Oliver Jeffers at Work
I’ve always liked Oliver Jeffers – both the man and his wonderful picture books. I first met him almost ten years ago, just after his first book, How to Catch a Star was published. It was at a Children’s Books Ireland conference in Dublin and from the start I loved his passion and his enthusiasm for his work.
The weekend before last I had the good luck to catch him not once but twice at Offset, a wonderful conference held in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin which celebrates design and illustration. He spoke to a crowd of thousands about his painting and his picture books. Afterwards he gave a very honest and inspiring public interview to one of the Offset organisers.
During this he spoke about ‘people who do things and people who talk about doing things’. Oliver works on a huge amount of different projects – often simultaneously – exhibitions of his paintings, exhibitions of his drawings, picture books, illustrating other people’s novels, book covers. He only takes on projects that he truly loves and he works HARD. His work has to mean something – to him. If it means something to him, then he figures that maybe it will mean something to other people too.
There is no secret to his success – yes, he’s talented and driven but most of all he simply ‘does things’.
He believes in his work. He believes that his work is important, yet approaches it with a sense of fun and play. Are YOU a doer or a talker? Do you believe in your work? Do you approach it with a sense of fun and play? It’s worth thinking about. We all have a lot to learn from Oliver Jeffers.
Yours in writing,
Sarah
Biography
Born in Dublin, Oisín McGann spent his childhood there and in Drogheda, County Louth. He studied at Ballyfermot Senior College and Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design, and went on to work in illustration, design and film animation, later moving to London to work as an art director and copy writer in advertising.
He now lives back in Ireland and works full time as an author and illustrator. He has written and illustrated numerous books for all ages of reader, including the Mad Grandad series, The Forbidden Files series, and eight novels, including The Gods And Their Machines, Small-Minded Giants, and his steampunk trilogy, The Wildenstern Saga. His new novel for readers of 10 years and upwards, Rat Runners, has just been published.
Oisin, can you tell us about your latest book, Rat Runners, and where the idea came from?
The core idea that sparked the story was based on a very simple premise: we’re observed by surveillance cameras every day now, but what if there was a person standing there, staring at you instead? Then I took it further and thought: what if they had the means, not just to observe you, but to examine you in detail? …
Biography
Born in Dublin, Oisín McGann spent his childhood there and in Drogheda, County Louth. He studied at Ballyfermot Senior College and Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design, and went on to work in illustration, design and film animation, later moving to London to work as an art director and copy writer in advertising.
He now lives back in Ireland and works full time as an author and illustrator. He has written and illustrated numerous books for all ages of reader, including the Mad Grandad series, The Forbidden Files series, and eight novels, including The Gods And Their Machines, Small-Minded Giants, and his steampunk trilogy, The Wildenstern Saga. His new novel for readers of 10 years and upwards, Rat Runners, has just been published.
Oisin, can you tell us about your latest book, Rat Runners, and where the idea came from?
The core idea that sparked the story was based on a very simple premise: we’re observed by surveillance cameras every day now, but what if there was a person standing there, staring at you instead? Then I took it further and thought: what if they had the means, not just to observe you, but to examine you in detail? That’s where the Safe-Guards came from. I was originally going to have it as a fantasy story, with these figures like you’d see in a Terry Gilliam film, with contraptions on their heads holding loads of lenses. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to bring it closer to home.
The Safe-Guards have sophisticated cameras and sensors that can study you with X-rays, thermal vision, check your identity with facial recognition, they can listen with highly sensitive mikes and use chemical analyzers to check out your smell. All of this technology is based on equipment that’s already in use.
Once I had this surveillance society, as an environment, run by an organization known as WatchWorld, it made sense to have the kids as experts at evading this surveillance – young professional criminals, but ones who work for some very serious villains. This triggered a whole load of ideas about the characters, what type of people they were, and the kind of mystery they’d become involved in solving. It all starts with a murder, then the search for a mysterious box, all while trying to avoid being watched by the system. The situation means that even just getting from place to place becomes a challenge.
