Author Kate Atkinson discusses the importance of a good title
© Martin Hunter
Kate Atkinson is the author of Human Croquet and Emotionally Weird. Her most recent novel, When Will There be Good News? won the Richard & Judy Best Read of the Year award, and is a Sunday Times No1 Bestseller. Her debut novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, received the Whitbread Book of the Year award in 1995.
How did you become a writer?
I come from an academic background - I was writing a doctorate until I was 30 and then I had a baby, and then I began writing. I thought about Behind the Scenes at the Museum for a long time before I began to write it. I probably thought about it on and off for five years and then wrote it rather quickly.
I’d thought about it such a lot that it was really personal to me.
How did you go about finding a publisher or agent?
I won a short story contest, and then an agent came to me and I had a book deal within a few weeks.
With your novels, what comes first?
I always have the title first. With When Will There be Good News? I began with several abstract titles, but then I received a letter from someone and it included this question, and it stuck in my mind. I think perhaps that title affected how dark the book became.
Where do your characters come from?
My characters arrive fully formed. I’m in control though - they do what I want. I think there’s a little bit of me in all of my characters. A lot of my characters are16-year-old girls, because I find that a really interesting age.
I used to work with old people and every one of the women said they felt they were still 20 years old. I think for me 16 is that special age - I still feel that I’m 16 I think that’s why I always return to that age in my writing.
What do you feel are the main differences between your novels and your short stories?
The novels tend to be darker and more realistic now The short stories are more humorous and fantastical. I’ve divided into two writing strands.
What difference do you think it makes for a writer to win awards and prizes?
Well, I’d like to know what difference being selected by the Richard & Judy book club made or is making to When Will There be Good News?. Since moving channels and losing viewers it doesn’t have the power it once had.
If I won the Whitbread Award now it would be a completely different experience, but I was given it when I was very naive about it. People want to make stories out of prize winners, and that’s something I would avoid like the plague now. It’s easy to put people into boxes. It’s like with writing - people like to classify books by genre.
On that subject, you’ve written magic realism novels and detective novels; is there any particular genre you’d like to try?
I would like to write a romance. I don’t know if I can, which is partly why I want to do it. But I don’t think of myself writing in genre - I think of myself as writing a book.
How do you make the transition between writing and publicity?
I don’t do much publicity. I’m doing more than usual this year because I’m attending a lot of literary festivals.
The only way you can write is to be on your own - it really helps to be an introvert and not be very sociable. But then you have to come out and meet people and communicate about your books. I don’t mind doing that, but I know a lot of writers find it very distressing.
How would you describe your writing method?
I don’t think about my books when I’m not writing them. I think there are parts of your brain you don’t have access to. I don’t believe it’s a good thing to become complacent. I write my books in a state of anxiety. It’s an unnerving way to write, but it suits me.
I spend a lot of time making sure the right words are being used - I’m constantly editing myself. Everything has to be there for a reason. It does mean that when I reach the end of a book I don’t have a huge edit to do because I’ve done most of it as I’ve gone along.
Whose writing do you admire?
My favourite writers change all the time. I love Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemmingway, Jane Austen. If I had to choose one book and no other book it would be Persuasion.
People send me a lot of new books, looking for endorsement quotes, I suppose. It prevents me buying books that I want to read because I always have a pile of unread free books.
What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?
Read everything - read as much as you possibly can. As a writer you have to have an inner critic, so you need standards to judge yourself by - so read. Love books, love words, love language, and read.
For further information visit www.kateatkinson.co.uk
Kate’s books are available from Amazon.co.uk
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