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I'm old-fashioned in the way I write, with pen
and paper. Typing on computer is too distracting for me, I'm always
conscious of the screen and keyboard. Writing by hand I can do without
thinking about it. Also, I like to scribble all over the page, with
different versions and insertions and arrows and stuff. But when
I've got a couple of paragraphs settled, say ten or twenty lines,
I go and type them up on the computer. Which sort of finalises them
and leaves them behind.
When I'm into the actual writing, I often hit
a wall about twenty or thirty pages in. I was very sure about the
opening dramatic scenes – but beyond them, suddenly, there
too many possible ways of playing the next developments. This is
the stage where the novel shows its full size – I don't panic
about it any more, because I expect it.
The sheer joy of writing is towards the end
– provided I've done the setting-up right. Then events unfold
by themselves up to and into the climax. The downhill charge, as
the gigantic beast heads home! It's exhilerating, a total high,
and I wouldn't swap it for anything.
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