How long did it take you to write?
From the point where I wrote the first line, I think it took a little under six months, which is about typical. I had a lot of other stuff going on, so it came together very well. I normally take between four and six months to write a novel.
How do you organise your writing day? For example, where do you write?
In an ideal situation, I’d work from late morning and into the evening. I have an office/studio where I work normally, but sometimes I’ll sit down at the kitchen table with the notebook, or pace around. I do a lot of pacing. But I have a very varied schedule, doing a lot of events, running courses and all the other bits and pieces you have to do when you’re self-employed. I rarely write for more then three or four hours in a day, but I plan things out pretty thoroughly, so by the time I start typing it out, I get straight to the point.
And at what time of the day are you at your writing best?
I think evening is the best time, but it’s a bit antisocial if you have a family. I can write any time when the house is quiet – which doesn’t seem to be that often these days!
Do you use a computer or write long hand?
I plan with my notebook, making copious notes, but once I start writing, I like to be at my desk, typing it straight in.
Do you edit as you go along? Or at the end of the first draft? Do you find rewriting difficult?
I do edit as I go. Whenever I sit down to write, I’ll read what I wrote last. I also make some changes after the first draft, but then normally I hand it round to friends and family who make suggestions before I send it to my agent. I don’t find rewriting difficult – it can be very satisfying to tighten up the story, but at some point you have to choose to finish.
Do you use the internet for research? Do you find it useful? What other research tips can you give writers?
I do absolutely use the web for research, it’s fantastic, but it can also be treacherous. For anything important or anything I’m in doubt about, I’d make sure I’m checking more than one source – three or four is best. For the legends I’ve rewritten, I found at least seven or eight versions of each before getting started.
As far as the use of research goes, it’s vital that you sound like you know what you’re talking about, but never put in more information than the story demands. A lot of writers fall in love with their research, assuming that if they love this subject then their readers will too. The information, the detail, should carry the story forward, not weigh it down with excessive detail. You can also end up doing far more reading than you do writing, which is an excellent way to avoid finishing your book. The other hazard with research, is that you focus on the things that interest you, but neglect the things that don’t. It’s something I’m always trying to pull myself up on.
Are there any books or websites you would particularly recommend for writers?
Anybody who wants to get published should get themselves a copy of The Writers & Artists’ Yearbook. It comes out every year. Children’s Books Ireland also have a section called cb-info on their site (http://www.childrensbooksireland.ie/resources/cbinfo/), which is really useful generally, but particularly for the Irish market. Writing.ie has a lot of good stuff too.
How did you get your first book published? Was it difficult?
It didn’t happen quite the way I planned! I’d been pitching my first novel, The Harvest Tide Project to agents in the UK when I lived in London, but then I moved back to Ireland and started looking for work as an illustrator. The O’Brien Press liked one of the styles I worked in, wanting to use it in their Flyers range, but they didn’t have any stories at that point. So I pitched three stories to them, and they took two – the first two Mad Grandad books. Then they asked if I’d ever considered writing a novel. By that time, I’d finished The Gods and Their Machines, so I slapped the manuscripts for that and Harvest Tide on the table. They contracted for those and a sequel to The Harvest Tide Project, which became Under Fragile Stone.
Have you always written for children? Have you ever written anything for adults?
I consider all my books suitable for everyone, and a lot of adults read my YA stuff. I think that’s the definition of Young Adult; it’s something both young and adult readers can enjoy. I’ve written one other novel that’s aimed at older teenage and above, but it’s a step away from my normal stuff, and I’ve never pitched it to anyone. Not yet anyway.
Do you have an agent? And if so, how did you find her?
