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Wake-up time in our house is early as my partner, Tom, is a freelance chef and likes when possible to work the first shift of the day. I grumble and if it’s very early usually manage to go back to sleep, otherwise I lie in bed, thinking. It’s often when I have my best ideas - I ponder what should happen next in a novel, what’s missing from a character and incidents that might best illustrate what I’m trying to say. If I’m right in the thick of writing, I may get up and start typing while I’m still in my pyjamas.
Walkie Talkies
Several times a week I go running. Sometimes I scoop up my friend, Jules Miller, who lives in nearby Hove, in which case we also gossip, which is wonderful, as before we know it we’ve jogged a reasonably long way.
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Otherwise I go alone – I find running is perfect for letting ideas settle. It feels a bit like when you pour rice in a jar and then bang the bottom and the grains become more compact, neater.
If possible I like to experience first-hand the places I’m writing about. Recently I wrote a passage set on the beach in Brighton, so I sat on the shingle after a run to draft it.
Some of my new book is set in Yorkshire. I lived in Leeds in the 1980s and Tom’s family is from there, so I went and stayed with them to remind myself of the place.
Trollope I’m Not
Apparently Anthony Trollope used to write 1000 words a day, but I’m nowhere near that fast or disciplined. For a first draft, I set myself a target of 500 words a day, which makes it relatively easy to exceed it. If I’m on a roll I continue – the most I’ve ever accomplished is 3000 words in a day - but often I only manage the minimum.
A lot of writing is about editing and re-editing, which involves working on my computer, often with one of our three cats on my knee, another on the manuscript and a third on mousemat, which can be hard to navigate.
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Around one I break for a few minutes for lunch, and if he’s around and I’d like another opinion, I read Tom my latest draft.
If I’ve managed to write a lot, in the early evening I might head to my local beauty parlour, for a manicure.
It’s teeny salon a stone’s throw from our house where beauticians and customers from all walks of life congregate – it’s inspirational for getting a sense of how different people talk.
The Vicious Circle
Every few weeks I head up to Soho for my book group, The Vicious Circle. Each session my friends and I read a different book. If it’s good we can spend an hour or two dissecting it: if not we can dismiss it in a matter of minutes and spend the evening catching up instead.
If we’re not out, then Tom and I have dinner, and if Seb, his son, is with us – which he is every weekend – we’ll watch a DVD and eat chocolates.
Bedtime varies; if I’m coming back from London it might be midnight, otherwise I try to make it earlier, as I wake easily and rarely sleep through the whole night.
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