Cecelia Ahern

Published September 28, 2009 | By Laura

Cecelia Ahern is the best selling author of seven novels, the latest ‘The Book of Tomorrow’ released next month. She has also become the youngest recipient of a ‘Nielsen Book Platinum Award’ for achieving over a million sales in the UK for her first novel ‘P.S I love you.’ She has written various short stories and co-created the TV series ‘Samantha Who.’ Novel Kicks caught up with Cecelia to chat about what inspires her and what her tips are for aspiring Writers.

Describe your typical writing day?

I don’t really have a typical writing day, as every day is different. I’m an all-or-nothing writer so if I wake up and feel like I don’t have anything to say, well then I don’t sit down to write. I can spend up to a few days just allowing the story to bubble away in my head and then when it’s ready, I sit down and I write day and night, night and day and I don’t stop until it’s time to mull it all over again. I think my most natural writing time is the evening and night. I prefer to write when time feels slower. At night, the pace of life is different, the world is quieter and I can think a lot better. I also enjoy writing on Sundays when I feel time is less manic. When I wrote PS I Love You I wrote from 10pm till 6am every night but of course I can’t work like that anymore as life has a tendency to get in the way. I work until about 3 am now. My only routine is that I like to light a candle, feel completely settled and peaceful, and write longhand. I write a chapter and then usually type it up the next day, editing and rewriting as I go along.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by life. I feel like I’m like a great big sponge that absorbs the world and then when I sit down to write, all of these things that I didn’t notice noticing all come seeping out onto the page.

How much planning/research do you do before beginning a book?

I got the idea for The Book of Tomorrow late 2007 and I allowed it to bubble away before eventually sitting down to write in October 2008. I keep a notebook and I write down the initial idea and then I allow my mind to do the rest of the work until it’s time to write the book. The concept comes first and then the characters. They’ll grow and develop as the days and months go by and the idea and story will change with them. I know when it’s time to write when I hear their voices, things that they would say and the kind of tone they would say it in, all running through my head. The planning and research is continuous when writing the book but I need to have a firm idea and vision of where they are in order to be able to write the book. I always believe if I can see it, then I can write it and so for the Book of Tomorrow I did much research into similiar kinds of areas where Tamara was living, in order to be able to see her world.

Had you always wanted to be a writer?

I always loved writing as a hobby and did that for personal enjoyment ever since I was around eight years old. I never considered writing as a career, even when I studied Journalism and Media Communications in college. It was something I did for myself, never for the eyes of anybody else and so it wasn’t about seeing a book on a shelf, or my name on a cover, it was just a personal enjoyment. I loved putting pen to paper and getting all my emotions out, creating new worlds and new characters I suppose was a form of escape, and in a way, therapy. It was only when I had graduated from college and I started writing PS I Love You that I decided to send my work to an agent to see if this thing that I enjoyed doing so much could be a career.

Which of your characters is most like you?

There’s a part of me in all of my characters, whether they’re men, women or children. They come from my imagination and so I suppose a part of myself seeps into them. I couldn’t put my finger on one particular character but because my novels are about ordinary people finding themselves in extraordinary situations, I can identify with all of them. We meet my characters when they’ve gone through very difficult times in their lives, they feel as though they’ve hit rock bottom and as if they’ll never pick themselves up again. My novels are about them going on a journey of self-discovery, of self-healing, learning to feel hopeful again and how to live again. I think this is what life is about, learning how to get through all the highs and lows, ups and downs of everyday life and so my journey is exactly the same as all of my characters.

What are your five tips for aspiring writers?

I don’t have five tips exactly but I believe the most important things are to:

1. Find your own voice. I think it’s so important for writers to write what they feel passionate about, what moves them, instead of looking to others and seeing what’s popular or what moves other people. Readers respond to a unique voice and they can tell whether it is honest or not. Writing what you’re passionate about means that your well of ideas and emotions is endless and it is easier to stay motivated.

2. Believe in yourself. It’s a basic tip but with writing, so many people will have so many different opinions of your work. If you try to appeal to them all, then what is true and yours will change and the essence of your work will change. It is important to take on advice but never lose what makes you different. When faced with rejection and negative comments, believe in your abilities.

3. Show your work to readers. It’s important to get feedback from those whose opinion you really trust. As a writer we spend so much time alone locked away in our own little world – it is important to show your work to somebody who can both praise and offer constructive criticism. Don’t only look for the criticism either, we can really grow and improve when we are praised and encouraged.

4. Find an agent. If I hadn’t have gotten an agent I would be lost in the publishing world. I wouldn’t know who to go to, what publishers to send my work to, what is the right contract, how to work with an editor etc. An agent should be somebody who not only represents you but who understands you and your work. This allows you to concentrate on the most important thing which is not money, contracts, and meetings, but your writing, without which, the money, contracts and meetings are completely irrelevant.

THE BOOK OF TOMORROW by Cecelia Ahern is published by HarperCollins in HB, price £14.99

and is available in the shops from 1 October

For more information on Cecelia Ahern visit her website at http://www.cecelia-ahern.com/