Having pitched to a number of agents early on, when I was living in London, I actually got published with O’Brien without one. But when I wanted to pitch my books in the UK, I knew I needed an agent. At that time, Eoin Colfer was probably the biggest name in children’s books in the UK after JK Rowling. He’d given me a great endorsement for The Gods and Their Machines, so I thought, why settle for less than the best? I sent her copies of my books with an introduction letter and the manuscript for Small-Minded Giants, telling her what I planned for the future. I met her when she came to Dublin not long after that and we signed up together.
Oisin, you have three children. How do you juggle being a dad with being a writer? Do you find it difficult?
It is very difficult at times, though it was harder when the girls were first born (they’re two and four, and my stepson is now twelve), especially when we moved into a new house that had to be renovated just weeks after our second daughter was born! Apart from all the practical stuff, having kids really increases the pressure to make a decent living, which increases the stress you already feel at being a parent of young kids (Am I doing this right? Oh, my God, who put me in charge of the lives of three little human beings?!). They’re great craic, but they’re also exhausting! It takes so much out of you, but I laugh more since I had children. You’re also tempted to write down everything they say, because you think it’s all brilliant.
What type of books do you like to read? What books are on your bedside table at the moment? Do you have a favourite book?
I don’t have a favourite book – it’s hard to even choose some of my favourites. As for what type of books I like to read, I’ll try anything really. I’ve just finished Ursula le Guin’s second Earthsea book, The Tombs of Atuan (I read the first one years ago), and I’ll probably go on to read the third one now. I’ve recently got into Lee Child’s books, they’re cracking page-turners. Other stories I’ve thoroughly enjoyed recently would include Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead (that one took me ages!) and Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan trilogy. At different points in my life, I’ve been into crime, horror, fantasy and sci-fi, Westerns, war stories, historical fiction . . . almost everything. Romance, not so much, but I’d never rule it out.
What is the best thing about being a writer?
Doing what you love. I always look forward to work when I get up in the morning. Even after all these years, work still has the potential to thrill me.
The worst?
The financial insecurity can be tough, particularly when you make the leap into full-time writing, or when you go through quiet periods, as the majority of writers do. It’s a very wayward career, with no clear path laid out for you, so you have to be very disciplined, and as most self-employed people know, you can be your own worst boss. I’m not good at taking holidays, but my wife, Maedhbh, is good at forcing me. The promotional work can really take it out of you as well, but it can be a real buzz too.
And finally, do you have any advice or tips for writers?
Keep at it and never quit. Learn the trade-skills and get to know the industry, but write what you genuinely enjoy writing, the kind of thing you’d take with you on holiday to read, so you’ll write it for free until you get paid to do it. Don’t write to impress. Write for fun first – all the rest will come in time.
Thank you, Oisin, for sharing your writing life with us.
Find out more about Oisin here:
Website: www.oisinmcgann.com
Blog: http://www.oisinmcgann.com/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oisin.mcgann.7
Twitter: @OisinMcGann
My new novel for adults, The Memory Box has just been published in Ireland. It will be available in the UK (and as an e-book) in September.
It’s about Pandora, who is about to turn thirty and who has just been tested for a hereditary cancer gene, BRCA1. I have written some articles about the research and the gene, and as soon as they are published I’ll post them here.
I’ve been the usual bundle of nerves waiting for publication date – I think it gets worse every year in fact. Here’s part of a blog I wrote in 2011.
Lots more writing and getting published blogs to come in 2013, plus lots new author interviews.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
Pre-publication Nerves (2011) 
Writers at every stage of their careers are riddled with doubts and insecurities, especially around publication time. I’ve written eleven adult novels now (nine published, two out in the next two years), I’ve written four Amy Green novels, and lots of other children’s books, but I’m still horribly nervous about the reaction to each and every new book.
Seeing your new book on the shelf for the first time is terrifying, yet exhilarating. Not seeing …
My new novel for adults, The Memory Box has just been published in Ireland. It will be available in the UK (and as an e-book) in September.
It’s about Pandora, who is about to turn thirty and who has just been tested for a hereditary cancer gene, BRCA1. I have written some articles about the research and the gene, and as soon as they are published I’ll post them here.
