This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Sarah's debut novel is No Such Thing As Immortality, you can read our review here.
Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?
I’ve recently started getting up really early to get a couple of hours writing in before the kids need breakfasting, school run etc. So the alarm goes off at 5am. Once I’ve done the morning school run, I tend to deal with emails, facebook, twitter etc and then have another few hours to write before it’s time for school pick-up. Once the kids are home, there’s no writing until they are in bed ― which is getting later and later these days. Quite often I find I’m too pooped to begin writing again, getting into that zone etc ― hence the new early morning routine. It’s all very different to when I wrote No Such Thing as Immortality. Then the kids were that much younger, in bed by 7pm so I’d begin writing then and often be at it through the night. I’m not a morning girl, but needs must.
When you are writing, do you use any celebrities or people you know as inspiration?
Celebrities ― not usually. Although saying that, one did keep popping into my head when I was working on Romancing the Soul (January 2014 release date). It was a very, very nice mental image, so I didn’t mind too much.
People I know? To date ― not consciously, but I would be amazed if they don’t appear subconsciously. I would hope, not in a recognisable form. I am always finding snippets of my life appearing in my writing, so it’s bound to happen with people I know or have known, too. Perhaps a character trait, or a mannerism. It’s inevitable.
What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?
I know this is so boring ― but it has to be Pride and Prejudice. I read it at school for A levels and didn’t ‘get’ it. It was only when I re-read it in my 30s that I suddenly saw the book in its full glory and found myself laughing out loud at it. I absolutely adore Jane Austen’s humour. And then there is, of course, Darcy. It is the most perfect book.
What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?
No planning, I’m afraid! I wish I could because it would be that much more comforting J I dive right in. More often than not with the question, ‘What if?’ playing around in my head. With No Such Thing as Immortality, that question was applied to a car accident. With Romancing the Soul ― two soul mates meeting during a past life regression. I let my characters form and develop on the page. And once that’s happened, I let them loose. The characters tend to lead on the plot front, too, with me reining them in when they threaten to dig me into a hole I can’t get out of.
How many drafts? As many as is needed LOL. You just keep writing and re-working and editing until it’s right. I’ve never counted. And I hate to think.
What was your journey to being a published author?
It’s been a very roundabout one. When at school, I loved the idea of becoming a writer ― that romantic image only a teenager can paint. With my practical head on, I thought about journalism as a career but decided on a compromise ― an English Literature course at university with a creative writing option. Unfortunately, that didn’t materialise because I met a boy (now my hubs) and before I knew it, I was studying Politics at a university near him. It was decades later, following a career in politics and public relations, that writing became a focus for me again. And then it was by accident. My children were young, I’d just been involved in a car accident and I was at rock bottom. I remember sitting before a blank computer screen and setting myself a challenge to write a scene. About a car accident of courseJ. I hadn’t written creatively before, but in that particular moment, it was something I needed to do. And that was it. I was off. What started off as a challenge, became a pure joy as the characters formed and then took the story forward. I was hooked. By the time I finished what would become No Such Thing as Immortality, I knew writing was what I wanted to do.
I’ve been lucky, there’s no question about it. I popped No Such Thing as Immortality on the shelf, not for one moment thinking there was a chance it would ever get published, and started writing another story that was screaming around in my head (Romancing the Soul). Whilst I was doing that, I came across Choc Lit. I adore their books and saw they were open to submissions, and with their focus on the male point of view (No Such Thing as Immortality is written from the male perspective) ― I sent it in. I didn’t feel I had anything to lose, but hoped they would provide me with some constructive criticism. During the next seven months, I attended Winchester Writers’ Conference where I received some great one-to-one feedback on the work in progress; went to the first Festival of Romance where I made some fabulous friends, and got myself a place on the RNA’s New Writer’s Scheme, having failed to do so the year before. And then Choc Lit said yes! I have never before considered myself a lucky person. Quite the opposite in fact. But I am lucky. Very very lucky.
What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?
LOL. That we are loaded. That the moment you get a publishing deal our earnings are close to those of J K Rowling, E L James, Stephanie Meyer. It’s extraordinary. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell people, they don’t get it. There I am in my New Look clothes, torn coat, one pair of all-purpose winter boots ― yet they still make that assumption.
What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?
Go for it. But don’t necessarily set out to write a book. I would have found that way too scary a prospect and would have come up with a huge list of reasons why I couldn’t, so would never have started. Try a scene and see how it goes. You will soon know if it’s for you.
What are you working on at the moment?
The rest of the ‘No Such Thing’ series. I am nearing the end of draft one of book 2, the sequel to No Such Thing as Immortality. I hope to get that completed before edits arrive for Romancing the Soul.
Thanks, Sarah!