Story telling…

Honore de Balzac, who averaged a daily intake of 50 cups of coffee, once said, “As soon as coffee is in your stomach, there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move…and writing ceases to be a struggle.” 

Voltaire was said to have liked his coffee (30 to 40 cups a day) mixed with chocolate; Jonathan Swift needed coffee at least once a week and Goethe preferred decaffeinated coffee to relieve his insomnia. 

I don’t need 50 cups of coffee every day. I don’t even need coffee (although I do like a latte macchiato once in a blue moon). Five large mugs of loose leaf green tea is just the right amount of caffeine to get me in writing mode.

But before I start writing, I go for a walk first. While I was writing my first novel, I was fortunate enough to live near beautiful woodland and, come rain or shine, I made sure I got out in the fresh air for at least an hour every day. Not only did it energise me, it was where most of the thinking for my plot took place. My daily walks still provide the space for where I can think about my characters. I think about where I last left them on the page; I think about where they are going and I think about how I am going to get them there. I don’t alway have the answers but walking helps to clear my head and it helps me work through new ideas. 

I have always admired early risers — those remarkable people who like to wake at dawn and write — but I know my limitations. I need time to ease into it, but once I have had my walk, checked my emails etc, I try and be at my desk by 09.30.

My morning is usually reserved for editing. Invariably this involves re-reading what I wrote the day before and reworking sentences; ensuring everything flows and makes sense. It’s rare to find myself completely happy with what I’ve written and occasionally I need to be ruthless and delete chunks of text, no matter how long it took me to write, nor how good I thought it was at the time. 

After lunch, I get on with the task of writing. I’m pretty disciplined and if I’ve set myself a daily goal of 1000 words then I will try my hardest to achieve that. There are days when the words flow. Other times its a real struggle. Unfortunately there’s no secret formula to writing a novel. Every day is different and I try not to be too hard on myself if I’ve had an unproductive day. 

I’m not one of those writers who can listen to music while they write. At the most I can tolerate a bit of background noise but generally I prefer quiet and solitude. Having said that, since starting work on my second novel, I discovered a brilliant new coffee shop, which also serves as a space for remote workers. These people, who like me don’t need to be based in an office, have become my colleagues of sorts. Contrary to the peaceful environment I thought I needed, to my surprise, I’ve found that I’m able to concentrate in a co-working space. In fact, I’m probably more productive and motivated here amidst the “office” banter than I am at home. And there’s even background music! Seems I can adapt better than I thought. 

Indeed, finding a local workspace has really benefitted me, not least because writing a novel can be isolating. And while I do love my own company, being around other people — my co-workers — is creatively stimulating, because if there’s one thing I enjoy doing, it’s people watching (without making it too obvious of course ;-) And people watching can give me ideas for my characters.

People watching aside, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know some interesting people at my local coffee shop, one of whom has since become a good friend. Karla set up her own marketing company, The M Formula, when I began my second novel and it seems serendipity was at play because she was looking for a writer to help with her business and I a marketing expert. As the old adage goes: you never know who you might meet. 

I try and read as much as I can when I’m working on a novel and my day invariably ends with a good book. I try and read about 40 to 50 books a year and my tastes are eclectic, from Jhumpa Lahiri and Elena Ferrante to Karl Ove Knausgaard. I have just finished reading ‘To Paradise’ by Hanya Yanagihara, which I really enjoyed and now I want to read more of her writing. For me, one of life’s pleasures is browsing in a bookshop, discovering a new author and turning that first crisp page…