I’ve been the usual bundle of nerves waiting for publication date – I think it gets worse every year in fact. Here’s part of a blog I wrote in 2011.
Lots more writing and getting published blogs to come in 2013, plus lots new author interviews.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
Pre-publication Nerves (2011)
Writers at every stage of their careers are riddled with doubts and insecurities, especially around publication time. I’ve written eleven adult novels now (nine published, two out in the next two years), I’ve written four Amy Green novels, and lots of other children’s books, but I’m still horribly nervous about the reaction to each and every new book.
Seeing your new book on the shelf for the first time is terrifying, yet exhilarating. Not seeing it on the shelves when it’s supposed to be there is, of course, far worse! I’m in the very lucky position of having publishers behind me who believe in my work and do all they can to edit, market and promote my books to the very best of their ability. And in turn I try to do my part, writing articles, being interviewed by journalists on all kinds of things, visiting the bookshops to say hi to the booksellers and to sign stock, doing school events, library events, festivals.
Around publication time I generally set aside a full month to work on the publicity side of things. There is no point spending a year or longer writing and rewriting a book and then just sitting back and letting it find its own way in the market - I like to get out there and do as much as I can to help it on its way.
I know some unpublished writers look forward to the bookshop visits, the interviews, talking to school children or reading their work to adults, but many don’t. After over fifteen years writing and publishing books, I guess I’m just used to it; but publication month never gets any easier – it’s exciting, joyful, stressful and exhausting. But you have to embrace all the publicity and the marketing for what it is – part of every writer’s job. And I’m very, very grateful that people actually want to read my articles, want to interview me, want me to visit their students.
Here’s to many more publication days for us all!
I was at a 40th birthday in London recently and I got talking to the band – lovely Scottish lads called The Holy Ghosts.
They have been working their wee socks off, playing gigs and parties all over the UK and Europe. They’re super, their lead singer has buckets of charisma (and an amazing voice) and I know they’ll make it because a/ they’re determined b/ they’re damn good and c/ they’re putting in the hours.
I told them the story about The Beatles playing in Hamburg that I first read in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book Gladwell explains the 10,000 hours rule – how if you put in the time and work hard, success will follow.
In a nutshell The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time. According to Gladwell the hours and hours that The Beatles spent performing live shaped their talent. He quotes their biographer Philip Norman who said ‘So by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.’
Gladwell also talks about Bill Gates and how …
I was at a 40th birthday in London recently and I got talking to the band – lovely Scottish lads called The Holy Ghosts.
They have been working their wee socks off, playing gigs and parties all over the UK and Europe. They’re super, their lead singer has buckets of charisma (and an amazing voice) and I know they’ll make it because a/ they’re determined b/ they’re damn good and c/ they’re putting in the hours.
I told them the story about The Beatles playing in Hamburg that I first read in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book Gladwell explains the 10,000 hours rule – how if you put in the time and work hard, success will follow.
In a nutshell The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time. According to Gladwell the hours and hours that The Beatles spent performing live shaped their talent. He quotes their biographer Philip Norman who said ‘So by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.’
Gladwell also talks about Bill Gates and how at the age of 13 in 1968 he spent over 10,000 hours programming on a high school computer.
Putting in the hours. It’s not very exciting, is it? But it’s so important. I think a lot of people starting to write don’t realise how hard writers work to get published and to stay published. How many hours they put in.
Coming up with an idea is the easy bit. Creating characters, plot . . . not so hard. Writing the first few chapters of a manuscript . . . not so difficult either. Finishing a book and then rewriting it over and over again until it’s as perfect as you can make it, that’s the hard part.
I’ve said it before but it’s worth saying again – you learn how to write by writing. By putting in the hours. At night after work, early in the morning before the kids get up, at weekends, on holidays, when you’re on top of the world, when your heart is breaking – you have to keep at it. You have to put in the hours. It’s as simple or as difficult as that.
