::mslexia author method::

The Claire Tomalin Method
From Interview no. 23

• As a writer of biography you will have an interest in history and in human nature. When it comes to
writing about an era, if you focus on a life, you’ve got a peg to hang it on. Many biographers think you write about the life and that’s that, but the social and historical context is as important as the life itself.

• The basis of all writing is to find a good story to tell. You can only write a book if you think there is a book you’d like to read that hasn’t been written. For instance, you may have studied something at university you found compelling and at the back of your mind thought, ‘there’s a story there’. Years and years may go by before you actually get down to writing a biography.

• Start researching. You have to read everything you can, gather all the material you can and visit places. The idea is to pick up clues: look at the census, look at old maps, visit libraries, county record offices. Talk to experts, to librarians: you’ll need all sorts of pointers and help and introductions.

• There’s never a time when you feel you’ve completed your research, but there comes a moment when you know you’ve got to start writing. When you start, don’t answer the doorbell or the phone.

• What’s tricky is to make the thing that’s interested and excited you interesting and exciting. Muriel Spark’s advice is to imagine writing a letter to a friend and to just start telling them what it is you want to tell them.

• Try to write short rather than long. Then rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Probably most pages are written about 100 times.

• Read aloud what you write, as it’s important what it sounds like. Make a big effort to make things clear, and use language that’s absolutely now. Avoid ‘academic’ writing which often seems to involve appalling jargon.

• When there are gaps it’s best to say, ‘we don’t know what was happening here: it could be like this, but I think this is more likely…’

• When you’re stuck you tend to drive yourself, and you end up getting more and more depressed. Walking helps – something unlocks, and you begin to have thoughts.

• A biography may take between one and four years, depending on what it entails. When you’ve finished, give your manuscript to an intelligent reader – your partner, perhaps – then begin the rewrite.

When you’re stuck you tend to drive yourself, and you end up getting more and more depressed. Walking helps – something unlocks, and you begin to have thoughts.