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Comment from the book world in January 2017

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January 2017

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'Monogamy is hard, in writing as in life!'

30 January 2017

On getting started as a writer

"Write what truly, obsessively interests you, not what you imagine will sell. You have to give yourself permission to write a terrible first draft. I often let myself put in several adjectives - e.g. brutal/savage/merciless/relentless - figuring that I can pick the right one later."

On writer's block

"I've never had writer's block yet, which I attribute, not just to luck, but also to my technique. I would advise anyone looking to ward-off writer's block to start writing something else, a completely different project. I'm always working on about six different projects at various stages of development, so if I don't feel like working on one I just turn to another. Basically, monogamy is hard, in writing as in life!"

On adapting the book to screenplay

"The only risk with a novelist adapting their book to screen would be if a novelist was just doing it out of propriety, not a genuine love of cinema. I think whoever wants to try her hand at it, she should in. I say 'she' because women are big successes in fiction but represent a pathetic share of screenwriters, so I'd love to see more female novelists do their own screenplays too.

Literary novels have no rules, infinite freedom and an infinite budget! Films have many more constraints and above all, less time to say everything in, so the first thing I did with Room was cut lots of characters and situations that weren't crucial for the film.

Emma Donoghue, author of Room, and of the screenplay for the film, which has just been released

http://www.stylist.co.uk/books/emma-donoghue-room-film-oscar-best-adapted-screenplay-brie-larson-lenny-abrahamson

 

 

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'A fake autobiography'

23 January 2017

‘She probably went too far in putting out a fake autobiography. Which is like an invitation: expose me.' (referring to Frantumaglia, which is about to be published in English - not an autobiography as such, but a collection of letters, essays, interviews and the like.) "But she's not committed a crime. Nor do I feel that she was a bad person to write under a pseudonym. She did what she wanted to do. It worked spectacularly well, and then there are the books. People will read them a bit differently, that's inevitable. But it doesn't make them bad books.'

Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid's Tale and Maddaddam on Elena Ferrante in the Guardian

'Someone who knows how to tell a story'

16 January 2017

As an editor, I'm often asked what sorts of books I am looking for, and my answer is invariably the same. Whether it's crime or fantasy or women's fiction, I am looking for one thing: someone who knows how to tell a story.

It should be a story that asks questions of the reader; that takes us from our known world and plunges us into another; it should be filled with believable characters who we care about; and it should have a narrative with a beginning, middle and an end that draws all the different strands together in a satisfying way.

Is finding a story like this an easy task? Well, no - but when you do come across one that pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages, it's the best feeling in the world. I remember when I read the initial draft of S.J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep being so gripped that I forgot I was having lunch with a colleague...

For me, though, the best part of all is when a new book lands on my desk. I will pick it up, maybe re-read that all-important first chapter, keep it on my desk and look at it for a few hours - before sending it off to its rightful parent, the author, so it can begin its journey into a world of discovery and delight.

Selina Walker, Publisher of Century and Arrow at Penguin Random House UKPenguin Random House have more than 50 creative and autonomous imprints, publishing the very best books for all audiences, covering fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children’s books, autobiographies and much more. Click for Random House UK Publishers References listing on Mail Online

Writing for young people

2 January 2017

‘I never felt like I was getting at the truth. I wanted to be told the truth. So when I write for young people I write for the young person I was. And it's only now that I find I have a lot of compassion for that kid and the things that he was worrying about. I was a really anxious kid, and I just needed someone to talk to about it, and nobody would...

YA is about how you experience a novel. If you experience it as a teenager, and you change your point of view that way while reading, then it's probably YA. I also think that YA fiction tends to be about exploring boundaries, whereas adult fiction tends to be about being trapped by them. But it's ambiguous. Is Jane Eyre YA? To Kill a Mockingbird YA? Catcher in the Rye is very YA...

As a young person the one thing I always dreamt of was to hold a published book in my hand that I'd written. So, everything else seems like extra cake to me. It's cool. But I'm a novelist, and I want to hold that book in my hand.'

Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls (just released as a film for which he wrote the screenplay), Chaos Walking and Class (a BBC series)