Today’s interviewee is the lovely Jane Lythell. I got to know Jane due to us both being part of Brighton’s Beach Hut Writers. We’ve done some literary events together, including a rainy day spent in a local park, where I saw Jane’s charm and warmth with her readers first-hand. She truly is a woman of the hour and I think she has a lot of real wisdom, especially in terms of the challenges facing women in the workplace and how to approach writing with a sensible head on one’s shoulders. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Book Diner! Can we take your order – coffee, tea or soda? Eggs sunny side up or over easy? Home fries, French toast or biscuit?
Oh, that’s easy – builder’s tea and French toast with maple syrup please.
When did you realise you were a writer?
When I was eight. I wrote a story for my younger sister about Sally Dumpling, a fairy with curves, who lived in a yellow rose and whose best friend was a robin. My sister loved it! [Cute!]
Are there particular symptoms you think people should look out for if they suspect they may be coming down with Writer Syndrome and do you think there is any cure?
One definite symptom is lusting after nice notebooks and buying a new one at any excuse. [Oh, my, this is one of my addictions!] I always buy a new notebook when I’m going on holiday and I have a shelf of half-filled notebooks. One was very useful as I had noted down details of my Central American holiday: the landscape, the food, the birds and the fish I saw. This became the setting for AFTER THE STORM. There is no cure for Writer Syndrome.
Can you tell us about your latest project?
I am putting the finishing touches to BEHIND HER BACK which is my fourth novel. It features Liz Lyon and the StoryWorld TV station from WOMAN OF THE HOUR. It was good to get an opportunity to develop my characters further in a second book, but it also works as a stand-alone novel.
Behind Her Back is about backstabbing colleagues at work! A new Head of Sales arrives at the TV station and she joins forces with the News Editor, who hates Liz, to undermine her at every turn. Meanwhile, at home, Liz has started to date again, but her fifteen year old daughter deeply resents the new man in her life. So there is lots of conflict which drives the story.
What inspired you to write it? Where do you generally draw your ideas from?
What inspired both WOMAN OF THE HOUR and BEHIND HER BACK was a desire to explore the pressures facing women at work. Many books depict women’s emotional and family lives, but I’ve seen much less fiction about a woman struggling with the pressures of work. Yet that had been my life: a lone parent and a working mother, trying to keep all the balls up in the air, feeling conflicted about competing pressures.
Many books depict women’s emotional and family lives, but I’ve seen much less fiction about a woman struggling with the pressures of work. Yet that had been my life: a lone parent and a working mother, trying to keep all the balls up in the air, feeling conflicted about competing pressures.
The ideas for my four novels have come from different places, but what unites them I think is a focus on strong women, who also have their lows and their vulnerable moments. They battle adversity, whether it’s a jealous colleague at work or self-doubt or a holiday from hell!
What kind of writing process do you have? Are you very disciplined in terms of having a set work routine and doing a lot of planning, or are you more of a pantster? (You fly by the seat of them – Zinkologism.)
My writing process has changed. My first book had a long genesis. I wrote it at weekends and when I was on holiday, so it grew organically. I did more planning with AFTER THE STORM. I created a sheet for each of the four main characters and thought about their backstory before I started writing. I also had my holiday journal to draw on to help me create a vivid setting.
With the two Liz Lyon books, I was asked to submit treatments to my publisher Head of Zeus so I had to plan them out more, though still with plenty of room for the characters to take me in unexpected directions. You know a book is going well when a new plot line emerges that feels entirely in keeping with your character.
Do you write longhand or on a computer or both? Do you believe that writing method makes a difference to style?
I do most of my drafting straight onto my laptop and I work standing up. I have rigged up a tray-on-legs on top of the desk to get my laptop high enough. If I’m away from my laptop I make sure I have a notebook or some sheets of paper in my bag so I can jot ideas and lines of dialogue down as they pop into my head. Does it make a difference which method you use? I’m not sure.
How do you deal with autobiographical elements in your work? Do you worry about offending people or baring your soul too much?
I deal with stuff that has happened in my life, but it is transformed when it is told through fictional characters and situations. That said, friends and family have said to me, ‘Oh, you’re Liz Lyon and Flo is Ameli,a’ my daughter. This is not strictly speaking true, but I certainly drew on the feelings I had when I was a stressed working mum.
When it comes to other people’s lives, I am more carefu,l though I do get my revenge on people I don’t like by naming my bad characters after them! [Brilliant! I’m going to be nice to Jane!]
Name one book you wish you had written and explain why it’s fabulous.
I wish I could have written THE SHIPPING NEWS by Annie Proulx. |
What advice would you offer to writers just starting out?
I would say that the most important thing is to create characters your reader will believe in. It doesn’t matter if they dislike a character or adore them, but it does matter if your reader doesn’t believe in them. And do not bend a character out of shape in order to deliver a dramatic plot twist. Stay true to how your character would behave.
I would say that the most important thing is to create characters your reader will believe in. It doesn’t matter if they dislike a character or adore them, but it does matter if your reader doesn’t believe in them. And do not bend a character out of shape in order to deliver a dramatic plot twist. Stay true to how your character would behave.
How do you handle the rejections and bad reviews all writers experience?
The first one star review you get is ghastly and, yes, it hurts. But as time has gone on I find I am less affected by one star reviews. Not everyone is going to like my books. Sometimes readers will rave about a book and I read it and it does nothing for me. What we like is subjective so my advice to writers is don’t fret too much. Focus on getting the words down.
Who has offered you the most encouragement and support in terms of your writing career?
Two people get large bouquets here. My partner Barry Purchese, who is a TV scriptwriter, reads my novels at draft stage and has given me masterly feedback plus lots of understanding. As a writer, he knows I need to retreat from time to time. My agent, Gaia Banks of Sheil Land, has been immensely supportive from day one. She is the best champion I could ask for.
I also have a wonderful writing buddy, Kerry Fisher. We try to meet regularly to have a rant and or celebration of the ups and downs of the writing life.
If you could write anywhere in the world for a while, where would you head?
I would go back to a place where I have already been on a writing retreat: Ile de Re in France, near La Rochelle. I went there with my daughter in 2015 for a holiday.
It is an achingly beautiful place and so peaceful. I returned in 2016 for eight days to work on BEHIND HER BACK. One of the reasons it is so peaceful is that there are very few cars on the island. Most people get around on bike.
If you could choose to have a different creative gift, what would it be?
It would be to have a wonderful singing voice so that I could step onto a stage and thrill people with my arias. That would be fantastic! As it happens I can’t even sing ‘Happy Birthday’ in tune.
Where can people find out more about you and your work?
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