All the very best for Christmas and 2013. Try to make some time to write over the holidays. And I’ll try to follow my own advice!
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
I’ve just finished writing the first draft of my new book for children in The Wishing Girls series. It doesn’t have an official title yet, but I’m calling it Mollie after the main character.
It’s a book that I really wanted to write, and luckily my agent and editor were keen on it too. But sadly this isn’t always the case in the publishing world. Sometimes you may be gently nudged (or blatantly asked) to write a book that is outside your comfort zone.
Depending on the market you may be asked to consider trying a vampire romance, issue based romance/popular fiction (think Jojo Moyes or Sinead Moriarty), ‘mummy porn’, a misery memoir . . . And even though your heart may not be in it, you might be tempted to give it a go. And if you do, and you can make it work, and even enjoy the experience then good on you. And let’s be honest here, maybe you really need the money and that can be a strong enough motivation in itself – many fine authors have written to pay the bills, nothing wrong with that.
But my honest opinion is this – life is too short to …
I’ve just finished writing the first draft of my new book for children in The Wishing Girls series. It doesn’t have an official title yet, but I’m calling it Mollie after the main character.
It’s a book that I really wanted to write, and luckily my agent and editor were keen on it too. But sadly this isn’t always the case in the publishing world. Sometimes you may be gently nudged (or blatantly asked) to write a book that is outside your comfort zone.
Depending on the market you may be asked to consider trying a vampire romance, issue based romance/popular fiction (think Jojo Moyes or Sinead Moriarty), ‘mummy porn’, a misery memoir . . . And even though your heart may not be in it, you might be tempted to give it a go. And if you do, and you can make it work, and even enjoy the experience then good on you. And let’s be honest here, maybe you really need the money and that can be a strong enough motivation in itself – many fine authors have written to pay the bills, nothing wrong with that.
But my honest opinion is this – life is too short to spend months/a year/years of your life on something that doesn’t make your heart sing. And by the time your book hits the shelves, the market may have changed.
Every book has its difficult scenes. No book is easy to write. But it’s hell of a lot easier if you actually adore the book you’re working on. If you love (or detest) the characters with a passion, if you think about the plot every waking moment of the day, if you can’t get the damn thing out of your mind, if you’re itching to get back to your desk every day to continue telling the story.
Write the book that YOU to write. If you put enough passion and enthusiasm into your writing, if you write the book your heart begs you to write, it will work. And it will get published. It’s as simple (or as difficult) as that.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
- Martina Reilly
To plot or not to plot? That is an interesting question. Over the years I have realised that it very much depends on what type of person you are.
If you are a planner – if you pack days before going away, if you know exactly where your passport is before travelling, then you’re a planner and you may need to plan your book.
If you pack the hour before leaving for the airport, if you hate planning anything weeks or months before it happens, than you’d probably think planning would kill your book’s spontaneity. And for you it might do just that.
So if you’re a planner like me – you need to plan. I’ve also interviewed a writer who is not a planner – the wonderful Martina Reilly – so you have both views.
So first, Martina’s answers:
Martina, how much planning do you do before starting a book?
I do no planning at all. I tend to get an idea of what I’d like to explore. In my next book ‘What If’ I had a few things I wanted to write about. The first, a moment where a life is changed forever (a …
- Martina Reilly
To plot or not to plot? That is an interesting question. Over the years I have realised that it very much depends on what type of person you are.
If you are a planner – if you pack days before going away, if you know exactly where your passport is before travelling, then you’re a planner and you may need to plan your book.
If you pack the hour before leaving for the airport, if you hate planning anything weeks or months before it happens, than you’d probably think planning would kill your book’s spontaneity. And for you it might do just that.
So if you’re a planner like me – you need to plan. I’ve also interviewed a writer who is not a planner – the wonderful Martina Reilly – so you have both views.
So first, Martina’s answers:
Martina, how much planning do you do before starting a book?
