Ask the Author: Susan Elliot Wright
Answered Questions (3)
Susan Elliot Wright
I write through it – I allow myself to write rubbish. In order to trick my subconscious into thinking it doesn't matter, I have documents on my desktop with titles like 'for deletion' or 'practice writing'. That way, I can continue to exercise the 'writing muscle' even if I'm not making any progress on my current project. 'Writer's block' is usually about being stuck, hitting a major problem with what you're writing. Often, it's a question of working through a plot problem, and working through plot problems is hard, so we tend to just stop writing and assume we're 'blocked'. I get stuck quite often, and it's horrible, but I still make myself write something regularly, even if it's only, 'I am horribly stuck and I'm not sure how to move forward.' Then I usually write something like, 'maybe I could try ...' Then I suggest things to myself and try them. It doesn't always work (though sometimes it does) but it prevents me from suffering complete creative paralysis.
Susan Elliot Wright
Persist! Even in the face of despair and rejection. If you are determined, you can achieve more than you ever dreamed. I approached getting on for 20 agents before receiving to offers of representation in the same week. And my debut novel was rejected by 10 publishers first time round. But I really, really wanted to be a novelist. I went back to the book and tried to look at it as objectively as possible - again (I'd already spent six months rewriting) bearing in mind the feedback I'd had. I made more changes, rewrote the opening, moved things around. Then I got a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster. Even if I hadn't got the deal at that point, there is no way I would have given up. If the book hadn't had so much positive feedback, so many 'we were tempted' responses from publishers, I would have simply started something new. But I knew that it was a good novel that wasn't quite there, and I knew I was prepared to do another major rewrite if necessary. Writing is a craft, and like any other craft, you are not going to be brilliant at it on your first attempts. You need to keep at it, writing and rewriting as many times as is necessary. Also, I'd advise aspiring writers to take a creative writing course or attend a few workshops. You can't be taught talent, but talent is quite a small factor in the process of writing a novel or a story, so you can improve your chances of success enormously by learning techniques and learning how to hone your writerly skills. And you'll meet lots of other lovely aspiring writers!
Susan Elliot Wright
The idea for my most recent book, What She Lost, came partly from a tragic story I read in a newspaper some years ago. I can't tell you exactly what the story was because it would give away too much about the novel, but I can tell you that it made me think about the effects that event would have on the family involved for years to come. I wondered how they would all cope as the little girl at the heart of the events grew older, and how and if she would remember what happened. This led me into thinking about memory, so there is an Alzheimer's storyline as well. The mother, Marjorie, is losing her memory due to disease, whereas the daughter, Eleanor, struggles to recall accurately something that happened when she was a child.
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