Sincere thanks to Paul for taking part in our interview series Writers’ Insight, and for being so candid about the techniques he uses to craft prize winning prose. In this interview Paul addresses a wide number of helpful areas including: Where his ideas come from, how he captures them, how to start writing, conducting research, how to improve, which books to read, staying motivated, and the joys of writing. We hope these insights are useful for writers in our literary community, and spur hopefuls on to compose prize winning writing of their own.
Would you please tell us a little about your writing process?
I often scribble down in my red Moleskine notebook (which I keep with me) ideas for aphorisms, books, poetry and essays. One idea may spring out for a book project and I’ll start by noting down a mini biography of each character and key turning points in their lives. I like to write about real writers and so I can base a story within the context of actual events. From a sketched outline of the book I then plunge in to writing sentences and go with the flow.
My typical day is up early, make coffee and toast and head out to the patio. I like to write outside even if it’s raining!
Currently I am working on a novel set based on real events set at Christmas time in a cottage in North Wales, where Arthur Koestler invited George Orwell and his toddler son, Richard to stay with him and his girlfriend, Mamaine. I have done research into correspondence held at the University of Edinburgh and Birkbeck Library, diaries, books and biographies to develop a fictionalised version of what happened with them collaborating with Bertrand Russell on a new project to promote human rights.
How do you believe a writer improves? Practice? Mentors? Reading everything? Attending festivals?
My way of improving (everyone is different) is to read a wide variety of books by different famous authors but to keep a technical eye whilst reading. How does an author introduce a character? What is their style of ‘show don’t tell’? Does the book have one plot or several sub-plots? In this way I get a flavour of Arendt, Hemingway, Zola, Orwell and so on.
I then listen to Audible writing courses like James Scott Bell’s How to Write Best Selling Fiction, which is a superb, practical way to understand the basic do’s and don’t’s.
What motivated / motivates you to write?
I am addicted. I have to write each day in my red journals, which may be private thoughts, daily routines and ideas. For each writing project, I try to be disciplined and write in the morning until lunch and a little in the afternoon. I keep a word count so that I can clearly see that I am progressing. I’ll worry about editing later. The secret to writing is just write, even if it’s garbage. You can’t edit a blank page.
Do you enjoy writing?
I love writing first drafts and basic editing but I loath the long slog of detailed editing!
What are the most important steps an amateur writer can take?
Read and read your favourite authors but maintain prompts in your mind of how and why the author is writing so you learn from their books.
What is the best piece of advice you have received? Or, what is the best piece of advice you would offer an aspiring writer?
It’s a classic but back in 2005 a literary agent was reviewing a pitch and sample chapters from me. I had written about a scene in WWII London and a car having its headlights taped over to reduce being spotted by Nazi planes. I went on and on about why the headlights were covered and the literary agent just put lines through it and said, “Show, don’t tell. Let the reader ponder why and let them work it out for themselves.”
What do you believe is the function of your art?
To illuminate the world and give readers new insights into human behaviours and emotions.
What is the role of the writer in society?
The writer has an absolutely critical role. Yes they are creating an art form but more importantly they scrutinise and hold a mirror up to society on how that society is behaving.
If you were to begin writing today for the first time, would you do anything differently? Which would be your first steps?
Learn the basics of fiction and nonfiction writing and then let my imagination take over. When I first started I was great at ideas for plots but I bungled the way I wrote characters who were two dimensional and clichés.
Which successes are you most proud of?
Becoming a co-winner of the The Letter Review’s Nonfiction Award was a huge success and gave me real confidence that I could write well. As with most writers, you sit there day after day, year after year and wonder, ‘Am I writing crap?’ To be validated makes you get up each day and think, I have something worthwhile to say.
What have been your most meaningful or profound experiences as a writer?
In the pandemic in 2021, I started to keep my red journal notebook and began to read books on philosophy. I realised I had never before learned anything much before about Plato, Confucius and Nietzsche at school, and I developed some understanding of the greatest minds that have ever lived.
I then started to delve into major fiction writers and buy second hand collections of their works so I could see how they evolved their writing. After reading 19th century French and British writers I had this idea for a book, ‘Entente Cordiale of 20 Great Writers’, where I took the British writers views on France and vice versa, the French writers views of Britain. It became a book of six hundred pages that I wrote flat out in fourteen weeks.
It hit me again that I was reading Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens’ books which I had never read at school or university. I realised I had this huge gap in basic knowledge. I look back now and I am so grateful I learned about some of the greatest European writers.
What are the major benefits of being a writer?
We are spoilt by having the Internet where all knowledge is apparently at our fingertips. Instead you find that by reading you are experiencing other writer’s emotions and thoughts and it is a satisfying and insightful journey. Then your mind sparks new ideas and connections that implore you to write them down. Writing isn’t a hobby or a career, it is a different way of living.
Are there any downsides to being a writer?
Money! Unless you are a celebrity with a guaranteed readership or you are a writer with major sales, then you always wonder how you will pay the bills.
Where are the best places to live / visit as a writer?
I go to places where writers have spent time to get a feel for their houses, the weather and sights that they saw and felt. It gives a helpful insight into their psyche at the time they wrote a particular book. I’ve visited Llandudno where the real Alice (in Wonderland) lived and inspired Lewis Carroll and to Haworth Parsonage in Yorkshire where the Brontë sisters lived. Even the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221B Baker Street can conjure up a little of the Victorian life.
Would you mind sharing a photograph of a part of your bookshelf (or your library) that is meaningful to you?
My collection of 18th century French literature especially Voltaire and Rousseau. Bottom left – Photo of me and my late mum. Top right – bronze bust of Voltaire. Centre right – Kamala all the way.
Paul W. B. Marsden was born into a working class family and now lives near Flint in north Wales with his wife Elena. He has three grown up children and he enjoys the opportunity to now mentor, advise and also learn from his adult children. Paul has previously published a technical book with Routledge and self published local history books, poetry and aphorisms. Paul’s book Philosophers and the Meaning of Life will be published by Imprint Academic in early 2024. Paul’s career has taken him into banking, telecommunications, politics as a member of parliament, security management and construction. Paul is currently Head of Quality on the £5 billion rail improvement project in northwest England. See his website here for more info: https://www.paulwbmarsden.com/