Megan Beatie asked Stephen Metcalfe:

How does your background writing for film and the theatre influence your novel writing?

Stephen Metcalfe Dialogue and character moves a story forward in a play. As often as not, action moves a story forward in a film (You "hear" a play - you "see" a film). I'm finding fiction to be a combination of the both. I love character. I love creating voices. That's the playwright in me. I'm also now enjoying creating "visuals" on the page - description that wouldn't necessarily be in a stage play or a screenplay. In some ways a novelist is a playwright, director and set designer (with a sprinkling of poet) all rolled into one.

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