'I carried around in my head a whole pantheon of dead family members, to each of whom a story was attached; often tragic, sometimes scandalous. '

I carried around in my head a whole pantheon of dead family members, to each of whom a story was attached; often tragic, sometimes scandalous. I didn't have my mother's talent for talking but I enjoyed writing.

The post Brian Keaney appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'As darkness fell on each painful night, I reconstructed the book from memory, trying to get a little further each time before looking back at the text.'

As darkness fell on each painful night, I reconstructed the book from memory, trying to get a little further each time before looking back at the text. Instead of dwelling on the life I couldn't live I retold this story.

The post Elanor Dymott appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Quality TV drama writers inspire me to script scenes exactly as they happen in my head and to learn from the way people speak in real life.'

Quality TV drama writers inspire me to script scenes exactly as they happen in my head and to learn from the way people speak in real life... at the most dramatic moments of our lives, we rarely channel Shakespeare.

The post Anne Wilson appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Being able to spend three years in the company of extraordinary characters such as Ian Fleming, Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas, Arthur Conan Doyle and Wilkie Collins has been more than a privilege.'

Being able to spend three years in the company of extraordinary characters such as Ian Fleming, Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas, Arthur Conan Doyle and Wilkie Collins has been more than a privilege, it has helped make me who I am.

The post Andrew Lycett appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Under pressure, or in the grip of a story I can't tear myself from, I occasionally read as I walk along the street.'

Under pressure, or in the grip of a story I can't tear myself from, I occasionally read as I walk along the street. Fortunately I have great peripheral vision for lamp posts and other pedestrians.

The post Nicolette Jones appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'It is sometimes hard to distinguish between memorable books and inspiring books. I remember books for various reasons.'

It is sometimes hard to distinguish between memorable books and inspiring books. I remember books for various reasons, often to do with characterisation and dialogue.

The post Deborah Chancellor appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'The life of a writer is always provisional, uncertain, insecure, fluctuating, and I cannot tell you how you might avoid that floating state.'

The life of a writer is always provisional, uncertain, insecure, fluctuating, and I cannot tell you how you might avoid that floating state; there are no shortcuts.

The post Nicholas Murray appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'I have been shut in the cells at the local police station, interviewed a rape counsellor and got lots of secrets out of a high class madam.'

In the course of my own research I have been shut in the cells at the local police station, interviewed a rape counsellor and got lots of secrets out of a high class madam and prostitute.

The post Ali Knight appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'Writing, for me, is a journey of discovery. I don't know how to reach my inner brain, my subconscious, without using writing.'

Writing, for me, is a journey of discovery. I don't know how to reach my inner brain, my subconscious, without using writing as a form of extraction; a kind of archaeological dig.

The post Rahila Gupta appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.

'One friend recently asked me to name the best five books I've ever read; I told him mine, he told me his, and we've been working our way slowly through each other's lists. '

One friend recently asked me to name the best five books I've ever read; I told him mine, he told me his, and we've been working our way slowly through each other's lists. That's a plan of a kind and it's been a revelation.

The post Alex Martin appeared first on The Royal Literary Fund.