This interview with Marilyn Heward Mills was first
published in May 2006. To find out more about the author, you can visit our
Marilyn Heward Mills page.
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Switzerland and raised in Ghana, in West Africa,
where my novel "Cloth Girl" is set.
What was it that first got you into writing and when did
you start writing?
I have always thought it would be 'nice to be a writer'.
I had been thinking about the story in "Cloth Girl" for some
years, and a few years ago I decided to try and write it down. I'd
started trying to write when I was a teenager, but I wanted to write fiction
for grownups and realised that I didn't have the life experience to do so.
Which writers have influenced you the most?
I suppose the writers that I read growing up, Steinbeck and
Graham Greene got me very interested in reading, and therefore in the idea of
writing myself. Vikram Seth’s novel "A Suitable Boy" was also
really influential in me taking the step to try and write.
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?
I think some people are born storytellers and have the
commitment to sit and write their stories, and others are born writers who simply
have to write something every day, stories, diaries, letters. I don’t
think the two are mutually exclusive.
There are a lot of courses teaching creative writing
nowadays, but do you think that good writing can be taught?
Yes, I do. I don’t think the creativity can be taught,
but the art of writing good readable English can be. I didn’t go to
school in this country and in the twelve years that I have lived here, I have
been surprised at the lack of grammatical accuracy at all levels. I think
any writer can be helped to hone their craft.
What kind of things do you write?
My novel "Cloth Girl" is set in Africa in the
thirties and forties and describes the lives of two very different women there.
It is a novel about Africa, trying to show the positive side of a
continent that is usually depicted in negative terms.
What, for you, is the best piece of prose that you have
ever written?
That is hard to say.
What are you working on now?
Another novel.
What is your writing day like?
I work around my children’s school day and holidays. I
try and work most days if I can, but it is not always possible as I try and
juggle all my other responsibilities.
Where would you like to be in 10 years time?
I would like to have published a number of books.
What’s the most exciting thing about writing for you?
Discovering the characters and where they are going.
What’s the most frustrating thing about writing for you?
When progress is slow.
What’s the best piece of feedback that you’ve had from your
audience?
That they loved my book and my main character, that it made
them cry and laugh.
Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first
priority to satisfy your own creativity?
I hope for an audience like me that enjoys reading novels
about other worlds, other cultures, with great colourful characters and good
plot.
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