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Writing for 50 years now

2 September 2013

'I've been writing for 50 years now and used to be very disciplined about it, writing every day. I'm not so much any more, and when I do, it's wherever I happen to be. I also used to write longhand, on legal pads - my ex-husband was a lawyer - whereas now it's a laptop.

Writing now is more a question of time, and a novel means finding a year to sit down and actually do it. I've worked hard all my life, so it's nice to be able to relax a little.'

Alice Walker, author of The Colour Purple, on being 69, in The Times