Lucy Prebble “What ideas grab you? Meaty controversial issues based on real events. Topics that frighten and thrill you. Paedophilia, anorexia, corporate brinkmanship … Because you’re a perfectionist, research is a compulsion. You read widely on your current topic and immerse yourself in its world. For Secret Diary… this meant hours with courtesans, dominatrices, punters; for Enron, visits to the stock market bear pit.”
[excerpt from an interview in MsLexia magazine, Dec/Jan/Feb 2013/2014 issue]
[photo: 100books.co.uk]
I like research too, and to understand Rose Haldane in Ignoring Gravity I needed to learn about adoption. I read so many books about adoption, written by birth parents, adoptive parents, adopted children, adult adoptees searching for their birth parents: I read information guides on websites about how to adopt a child; how to search for your birth parents; what to say when… if… you should meet. It’s difficult: I immersed myself into this world which was alien to me, how could I ever write about this without feeling like an imposter?
Empathy. And imagination. I empathised with the stories I read and re-read. And I took their situations and put myself there, and then I imagined. What if it was me? What would I do? How would I feel? Why had this happened to me? How come I didn’t guess the truth?
Two books were key to my research:-
Nicky Campbell’s Blue-Eyed Son, click here to read my review and learn more about Nicky’s search for his birth parents.
And Paul Arnott’s A Good Likeness. He writes, “Instead of being Paul Arnott, 11/11/61, I was now Rory Brennan, 11/11/61.” It is compelling reading. Click here to read my review.
I drew up my ‘adoption scenario’ and put Rose into it. Then I imagined how she would react. And then I started writing.
If you agree with Lucy Prebble, perhaps you will agree with:-
Hilary Mantel – your characters are flickering constructs, they are always on the move
Joanna Trollope – e-books are leased
Hanif Kureishi – writing is an art, but it is also a business
‘Enron’ by Lucy Prebble [UK: Bloomsbury] Buy now
And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
I agree with @lucyprebblish #researching is a compulsion for #writers http://wp.me/p5gEM4-OM via @SandraDanby
The starting quote is really thought provoking. it is true, our favorite topics do change us! at least they are supposed to if we write from heart.
Absolutely, we have to write about what captivates us. SD
Oh this makes me eager to read ‘Ignoring Gravity’!
Good! I found the adoption research fascinating, so many situations, so many possibilities or dead ends. Very emotional. And I can only imagine what it is like to actually experience it, my respect goes to those people who live it. SD
I think your research served you well – I found myself wondering if you’d been in that situation personally, since it was so well described.
Thx Andrea. I find it difficult knowing when I’m ready to stop researching and start writing. I guess my tendency is to over-research, as my instinct is still factual. Trying to break that mould though! SD