Writers' Rituals – Eileen Ramsay
The Mysterious Writing Habits of Writers From Around the World
Jun 8, 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 Eileen Ramsay, winner of the 2005 Elizabeth Goudge Trophy. who is known all over Europe for her Women's Commercial Fiction: most recently, Someday Somewhere (nominated for the Parker RNA 'Romantic Novel of the Year Award'), A Way of Forgiving, The Stuff of Dreams and Rainbow's End. She is also known in Britain for her sagas and children's books.
How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
I have no idea how much research I will need to do until I start to write the book!! My last five books have dealt in some degree with the performing arts and since the Arts are a life-long passion, I know something already. It's only when I start the book that I find I need to research a particular thread more deeply. For instance, my latest book, is about the theft of a Pissaro in Portugal during WWII but it's set in the present. How does one hide a great master for over sixty years? That took me down some interesting byways - all quite fascinating. I suppose the answer is that research and writing go hand in hand for me.
What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
I used to get up at 4am to write; I'm too lazy for that now. I can write at any time - I think most women can because we're used to multi-tasking but I would prefer to write from around 8am till - exhaustion sets in. I can't settle until the house around me is fairly tidy. If we've had an overnight guest, the guestroom bed has got to be stripped and remade - don't have to have the washing out but...!
Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
I take several breaks mainly because I have osteoporosis and need to move regularly. First of all I have a cup of tea which I take out into the garden. I potter around and I listen.
Where do you write?
I have an office but it's too cold in the winter and so I write in the kitchen where there's a wood burning stove. Lately I've been moving around because of what's going on outside our windows. My younger son's old room is good because all I see is the tops of trees. If I were disciplined I'd stay in there but I've just moved into our bedroom where there are two huge windows!
What do you write with?
I now use a computer but I will write on trains and planes with a pen.
...and why is that your preference?
I have a love/hate relationship with my laptop. It's easy to read and my writing isn't but it's also easy to keep deleting and changing. I hate doing a daily word count when I end up with five hours work and a minus score!!
Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
My CD player; sometimes I desperately need Mozart. Dictionaries, my thesaurus, Hart's Rules, a notebook, a cup of tea and a million pictures of my brand-new grandson!
Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
This morning I can see lambs, because I'm right beside the window. You cannot believe how funny lambs are and I have spent too much time watching them and taking pictures; it's given me an idea for a picture book for Barnaby and so the time isn't wasted, is it? Beyond the field there are some magnificent trees and beyond that, the sea.
What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
The very first thing was a story for a Sunday School magazine in California. That first acceptance letter was just such a joy.
What is your latest book?
In English it's called Henriqueta's Treasure but my wonderful German publisher published it first under the title Jene Tage in Lissabon
Eileen Ramsay was born and brought up in the South West of Scotland. She spent 18 years in the USA and in the 1960s taught at the Sacred Heart School in Washington DC - a school she describes as, "full of high-powered little people with famous parents". Now back in her homeland, she adds to her writing tally of more than 18 books which have been translated into many languages and are published worldwide.
Find out more about Eileen Ramsay from her website
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals
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