Ask the Author: Phil Whitaker
Answered Questions (6)
Phil Whitaker
Through a family connection, I learned of a missionary nun who had ended up running an English language library for impoverished students in North Africa. I knew it contained the essence of a novel, but I nursed the concept for over a decade before I got the human story to harness it to. The result was Sister Sebastian's Library, my fifth book.
Phil Whitaker
All of my books have started with a single thought, idea, or snippet, that has struck me from out of the blue. A newspaper article, an interview heard on the radio, or something that's happened within my family. The common thread is that, once the idea has occurred, it lodges there, and feels from the outset like it contains the scope of a novel. It might take many years for it to expand and fill out in my mind such that I'm ready to start writing.
Phil Whitaker
My sixth novel, provisionally titled 'You'. I'm currently nearing the end of the first draft (January 2017).
Phil Whitaker
Persist. It's rare for someone to turn out a sparkling novel at a first attempt. Most writers will have been at it for years, gradually refining and developing their craft, before they make it into print. Talent is necessary, of course, but it has to be alloyed with bloody-minded determination. So just keep doing what you do.
Phil Whitaker
For me, it's seeing a finished work produced as a beautiful book. Nothing quite beats that. Well, the only thing that does is when I come across feedback from readers and learn that a novel has really struck a chord or spoken to someone. There'll always be a proportion of people who don't like or get a book, but when someone really enjoys and relishes it, that's also very hard to beat.
Phil Whitaker
It can be really unnerving - you can quite rapidly feel everything's slipped away, and that you're never going to get the current project back on track. It's happened sufficiently frequently to me over the years now that I'm able to look back and remind myself that I always came out the other side. I've developed certain tricks - moving on to a different part of the narrative, or leaving everything for several days to give the subconscious time to work on it.
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