I Am, Of Course, A Frustrated Rock

I'm Often Asked How I Write Books, But I Don't Think My Approach Is Suitable For Everyone. If I Walked Into A Creative Writing Class, All I Could Say To Them Was 'i Tend To Make It Up As I Go Along.' I'm Not Sure That's Brilliant Advice.

I Don't Think I Have One Particular Favourite Writer. I Have Many Whose Works I Will Always Buy Or Reread - Muriel Spark, Anthony Powell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ruth Rendell, James Ellroy, William Mcilvanney, Kate Atkinson, John Burnside, Louise Welsh, Iain Banks.

I Wrote My First Short Story For A Competition And Won Second Prize. Another Competition Came Up And I Won First Prize. The First Story Was Published In A Newspaper. The Second Went Out On Radio.

I Used To Think That: Whenever I Heard That Someone Had Taken 10 Years To Write A Novel, I'd Think It Must Be A Big, Serious Book. Now I Think, 'no - It Took You One Year To Write, And Nine Years To Sit Around Eating Kit Kats.

At All Times, Think Like A Writer, And Keep Those Antennae Twitching - That Way, You Pick Up New Ideas.