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Writing under lockdown

26 May 2020

‘Stay off the booze. Just before he died, Dylan Thomas claimed he had drunk 18 whiskies, an act described by the coroner as "an insult to the brain". If you want your brain to work at all during this period, don't insult it. Yes, he wrote the most amazing work while being a famous drunkard, but think of how much more he might have written...

The rules for writing under lockdown are no different to other times. It won't happen unless you make it happen. It's incremental and frustrating, and your chances of being paid for it are tiny, but it's a fascinating process, with all the glamour and excitement of an affair but with less chance of divorce. One you discover the joys of it, and the pains, it will bring you the deepest pleasure. Good luck. And save that whisky for when you've typed "the end".'

Louise Doughty, author of nine novels including Platform Seven, Apple Tree Yard and Black Water, and the how-to-write guide A Novel in a Year, in the Sunday Times Magazine https://www.louisedoughty.com/