I do no planning at all. I tend to get an idea of what I’d like to explore. In my next book ‘What If’ I had a few things I wanted to write about. The first, a moment where a life is changed forever (a lot of my books are about such moments, I am unable to get away from that, though in this book it is very obvious what that moment is) and the second thing I wanted to write about was Alzheimers. Having experienced first hand how devastating this disease is, I wanted to write an uplifting story where Lily uses her disease to ask forgiveness from her daughter. But how do you ask for forgiveness when you can barely remember?
That was the challenge and so I just dived straight in and began to write.
Do you do any work on the characters?
None at all. I suppose I see my characters as people I have been introduced to at a party. If I like them, I leave them in the story and get to know them over the course of nine months or so (the length of time it takes me to write a book). These characters begin to grow week by week as I find out things about them. I then go back to the start of the story and flesh them out using everything I’ve learned. Some characters are much easier to know than others. In the next book, there is a prickly character called Deirdre, she was a hard one to get right, but to my mind, she is the best character in the book now.
Any story boarding/plotting?
No! Having said that, diving straight in can be a bit of a disaster sometimes. Maybe about 40,000 words in, I’ll discover that the way I’m telling the story is all wrong. I might need to introduce a better/stronger plot (yikes) or I might feel that the book would be much better if it were told from a first person narrative instead of a third person narrative. I fight against it for a while until I KNOW it’s not working and then I’ll go back and rework. I have found though that it doesn’t really hold me up as I get a renewed interest in making the book right and I fly along. The way I write is quite organic, I suppose. I like to surprise myself with the story so that way I hope the reader is surprised too. If I plotted and planned, I think I’d lose the spontaneity with which I write.
I’m also a very impulsive person, so plotting and planning would drive me mental.
How much editing do you do after the first draft?
Very little. I suppose I edit as I go so most of my books (bar three) have been published with very minor changes.
And now I’ll ask myself the very same questions:
Sarah, how much planning do you do before starting a book?
My Dancing Daze Notebook
Do you do any work on the characters?
Yes. I write down everything I know or am starting to find out about the main characters – what they look like, their birthdays, their dreams, hopes, fears . . .
I give them names – I love naming characters. Once I find the right name for a character they become much easier to visualise and understand.
Any story boarding/plotting?
My Scene By Scene Plot Notes
How much editing do you do after the first draft?
Again, a lot. I usually do around five or six rewrites, often more, depending on the book. Some books require more rewriting than others. Ask Amy Green: Dancing Daze didn’t require too much rewriting; The Shoestring Club, my latest adult book required quite a bit of rewriting. In fact the first draft is very different to the final book. Pretty much everything changed and I think it’s a much better book for all the thought, planning and rewriting.
So there you go, two writers, two very different approaches. Now which type of writer are you? Do you need to plan or are you happier just sitting down and writing? I’d love to know.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
(And a big thank you to Martina for giving me her time)
I’ve been writing this ‘Yours in Writing’ blog for many years now, and I would like to thank all of you for the fantastic feedback and regular comments both here and on Facebook and Twitter. It means a lot to me.
To say thank you, I’d like to address some topics that YOU have asked me to cover. The first – and yes, probably the easiest – is my writing routine. When do I write? How many words? Computer or long hand?
Over the next few weeks I will tackle the other questions I’ve recently been asked – on planning books, getting published for teenagers, what editors are looking for right now and other subjects. If there is something that you would like me to cover, you only have to ask.
So – my writing routine. And thanks to Claire Hennessy for the question, a very experienced writer herself.
Here’s a map of my writing day:
7am Rise (groggily) and get the kids to school.
8.30am Get home and start thinking about what I have to do today.
Potter around the house avoiding work, ‘tidying’, opening mail, checking emails, Twitter and Facebook (terrible I know but best to get it over …
I’ve been writing this ‘Yours in Writing’ blog for many years now, and I would like to thank all of you for the fantastic feedback and regular comments both here and on Facebook and Twitter. It means a lot to me.
