Sarah Hall
Sarah Hall
promoting quite required terms work writers
Quite a lot is required of writers these days in terms of, if not promoting the work, then being a representative of the work. It's a difficult thing, really.
apex areas environment few good mostly predators sustain terms
Apex predators are good for an environment in terms of biodiversity and trophic cascade - we have very few. But realistically, only a few areas could sustain free-roaming wolves in Britain, mostly in Scotland.
aesthetic art educated interested refinement tastes terms
They were not just interested in refinement in terms of aesthetic tastes and art collecting, but also refinement in the way that they educated the children.
hope human reader somebody surprise work
You always hope you'll surprise somebody with the work. If you write something human and appealing, the perfect reader could be anyone.
born county growing including lake lived perhaps raised shaped variety
Over the years, I've lived in a variety of places, including America, but I was born and raised in the Lake District, in Cumbria. Growing up in that rural, sodden, mountainous county has shaped my brain, perhaps even my temperament.
course novel studied
I studied the short story as part of my creative writing course at university but then set off as a novelist. Generally, there is a sense that even if you want to write short stories, you need to do a novel first.
fish reason stands
It all stands to reason. You've got to fish where the fish are.
anywhere brought child fighting girls mesmerized north remember
I was brought up in the north of England, which is probably no rougher than anywhere else, but I remember as a child being kind of mesmerized by girls fighting on the playground.
finding narrative piece tend
I tend to research as I write so that the narrative can take priority, which is important for a piece of fiction, I think, finding out facts as and when I need to.
broader trying
We're trying to tell a broader Frick story than what we tell in Clayton.
characters competing possibly
Wonderful characters rotate around and through bookshops on a daily basis, competing with and possibly even triumphing over fiction when it comes to entertainment, strangeness and inspiration.
frozen
Writing, and its theatre of operation, is better than working shifts packing frozen sausages; that's all I need to think about if I'm having difficulties.
felt people pick playing
I felt impelled to write. It felt demonic, and I wanted to improve, the way some people habitually pick up a guitar and get better at playing it and making up songs.
means motivated paying sensible
I have ideas. I hear voices. Words accumulate. It's still an overriding impulse. And I'm self-employed, which means I have to be sensible and motivated about paying the bills.