Ask the Author: Rebecca Stonehill
Answered Questions (7)
Rebecca Stonehill
Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce, The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys, The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht and finally, I really must read Beloved by Toni Morrison which has been gathering dust on my book shelf for far too long!
Rebecca Stonehill
In my mid twenties I spent half a year living and teaching English in Granada, Andalucia. I completely fell in love with the place and although it wasn't until years later I started writing the novel, the idea for a novel to be set there was sitting at the back of my head all this time, quietly taking root and germinating.
I started to hear tidbits of talk about the Spanish civil war (1936-39) and realised straight away that although the war had been over for so many years, it was still a very taboo topic. What more enticement for a writer to find out more about it than that?
I started to hear tidbits of talk about the Spanish civil war (1936-39) and realised straight away that although the war had been over for so many years, it was still a very taboo topic. What more enticement for a writer to find out more about it than that?
Rebecca Stonehill
I don't wait for inspiration to strike as otherwise I could be sitting there all day twiddling my thumbs. I tend to set myself daily writing targets in terms of word number. But as for the initial inspiration - I am inspired by places (eg Granada in The Poet's Wife), people, snippets of conversation, nature and the most unexpected objects.
Rebecca Stonehill
I'm about to start working on my second novel, which will be set in Kenya in the early 20th century and during the Mau Mau emergency of the 1950's.
Rebecca Stonehill
Subscribe to Mslexia magazine - the pages at the back have been my writing lifeline for many years with details of magazines (both print & online) accepting submissions. It's a boost to morale to get a short story / poem published.
Jot ideas down for stories / novels in notebooks or use evernote online. You never know when you'll need these ideas. Keep your ears and eyes open - be acutely aware of your surroundings. Be a curious observer at all times to life.
Jot ideas down for stories / novels in notebooks or use evernote online. You never know when you'll need these ideas. Keep your ears and eyes open - be acutely aware of your surroundings. Be a curious observer at all times to life.
Rebecca Stonehill
The freedom it allows you to inhabit worlds and minds.
Rebecca Stonehill
I just write through it. Everybody has moments (or days) when they don't feel like writing, but you still have to show up on the page and write, even if you don't think what you have written is particularly good.
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