Harriet Goodwin

Author Interview:

When and how did you start writing?

I started writing in direct response to a dream I had one night about a boy falling through the surface of the Earth into a ghostly Underworld. I remembered the dream in the morning, scribbled the gist of it down and began writing tiny amounts every day (my fourth child was only a couple of weeks old at the time and I had my hands full!).

I wrote in secret, keeping it even from my husband; I was so busy and sleep-starved that I knew the magic of my new passion would wane if I spoke about it. The precious moments I spent writing were true ‘me-time’.

Can you remember the first book that made an impact on you? Who were your childhood storytelling heroes?

It was a book bought for me by some American friends of my parents called THE LITTLE RED LIGHTHOUSE AND THE GREAT GRAY BRIDGE by Hildegarde Swift and Lynd Ward. It was about a proud little lighthouse that guarded the ships coming down the Hudson River and grew jealous of the great bridge built above it. I still have the book now and read it to my children. Strange bits have been added by my three - or four - year-old self in red biro. One of these words very clearly reads PINEAPPLE. I think it best not to ask. . .

Later on, I loved everything by Roald Dahl, Frances Hodgson-Burnett, Enid Blyton, Laura Ingalls-Wilder, Arthur Ransome. . . Anything I could lay my hands on, really.

Can you talk us through the writing of your first book? What were the key moments?

As I said earlier, I wrote the first draft of THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43 in short bursts - and totally in secret. I wrote in longhand in seven large notebooks, all of which I still have. Once I had finished it I told my husband and family and a few close friends about it. At that point I sent the manuscript off to Cornerstones - a British literary consultancy - for an in-depth report.  I had absolutely no idea whether what I had written was any good or not. Cornerstones asked me over the phone for the title of the book, and I replied that it didn’t have one yet.  ‘Could you come up with a working title then, please?’ was the response. I remember staring out of the kitchen window and replying, ‘Oh – just call it THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43.’ And the title stuck!

After the report came back, I laid aside the manuscript for a few weeks, as Cornerstones suggested. It was a hard thing to do though; I was desperate to get my teeth back into it. When I did get going, I set about ‘showing’ the story more, rather than telling it, and strengthening the characters.

Was it hard to get an agent? Can you talk us through the process?

No, it was ridiculously easy. But it should have been hard. I am also a professionally trained singer, and I know all too well how hard that particular journey was.

This is what happened. . .

I had finished the second draft, and was considering whether or not to send the manuscript back to Cornerstones for a second report, when I heard about the inaugural SCBWI UK Undiscovered Voices competition. I decided to stick my neck out and risk letting my story loose in the big wide world – so I mailed my submission and forgot all about it.

About six weeks later, the phone rang and I was informed that I had been chosen as one of the twelve winners. Sarah Davies was on the panel of judges; she contacted me and asked me to meet her in London, and a week or so later I signed with her.  It was all quite incredible - a time I will never, EVER forget.

There followed a period of exhaustive revision. Exhaustive and exhausting!  Never have I climbed such a steep learning curve in my life!

Describe your writing day. Where do you write? How do you organize your time? Where do you look for inspiration?

There’s no set pattern, since I have four boisterous children. My youngest has just started school, so at least now I have school hours in which to work.  Once they are back from school the computer is firmly switched off until after bedtime.

Right now, with THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43 just published, the second book in the initial throes of the editorial process, and masses of other ideas lining up inside my brain just begging to be listened to, things are a little more hectic than usual (this is a polite way of saying I am finding it hard to stay sane). There are launches to prepare for, school visits to arrange, newspaper and radio interviews to give. . . And now the Borders Book of the Month news has sparked a torrent of heart-warming phone calls, texts and emails too. I wouldn’t have it any other way! 

Whatever happens, though, I always make time to write something every day. Sometimes it’s only a few hundred words, but that feels fine. So long as I do a little, then I am able to retain the thread of the story and keep the characters alive and the action strong. Other times I have a marathon session and splurge out lots all in one go.

More and more I find that I visualize the scene as I write. And even though it sometimes takes a while to get back into the story at the start of a writing session, I always find myself getting sucked in eventually.

Usually I work in my writing shed at the top of the garden, from which there is a great view of our cottage.  But I also write in the local coffee shop and the library, and have been known to compose chapters on car journeys too. I do a lot of book plotting when swimming, which is what I do to keep fit.

I refuse to do things which don’t, in my eyes, matter.  I do no ironing (you can buy white school shirts that don’t need ironing – and the rest of the kids’ stuff gets messy in three seconds flat anyway!) and watch almost no TV. The children do their fair share around the house. Even the little ones can do tiny jobs, especially clearing up the bombshells that are their rooms - and this mummy is not a slave! We live a rural life surrounded by fields and fresh air – and without wanting to give the impression that my children wander around the countryside in bare feet, they do lead a very rural and independent existence.  It is what I had, and within reason I don’t see why it should be any different for them.

I obviously have to be very organized with all this going on – and usually it all just about hangs together. But sometimes my brain goes all soggy and I know I need a rest. I picked up the phone the other day and asked to speak to Glenridding (one of the central ghost characters in THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43). . . At that point I knew it was time for a hot bath, a long sleep and a day off!

As for inspiration, I do not seek it. It comes when least expected. I recently had a wonderful idea for a third book whilst standing under a light bulb in the bathroom!

Can you tell us about your next book?

The next book is an adventure story and a ghost story rolled into one. It is darker than THE BOY WHO FELL DOWN EXIT 43 and is called THE EXTRAORDINARY LEGACY OF ELVIRA PHOENIX (or at least that is its title for now).

It’s about a boy called Phoenix who is handed a letter from his long-dead mother, instructing him to return to her childhood home and dig into the peculiar mound across the river. But Gravenhunger Manor is a dark and mysterious place, poisoned by its own terrible history – and Phoenix cannot know that he is on the brink of re-triggering an ancient and malevolent curse. What secrets are locked inside the little attic bedroom – and why has every visitor to the house left in such a hurry? Together with Rose, the daughter of his father’s new girlfriend, Phoenix embarks upon an extraordinary adventure, uncovering a stash of fabulous treasure inside the earth…and a whole lot more besides.

Are there any tips you could give aspiring writers who are looking to get published?

Write your own story; don’t try to copy someone else’s ideas or style.

Write every day.

Know that nothing is impossible.

Can you describe three aspects of writing craft that have been most important as you’ve developed as an author?

First and foremost, learning to show not tell. Understanding that was a great eye-opener. It makes your writing come alive.

Knowing the backstory so well you don’t have to explain it.

Slashing as many adverbs from your work as you can manage. They weaken writing rather than strengthen it.

Which favourite authors would you invite to a dinner party? What fictional character do you wish you’d invented?

I hate dinner parties. In my experience no one ever says what they mean and everyone gets tediously sloshed.  Having four children is an excellent excuse not to go to any.

But I’d share a chocolate brownie or two with Meg Cabot of PRINCESS DIARIES fame any day. I am a recent convert and reckon she would be superb company.

I also love Dickens. Of course I’d have to drag him up through an Underworld Exit and cut short his Inbetween Time by a good few years, but I’m sure he would solidify very nicely and not complain. Yes, I think coffee and brownies with Meg Cabot and Charles Dickens would be excellent fun.

As for a fictional character I wish I had created myself, it would have to be David Almond’s Skellig. Just the thought of Skellig makes me shiver and smile and think and cry. What more could you ask for?