'I think there’s always an element of choice for a writer — there is a secret (or not so secret) pride. It’s an inner toughness, an icy shard.'

Writers often talk of an inner compulsion, of having to write. Rachel Carson was big on this. So too was that old showman Ernest Hemingway. But I think there’s always an element of choice — a secret (or not so secret) pride. It’s an inner toughness.