But now that I know I have to write my words, I have devised strategies to keep me working. I am very possessive over my creative energy. I still haven't got it completely right, but these are some of the things I have learned to do to maintain my creative drive:

• I take time to play. Sometimes I write stories just for fun. I make things to stick on my gate. I talk nonsense to children and any adult who wants to play along. I talk in silly accents, play the piano, draw funny pictures on the PC.
• I look after myself. I try and eat healthily and to go for a long walk in the evening or go to the gym or dig in the garden, anything to change the physical pattern of sitting and writing.
• I spend time with close friends.
• I go to therapy and talk about the process of writing, what my characters are revealing about myself and my own feelings and issues. I also talk through writer's block.
• Sometimes when I am waiting to start a story I realize that I need to give it time to grow inside me. Then I do admin, tidy up, cook or start a craft project until the story is hot enough to start.
• And sometimes when I'm stuck I get up from the computer and start doing the menial chores that are calling me. I keep thinking about the story, tossing ideas around in my head. I sometimes think continuously for ten or twelve frustrating hours before the solution comes to me, all at once in a flash.

Favourite Books

Q. Which is your favourite of all the books you've written?
A. Probably 'Dear Miss Winfrey', which still makes me cry when I read it. My favourite character has to be feisty little Perpie, the heroine in the story part of 'Here be Lions'.