To say thank you, I’d like to address some topics that YOU have asked me to cover. The first – and yes, probably the easiest – is my writing routine. When do I write? How many words? Computer or long hand?
Over the next few weeks I will tackle the other questions I’ve recently been asked – on planning books, getting published for teenagers, what editors are looking for right now and other subjects. If there is something that you would like me to cover, you only have to ask.
So – my writing routine. And thanks to Claire Hennessy for the question, a very experienced writer herself.
Here’s a map of my writing day:
7am Rise (groggily) and get the kids to school.
8.30am Get home and start thinking about what I have to do today.
Potter around the house avoiding work, ‘tidying’, opening mail, checking emails, Twitter and Facebook (terrible I know but best to get it over with early I find so I can get on with my morning! Twitter and Facebook are big distractions but also great fun and I dip in and out during the afternoon when I’m doing my emails and admin etc).
9.30 Walk – think about my current book while doing so (or that’s the idea – it doesn’t always work out that way – somametimes I end up chatting to my mum or a friend while walking – which is also nice!).
10.30am Switch off my mobile and take the phone off the hook – my writing computer does not have the internet – which is a Godsend! Sit down at my desk.
Stare into space for a while.
Stare into space some more.
10.45am Start writing.
I write straight onto my computer (I’m a fairly fast and accurate touch typist) but I do also write a lot of early plot notes/character notes in yellow notebooks. Yes, always yellow!
1.00pm Collect my son or if he’s in after school, stay writing until 2pm.
I aim to write about 2,000 words a day – that’s my natural limit. Anything more than that is a bonus but if I don’t reach my target I don’t beat myself up about it. I write as often as I can, every day if possible – that way it’s easier to jump straight back into the story. Otherwise I have to re-read what I’ve been writing and it slows the process down. Sometimes I stop writing in the middle of a sentence or a thought – I find it easier to pick up the thread of the story that way. It’s probaby a bit nuts, but whatever gets you through, right?
In 15 years of writing (10 of those full time) I have always written something when I’ve sat down at my desk. Even if I’m not feeling great or am having a horrible day/week/month I still manage to write a page or two. I have NEVER left my desk without getting something down.
In the afternoon I deal with my emails (I hate email but it’s a necessary evil), answer phone calls, write my blogs (I have two, this one and one on my Amy Green website and also blog for Girls Heart Books), do my event programming and check in with my Facebook and Twitter friends. I also update my website and write any reviews, articles or other bits of writing I’ve been asked to do.
I also used to work three or four evenings a week, but recently I have stopped this. I’m not as productive as I used to be but it gives me more time to spend with my family.
And that, my friends, is my writing day! I am very blessed to be able to write full time and I would like to thank my readers for making it possible.
Yours in writing,
Sarah XXX
This piece first appeared in the Sunday Independent
My latest book for children
When are you going to write a proper book – a book for adults? It’s a question every children’s writer is asked at some stage of their career. I started out writing for children, switched to adults, and now write for both. When the inevitable question was put, I’d explain children are the most discerning audience of all, children’s books are challenging and fun to write, and any author who doesn’t try it at some stage is missing out.
I am only one of a host of authors who write for both children and adults. J K Rowling’s debut adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, a dark comedy about local politics will be published on 27th September, quite a risk for someone with such a successful track record in the children’s book world.
Roald Dahl also wrote for adults and children, as do contemporary award-winners Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman and most recently, Philippa Gregory. The American crime writers like James Patterson are all at it; and ex-SAS man Andy McNabb has produced a popular action/adventure series for younger readers.
My latest book for adults
Under the Hawthorne Tree was an international hit for its creator, Marita Conlon-McKenna, followed by seven further bestsellers for young readers. Her latest book for children, Love Lucie (Simon and Schuster) has just been published and she is currently working on her next adult novel, The Rose Garden. So why did she turn to adult fiction after so much success in the children’s world? “The Magdalen (Marita’s first adult novel, about the laundries for unmarried mothers) was a story I’d always wanted to tell,” she explains. “But because of the harsh subject I couldn’t write it for children or even teenagers. It was very successful and my publishers asked me to write another book for adults.”
