This interview with Alex
Scarrow was first published in February 2006. To find even more about the
author, you can visit our Alex Scarrow page.
Where were you born and raised?
Born in Hertfordshire. Raised mostly in Essex, but
lived in Hong Kong, the Bahamas, a short time in San Francisco (I was a toddler
then).
What was it that first got you into writing and when did you
start writing?
I started writing about 7 yrs ago. Started with screenplays, but
finding it virtually impossible to break into the movie biz, I took one of my strongest
screenplays and worked it up as a novel. So.... “A Thousand Suns”,
ended up being my first manuscript.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
Nevil Shute for his richly drawn 'everyman' protagonists, I keep
going back to his books (written in the 50's-60's) because very little on
the bookshelves these days appeals to me. Jack Higgins of course for 'The Eagle
Has Landed'. I hate saying this, really, because it sounds like
nepotism but...my brother, Simon Scarrow, his Under The Eagles
series consistently hits the spot for me.
Where do you stand on the nature v.
nurture debate? Were you born a writer, or were there factors in your
environment that enabled you to become a writer?
To be honest I think you have to be born with whatever the
x-factor is.... But practice definitely improves the craft. Someone in the
business told me that a lot of editors and agents who have a go at writing, end
up producing very competent manuscripts, that are structured, formatted and
paced correctly...but are ultimately soulless...lacking that whatever-it-is.
They have years of experience, knowledge...but not that whatever, that
a writer has.
There are a lot of courses teaching
creative writing nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?
I'm not sure that you can. These courses are great for
teaching certain aspects of the craft, but the art has to
come from the writer. I'm also a little troubled by the sort of limitations
these courses impose on writers.’ You shouldn't do this or that'...kind of
thing.
What kind of things do you write?
“A Thousand Suns” is a thriller. Although the next book I
write will most probably be another with a similar flavour, I'd like to branch
out into other genres reasonably early in my career, to avoid being
straightjacketed. I like that Iain Banks effortlessly glides between Literary
and Sci-Fi.
What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you have ever
written?
I think it's in “A Thousand Suns” somewhere...ah yes, I
think it's Chapter 6...yes, there's something about that short chapter that I
really, really like. Kind of haunting.
1What are you working on now?
My next book. Nuff said ;-)
What is your writing day like?
I do three hours a day. From 10am to 1pm, sitting in
Starbucks with a coffee and a bagel, and my MP3 player drowning out the
conversation from neighbouring tables.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
To be honest, where I am right now, but, with some success
and security under my belt. It's a tough old business. I think many people
assume, if you have a book in print, you’re loaded and your problems are over.
Far from it.... I'm in no way loaded, and my future career as such, will depend
largely on how well “A Thousand Suns” does.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?
Hmm... I suppose, if I'm being honest with you, positive
feedback about your work. I find it so hard to judge my own writing, in fact, I
often find it hard to even stomach my own writing - in the same way most people
hate their own voice. So it's incredibly hard to judge whether what I've
written works, or is a pile of doo-doo until someone comes back with their
opinion. Obviously then...it's an utter joy to hear from someone that
what you've written is good.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
Sitting down in the morning and pecking out that first
couple of hundred words every day. Some days, I do 'ave 'em.... I’ll just stare
and stare and then look down and find my laptop covered in crumbs, and
not a solitary word on the screen. Conversely, I get days when I'm on a
roll and can knock out 4-5000 perfectly chosen words. Those days are like gold
dust, you cherish them.
What’s the best piece of feedback that
you’ve had from your audience?
Well I suppose that's a hard one to answer until “A
Thousand Suns” hits the stores. Obviously my wife loves it!
Do you write for a particular audience,
or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?
I think the answer to that has to be, a bit of both. I'm not
writing solely to please me, I'm writing to please an audience, after all...
They'll be paying my salary. But in that audience, somewhere at the back, and
heckling like a miserable, bitter old codger... is me.
Do you have a homepage? If so, what’s the URL?
Why yes of course! No writer can exist without their own
website.... in fact it would be madness not to have one. So here's the linky: www.scarrow.fsnet.co.uk
