An interview with Juliet McKenna
01/12/2006 . Source: Michele Fry 
Juliet E. McKenna is the author of the series The Tales of Einarinn and The Aldabreshin Compass, the final volume of which, Eastern Tide, is published by Orbit this autumn. Juliet talks about writing, reading, fitting in her novels around the school run, and the potential dangers of taking a fat cheque from film producers. You can find out more about Juliet E. McKenna on the Orbit website. Our interviewer sat down to talk to Juliet about the life of a writer.
Were you a big reader as a child/teenager?
Absolutely. I was one of those children who'd be reading at the breakfast table, on the bus, in the playground, under the desk in class if I could get away with it and under the bedclothes with my bike light after my official bedtime.
When did you start writing?
Probably within a few months of learning to read. I think I must have been about eight or nine when I filled one and a half-exercise books with my first alleged novel, which was, naturally enough, a total rip-off of a series I was currently enjoying from the library.
Why do you write?
Because it's such a natural thing for me to do. I've been making up stories for as long as I can remember and the obvious next step was putting them on paper. That's the easy bit. The challenge after that was learning how to write something that other people found worth reading and that's the hardest bit. These days I write to entertain my readers and hopefully to challenge them with some new ideas and perspectives. The challenge for me is exploring the fantasy genre as well as looking at our own world through that magic mirror, all the while constantly developing and honing my writing skills.
Which writers have influenced you?
I honestly can't say, because I'm afraid if I ever start analysing my own work like that, I'd become paralysed with self-consciousness. At the same time I believe absolutely that every book I've ever read, from the best to the worst, will have had some influence on my writing.
What's the hardest thing about being a writer and what's the easiest?
The hardest thing is sitting down and stringing the words together, day after day, week after week, month after month. Though on a good day, when the prose is flowing, let's be honest, being a writer is a fabulous job. On a bad day, when half an hour's slid by and I'm still struggling to find the right words for a ten-line paragraph, it's torment.
The easiest thing is spinning those first shimmering ideas for a new story out of my imagination. Turning those airy threads into a coherent and robust yarn is more of a challenge, mind you.
How do comments from other people, such as your readers, affect your writing?
Other people's comments offer me a broader perspective on what I'm writing. When I'm absorbed in a story, I can end up too close to it, unable to see the wood for the trees. A novel is always going to be the product of one person's imagination but for it to be any good, it has to speak to a wide range of readers. If a test reader just isn't seeing what I want them to see in an early version, I must look very closely at my writing to see where the problem lies and work out how to communicate my ideas most effectively by the final draft.
Once a book's published, I'm always interested in what people make of it but there's nothing I can do to change it, so there's nothing to be gained by taking any review too personally. Occasionally I'll see a comment, either positive or negative, with some constructive bearing on what I'm currently writing and I'll think that through carefully before I go on.
Talking to my keenest readers has prompted my own imagination to take an unforeseen twist on more than one occasion, when I've heard about something that's intrigued them about often incidental characters or incidents, and particularly when they tell me what insignificant loose threads they still want to see tied up.
You write articles and reviews, as well as novels, give talks and attend discussion panels at conventions, and teach creative writing courses. How does all this fit into your life as a writer? Does it stop you writing?
These days, maintaining a visible profile is an increasing challenge for genre and mid-list writers. Writing reviews and articles, being interviewed and making appearances at conventions and elsewhere all helps with letting potential readers know who I am and what I'm like. Hopefully that encourages them to give my books a try. These activities are also very valuable for me as a writer, making me think constantly about the craft of writing and keeping me alert as to the expectations of keen readers of all kinds of books. Teaching creative writing is a little different, in that I'm really just returning the cosmic favour there. So many authors, often very eminent ones, were so helpful and encouraging when I was an aspiring writer that I feel honour bound to carry on that tradition.
Yes, there are times when all this does stop me writing, simply because it takes me away from my keyboard. On the other hand, that's not necessarily a bad thing, as long as I make sure it doesn't happen too often. If I'm travelling somewhere by train I can catch up on some reading. If I'm driving, I will often have some useful and frequently wholly unexpected idea to improve what I'm currently working on, prompted by something I hear on the radio or on a CD or just out of a clear blue sky.
Do you have a favourite character in your books, and if so who and why?
I'm always going to have a soft spot for Livak as creating her and her story inspired me with the energy and enthusiasm necessary to write my first publishable novel, The Thief's Gamble. I've spent the last four years with Kheda and charting his complex story through The Aldabreshin Compass has been both challenging and rewarding, so he means a great deal to me. Once I go beyond that, and think how much I like, say, Shiv, I immediately start to argue with myself and think, yes, but what about Ryshad or Allin or Temar or Telouet or Itrac or pretty much anyone else. The only characters I can't say I'm fond of are the villains and they're still perversely satisfying to write.
A lot of writers seem to have a strict routine whilst they're writing: do you have one too, or does being a mother prevent that?
In some ways, having school-age children forces a routine on me. Monday to Friday, I start writing as soon as they're out of the house and carry on till they reappear. I generally turn to admin tasks like email while they unwind for a bit and then we're all together for after-school activities and cooking tea and watching telly, that kind of thing. I don't find this is a bad thing because it does mean I never get a chance to write myself to a standstill. I'm always keen to get back to my keyboard. As they've got older, it's got easier to work at weekends and the school holidays but that's not necessarily a good thing as writers need time off just like anyone else. I tend to do more reading than writing when they're off school, on the basis that a change is as good as a rest.
If a film-maker wanted to adapt your books, would you jump at the chance or turn them down?
My first impulse would be to say, show me the money! It would be very hard to walk away from a film offer, given the authors I know who've seen their kids through university on option fees for books that have still never come within sniffing distance of being made into a film. On the other hand, I hope I'd have the sense to take a deep breath and look carefully at who was making the offer, to see if their vision for the film chimed with my feel for the books, and find out if they had the finance and talent lined up to make something we could all be proud of. If that didn't look likely, I hope I'd be able to say thanks but no thanks and wait for a better prospect. I know authors who've ultimately been very thankful they've done that.
You recently started a blog at http://jemck.livejournal.com. What are the pros and cons of being a blogging writer?
The biggest plus of blogging is the increased real(ish)-time contact with readers and other writers, about book-related issues and about other multifarious aspects of life, from the serious to the seriously silly. The internet is all about expanding horizons as far as I'm concerned and blogging has given that a personal dimension that I love. The biggest disadvantage is the way it could so easily take up far more time that is sensible, if I'm not very strict with myself.
How do you relax?
Like anyone else, by getting away from my work. I read, only I read mostly crime and mystery fiction because that's what I don't write. I meet pals locally for coffee once a week. I watch telly, a lot of cop shows and also science fiction and fantasy like Stargate, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who. I adore The West Wing. A group of us mums go to the cinema every so often, when there's a film our assorted husbands and sons would never want to watch. Spending all day in front of a keyboard does mean relaxation can paradoxically end up being physical exercise. Two nights a week I do a couple of hours of Aikido, a Japanese defensive martial art and once a week I hit the gym for an hour or so.
Interview by Michele Fry
Copyright Orbit 2006. Used on SFcrowsnest.com with permission.
You can read more about Juliet and her works over at http://www.orbitbooks.co.uk/orbit/mckenna-juliet.asp |
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