A Goodreads user asked Anne Fine:

Was it a bit scary starting off writing? How did your career begin?

Anne Fine Hi, Red. Not scary at all because it happened almost by accident. I lived in Edinburgh. There was a blizzard, and because of striking roadmen, the pavements weren't safely gritted. So I couldn't take the baby in the pram up the steep hill to the library and change my books. Desperately bored, I sat down and started to write one. Of course, the ice melted, but I just kept going. And I was extremely lucky in that it came second in a competition for unpublished writers, and a professional agent who had read it offered to try to sell it for me. That was the start of my career. I still spend as much time reading as writing, though. And the question I hate most in schools and at events is, "If you had to give up reading or give up writing, which would you choose?" I almost can't bear it.

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