Jacqueline Winspear has been telling us about her writing process and book recommendations. Her latest book, The Care and Management of Lies, is set during the Great War and is out now.
Where do you find inspiration for your books?
In all sorts of places – the newspaper, something overheard, a snippet of family history. I find a nugget that lays down the kindling for a story, then later – sometimes years later – another piece of inspiration comes along to add fuel, and then perhaps something else to add the spark that gets it all going and lights the fire.
Can you tell us about your average writing day?
It’s a working day like anyone else’s, except that I structure my eight or nine hours of work in a different way. I get up, walk the dog, have some breakfast, and then get down to work around 7:30am - 8:00am. I stop around 11:00am, and go out to the stables nearby where I ride my horses – I train almost every day in the equestrian sport of dressage (being on a horse gets you out of your head). I’m home by about 1:00pm and get down to work again straightaway until around 4:30pm, when I take the dog out for another walk. I return home and then work some more until dinner. I spend an hour or so dealing with “admin” every day – emails, letters, etc. But generally, it’s a working day that seems to reflect that of any self-employed person – you put your hours in, but you can be flexible about it.
When you are writing, do you use any famous people or people you know as inspiration?
No, I never think of anything but my characters when I’m writing – it’s their story, after all. Famous people don’t necessarily inspire me – if anything I’m more inspired by ordinary people.
What is your favourite Women’s Fiction book of all time and why?
This is a really hard one, as I don’t have a favourite – or rather I have too many favourites. There are writers I’ve really enjoyed and whose work has resonated with me at different stages of my life, but I can’t pick one book, not one I would read time and again at every stage of my life.
What female writer has inspired you?
I’m going to give two names here, and for different reasons. First Rumer Godden – because she did not wait for the “perfect” time to write, she simply wrote when she could. Her earlier works were often written in snatches of time when she wasn’t dealing with spitting cobras, Kashmiri rebels, an inefficient water supply at a hill station in India, and a first husband who was intent on spending all their money while she taught dancing to keep house and home in order! She would write in the odd five minutes here and there in her early career as a writer, because that was all the time she had – and she was a prolific writer who – I believe – knew that to write a book you had to just sit down and write, rather than waiting for the so-called “perfect” moment.
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