Ask the Author: Sarah Armstrong
Answered Questions (6)
Sarah Armstrong
I got the idea for 'His Other House' from a newspaper article I read many years ago. I have an 'ideas' file in my computer where I jot ideas that interest me, and this one just kept leaping out at me.
Sarah Armstrong
These days, inspiration to write is less a problem than time to write. I crave time to write, so when I get it, there's no stopping me! Motherhood has made me a very efficient writer.
Sarah Armstrong
My next book, 'His Other House' (Pan Macmillan) will be out in March 2015, and I am now working on the novel to follow that. I won't say too much at this point but it explores similar grey moral territory as 'His Other House'.
Sarah Armstrong
To read a lot. Reading broadly is the very best education for a writer. When you read something that doesn’t grab you, ask what the writer has done (or not done) to lose your interest. When something delights or grips you, consider how the writer has managed to do this.
The other important task for writers – even experienced ones – is to find a way to distance that inner writing critic that can be so debilitating, and stop a writer in their tracks. Freewriting (writing very fast without thinking about it too much and without stopping to correct or tidy up) is the best way I know to bypass the critic.
When I teach, I encourage students to accept that there will be many, many, many drafts. And to consider that rewriting can mean big changes – in structure or point of view or plot or character; it’s not just tidying up the grammar. Rewriting is asking: What is this story really about?
The other important task for writers – even experienced ones – is to find a way to distance that inner writing critic that can be so debilitating, and stop a writer in their tracks. Freewriting (writing very fast without thinking about it too much and without stopping to correct or tidy up) is the best way I know to bypass the critic.
When I teach, I encourage students to accept that there will be many, many, many drafts. And to consider that rewriting can mean big changes – in structure or point of view or plot or character; it’s not just tidying up the grammar. Rewriting is asking: What is this story really about?
Sarah Armstrong
Having the luxury of sitting quietly and playing with words until they convey what I intend. The quiet, solitary business of writing is a wonderful antidote to the busy-ness and mayhem of family life.
Sarah Armstrong
Since having a child, I haven't struggled with writer's block like I used to. If I am feeling a bit directionless in my writing, I will freewrite about my character's back story (eg. what they remember from primary school, first kiss, most memorable Christmas) and particularly about what they want. Digging down into a character's desire is a sure fire way to get me out of any writing doldrums.
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