“For me,” she continues, “the story decides the age group, not the other way around, I’m driven by story; and my publishers give me great freedom to write what I want. Irish writers don’t seem to get labelled or pigeonholed as much as other writers – they can write plays, musicals, screen plays and it’s very acceptable. In other countries they seem to like their writers to stay in their box. Irish writers are an unknown quantity, no-one knows they will do next.”
Like Marita, Wexford man, Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame always wanted to be a writer first and foremost, not a ‘children’s writer’. “I have had different stories in my head,” he says, “some suitable for kids, some for adults. I think because I have such an outlandish or maybe juvenile imagination some of my stories are definitely only for children, but recently some of the more complicated stories have been pushing themselves to the front of my brain. I also will admit to feel a little pressure (self-imposed) to write a book for grown-ups.”
Switching from writing for adults to writing for children is more usual and Judi Curtin, author of the popular Alice and Megan series did just that. Her first book Sorry, Walter was for adults but after finishing her second adult novel she wanted to write something that her daughters could read. “It was supposed to be a temporary change,” she says, “but it snowballed.” She has now written thirteen children’s books but is also exploring the adult world again. “There’s a story I’d like to tell which isn’t for children,” she says.
The Giggler Treatment, Roddy’s Doyle’s first book for younger readers was written to entertain his children. “I wrote a few pages towards the end of every working day,” he says, “and read them to them at bedtime, starting at the beginning every night. It gradually became a book.” When asked will he continue to write for children, he says “I’m not sure. My books for children have always been aimed at particular children – and children, I’ve noticed, tend to grow up and stop being children. But if the ideas are there and, more importantly, the urge to put them on paper is there, I’ll still give it a bash.”
John Boyne had never thought about writing for young readers until the idea for The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas came into his head. He says “The experience I had with that book – going into schools, getting children interested in reading – opened up my imagination in a new way and I found that I wanted to write for both audiences.” Like Roddy, he will continue to write for both audiences. “In fact I’ve just delivered a draft of my next adult novel to my editor. I’ll be rewriting that over the next six months or so but I’ve just started a draft of a new children’s book too.”
Master of children’s horror, Darren Shan also started out writing for adults. His first adult book, Procession of the Dead was published in 1999, a year before Cirque Du Freak (his first children’s book). “I had written a lot of first-draft books by that stage,” he says, “all of which were aimed at adults. I thought that was where my career lay, but I’d always wanted to try a children’s book. One day I had the idea for Cirque Du Freak and by the time I had finished the first draft, I had already decided to write another book for children.”
Darren now writes for both children and adults. “I’ve learnt so much about pacing and editing while working on my children’s books, which has fed back into the books I write for adults. I love the dichotomy of moving between the two worlds (adult’s and children’s publishing),” he adds, “and I would love to be able to continue doing that far into the future.”
When asked which adult writer he’d like to see writing for children, Darren immediately says “Kurt Vonnegut – he could have been a great children’s author if he had been that way inclined.” Roddy Doyle’s choice is Anne Enright. “Any book for children by Anne would be magical.” Marita Conlon McKenna suggests Marian Keyes, and John Boyne would love to see David Mitchell tackle children’s literature. “Knowing his extraordinary imagination and linguistic abilities, I think (it) would be something very special,” he says.
And finally Eoin Colfer nominates Colm Toibin. “I would love him to be forced to call me and ask for advice on pacing,” he says, “so I could churlishly hang up. It’s the auld Wexford-Enniscorthy rivalry!”
Will Eoin ever get his chance? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Sarah Webb has two books out this month, Ask Amy Green: Dancing Daze for young teens (Walker Books) and The Shoestring Club for adults (Pan Macmillan).
