Writers' Rituals - Alanna Knight
The Mysterious Writing Habits of Writers From Around the World
Jun 11, 2009
Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security for writers who never know where the next idea, or the words to write it, will come from?
Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Alanna Knight, who has written more than fifty books in a career as a crime novelist that has spanned 40 years.
She is best known for her 14-book Inspector Faro Series, set in Victorian Edinburgh, c.1872. She tells the story of where the character came from:
"I was sitting by the window in my Victorian house, not long after moving to Edinburgh, and a man walked past. I thought to myself, 'He looks like a Victorian detective would have done.' - and so followed Faro. I don't know who the man was, and have never seen him again - but he was the original Jeremy Faro."
The Faro series gave birth to another series: about the adventures of Faro's daughter, Rose McQuinn. Alanna has now written 6 books about this 'Lady Investigator' whose series is set in Edinburgh around 1894.
She also has a third series running at the moment, about the time-travelling detective Tam Eildor, who investigates unsolved historical crimes. There are 3 books in his series so far. Here Alanna shares her writing secrets...
How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
Usually not less than 3 months in which I make notes, etc. before I feel confident enough to begin - it is vital that I 'walk the paths and touch the stones' of the historical crime period I am writing about.
I never need to search for plots, they just appear in the ether somehow.
What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
I find the creative juices are best in the morning so I work from 10 until 1, take the afternoon off, see friends, do domestic things and in the evenings sometimes frequently edit what I have written in preparation for next day.
Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
If you mean 'holiday breaks' then I visit friends in Scotland and my sons down in England.
Where do you write?
In my study mostly - have been known to adjourn with notebook to the local park on summer days.
What do you write with?
Always begin with pen and A4 narrow feint notepad.
...and why is that your preference?
I have to feel the words flowing from inside my head, and down on to the paper. I love the feeling of writing. Eventually I go to the computer, but I have never learnt to begin a book writing straight into a machine.
Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
A dictionary, a glass of water, the radio playing classical music (very softly!)
Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
My study walls, lined with bookcases and literally hundreds of books, for research and pleasure.
What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
'Legend of the Loch,' romantic suspense published in 1968 for which I received a first book award.
What is your latest book?
'Murder in Paradise'a prequel to the Faro series - he is a constable and this is his first case. published by Allison & Busby in November 08,October this year.
I have just signed the contract with them for my 6th Rose McQuinn 'Quest for a Killer'for January 2010 publication.
Find out more about Alanna Knight and her books from her website
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
