Miranda Dickinson interview

This interview was first published in July 2008. Miranda Dickinson is the author of the Authortrek short story Remember.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Wolverhampton and grew up in Kingswinford, in the West Midlands. I moved away a couple of times; firstly to do Miranda Dickinson my degree in Cheltenham and then to live in Essex for seven years - but I'm a Black Country girl at heart so it was inevitable that I'd come back. I've lived in Stourbridge for four years since my return from the south-eastern wastelands!

What was it that first got you into writing and when did you start writing?

As long as I can remember, I have been surrounded by stories and ideas. My parents are both natural storytellers and I inherited their love of a good yarn. When I was growing up, I always preferred making up my own stories than reading other people's - even though I had an advanced reading age - but my creations never made it past Chapter One!

I began to write in earnest about eight years ago. A good friend gave me quite possibly The Most Ancient PC in the Whole Wide World™ (you know the sort - where you switch it on and then can do all your housework, read a couple of chapters of a book and eat a snack in the time it takes for the thing to load up!) One day, I just started writing something, which I saved and thought nothing more of. A few months later, I discovered the file and started writing again - but this time it just kept on growing, eventually becoming a rough draft of a novel with over 90,000 words. In that time, I learned so much about writing: how to construct a storyline; how to pace the action; how to create characters that people can identify with. I haven't looked back from that point on.

Which writers have influenced you the most?

I'm an avid fan of Jane Austen, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett and Elizabeth Gaskell, amongst others - but I'll read anything if it takes my fancy. I have learned that the best way to inform your own writing is to read somebody else's work - to inspire you, to suggest new angles and styles and, often, to reaffirm that you're on the right lines with what you're doing!

I love Jane Austen for her excellently created characters, devastating observational humour and razor-sharp wit. I want to create characters that stay with the reader long after the last page, so Miss Austen is my absolute heroine for this.

I also love Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett for their humour and ability to find the ridiculous in things we perceive as ordinary. I admire Neil Gaiman for the way he plays with the reader's emotions; one minute scary, one minute laugh-out-loud funny, the next minute tense... I'm fascinated by stories that defy genres and take you by surprise.

What kind of things do you write?

I've written a whole host of different things in the past few years - from short stories to scripts, songs to magazine features and, most recently, my debut novel. Most of my work has humour at its core, although I like to challenge myself with new approaches. Remember - my short story published by Authortrek.ccom as part of their short fiction series - is actually quite dark and deep for me, for example. I wanted to write a story with a twist that would affect me as much as the reader - and it worked, I think.

My first attempt at a novel was what I'd call an 'intelligent chick-lit' - a real romantic comedy set in New York. I have another idea for a similar book, which is next in the wings. I wrote my debut novel, 'The Mystical Wombat's Guide to Life', as part of The National Novel Writing Month last year (NaNoWriMo as it is affectionately known) - and it turned out to be completely different to my other ideas, being what I can only describe as a thriller-satire-romance-humour-mystery!

What are you working on now?

I've almost finished editing my debut novel, 'The Mystical Wombat's Guide to Life', which I'm shortly going to be submitting to an agent. It's a wild and wacky journey with a host of unusual characters - including a despot leader, a world-weary newspaper hack and a 3,000-year-old mystical Marsupial. I'm really pleased with it and I'm keeping everything crossed for its success!

What is your writing day like?

I work as a Copywriter for a political party at the moment, so my nine-to-five involves mostly editing other people's words, although I do get to write things as well sometimes! When I get home it's a quick tea and then the next piece of editing, meeting with my trusty 'Proofing Posse' to discuss the latest chapters I've edited or rewriting. Sometimes I will write something completely different, just to keep my interest and stop me getting bogged down in the editing process - Remember is something written recently when I needed a break from the Wombat!

I don't often get a whole day to write, but on the rare occasion when I find myself with some free time, I like nothing better than to decamp to my local coffee shop with a notebook and pen and get scribbling.

What's the most exciting thing about writing for you?

I adore the buzz that I get from writing. I don't think I'll ever tire of it - even though my day job is sometimes enough to put anyone off writing for life! I love the way characters come alive and do things you aren't expecting. There's something incredibly organic about the writing process - your mind disengages slightly and you find yourself writing almost subconsciously. Without wanting to sound a bit New-Agey, it's like you submerge yourself in a flow of energy and creativity. I think you definitely get into 'another place' when you write.

What's the most frustrating thing about writing for you?

My vocabulary can be woefully inadequate at times. I get angry at myself for opting for a 'default' set of clichés sometimes, so I make myself use at least one new word or phrase in each chapter or story that I haven't used before. I used to get frustrated at my lack of discipline when it comes to writing something every day, until I learned to loosen up and just find something inspirational to do instead. I can sometimes get more inspired by reading a great magazine article, going for coffee and a chinwag with my mates or listening to a brilliant album than I can by rigidly making myself write. My writing is always better when I'm relaxed and not under pressure.

What's the best piece of feedback that you've had from your audience?

When I was writing The Mystical Wombat's Guide to Life, I posted excerpts of the first chapter on my blog at www.coffeeandroses.blogspot.com and someone left a comment saying: "I don't think I've ever related so closely with a character before.” That meant the world to me because this was exactly what I'd set out to do.

My boyfriend Bob insists on reading everything I've written and I know I can trust him to be honest about whether he likes it or not. He's infinitely better-read than me, so when he likes my stuff it means a lot.

Also, one of my best mates, Lins, asked to read the chapters I'd written in my first attempt to write a novel (the one I wrote on the old PC). I sent her a chapter at a time and she would text me desperate for the next bit. It was fantastic for me because I knew my writing had the ability to hook a reader and it also made me sit down and write more because it had remained unfinished for several years.

Do you write for a particular audience, or is your first priority to satisfy your own creativity?

I write for me, first and foremost. I think you have to do that in order to keep your enthusiasm for writing. After all, if you aren't interested in what you've written, the chances are that nobody else will be!

I'd like to think that I write stories that entertain people - taking them on an emotional journey characterised by my own brand of observational humour. When you spend so long writing on your own, the thought of having 'an audience' can be a bit daunting - but I'd like to think that (a) I have an audience; and (b) I can thrill them with what I write.

Do you have a homepage? Do you have any short stories or poems published online? (If so, please provide the URLs):

You can visit my website at: www.miranda-dickinson.com to read more about me, receive exclusive access to my novel excerpts and my short story 'Game Over' and get in touch.

I write a blog, Coffee and Roses, at: www.coffeeandroses.blogspot.com

I've had a short story published by Hardline Fiction at:

http://thehardline.wordpress.com/towards-happiness-miranda-dickinson/

I have been a contributing writer at Helium.com for the past two years - you can visit my page and read my articles and short stories there at:

http://www.helium.com/users/141024/show_articles

I'm also a contributing writer for www.myvillage.com -

my latest articles are a review of Made of Honour and a review of Bob Dylan's 'Drawn Blank' series exhibition:

http://www.myvillage.com/westend/fe-arts_made-of-honour-review.htm

http://www.myvillage.com/westend/fe-arts_bob-dylan.htm

If you check out any of my sites, please feel free to get in touch and let me know what you think!

Lisez cette page en français avec Babelfish Lesen diese Seite auf Deutsch mit Babelfish

Submit your website to 40 search engines for FREE!