This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Sarah Webb worked as a children’s bookseller for years and years before becoming a full-time writer. Her latest book, The Memory Box, is out now.
Can you tell us a little about your average writing day?
7.30am Get up.
8.30am Send the kids out the door for school.
(lose an hour doing faffy things)
9.30am Walk.
10.30am Sit at writing desk and write until 2.15.
Afternoon/evening – catch up on emails, post, write reviews, blogs etc.
Now, that’s an ideal writing day. If I get my 2k words done I’m a happy woman.
When you are writing, do you use any famous people or people you know as inspiration?
To be honest, no. I just try to do the best that I can and to give everything I have, every time I sit down at my desk.
What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?
Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes, closely followed by Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy. Two amazing Irish writers who changed everything. Irish women writers owe them both a lot.
What is your writing process? Do you plan first or dive in? How many drafts do you do?I plan a little, think about the characters a lot and then dive in. I tend to do between five and eight drafts depending on the book.
What was your journey to being a published author?
I was a bookseller for many years – mainly a children’s bookseller – and this meant that I knew a little about the publishing world and how it worked. My first book was called Kids Can Cook and it was published in 1996 by a small Irish publishing house called Children’s Press. I then wrote my first novel for adults, Three Times a Lady, published in 2000 and since then I’ve written ten novels for adults and many books for children.
What do you think is the biggest myth about being a novelist?
That it gets easier as you go along. It doesn’t. But it’s still a thrill seeing every new book for the first time in a bookshop.
What advice can you give to our readers who want to write a novel of their own?
First of all, read. Get a good feel for the genre (or age group) you would like to write in/for. All great writers and also great readers. Write about something that you are passionate about. Write the book that you’d write if you only had six months to live. And every time you sit down at the desk, write with passion and energy and heart.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on a children’s book and a new adult novel set in Ireland, both for publication in 2015.
Thanks, Sarah!