Writers' Rituals - Jane Finnis
The Mysterious Writing Habits of the World's Top Crime Writers
Oct 14, 2008
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 Jane Finnis best known for The Aurelia Marcella mystery series, set in first-century Roman Britain.
Q: How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
A: Research: a great deal, both before and while writing my novels. But plotting? That’s different. I can write a splendid synopsis, but find it impossible to stick to it. I subscribe to Colin Dexter’s view, which is that writing a mystery is like taking a long car trip without a map. You know the direction and the destination, but not the details, till you’ve reached journey’s end.
Q: What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
A: I can write morning, noon or night, as long as I can see a couple of hours of uninterrupted time ahead. I usually end up writing in several blocks of time, not one continuous one, and fitting in chores like housework around them. I measure my written output in words, not time: I aim to write a thousand words a day. Usually I can do this and have time left for research too.
Q: Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
A: Once I start a writing spell I try to keep going, until a natural break comes up. If I really must have a short pause, we’ve a lovely garden and I can wander in it, or drink a coffee there.
Q: Where do you write?
A: At home, in my office upstairs.
Q: What do you write with?
A: A computer.
Q: ...and why is that your preference?
A: Computers make the writing process so easy. I type fast, and correcting mis-spelling and typos is a doddle. What’s more, experimenting is easy too: I can try an alternative plot twist, alter the order of existing paragraphs, or re-name a character, and yet preserve my former drafts, just in case. These things must have been a nightmare before word processors. Imagine Dickens's publisher saying “Great story, Charles, but Marmaduke Twist? Impossible! Can you change the name to Oliver?”
Q: What do you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing?
A: I hate a tidy desk. (Well I’m sure I would if I’d ever had one.) Books, notes, journals, coffee mugs, the phone, my backup hard disk, are all strewn around me. The only item I really need is my reading glasses.
Q: What do you see when you look up from your writing?
A: Several atmospheric photos taken by my husband Richard, of Ancient Roman sites we’ve visited: Palmyra in Syria, in golden afternoon sun, is my favourite. A replica Roman sword (never used!) and the window with a view of the garden. Bookshelves and cupboards.
Q: What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
A: A short story, The Cleopatra Game, in The Mammoth Book of Roman Whodunnits.
Q: What is your latest book?
A: Buried Too Deep, the third Aurelia Marcella mystery (Poisoned Pen Press).
Born in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK, Jane Finnis now lives in Hunmanby, North Yorkshire, UK. Find out more on her website.
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals
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