How we work: Tracy Chevalier, author

Chevalier writes longhand before hitting the computer, and suggests that writing can always be re-edited better. Interviewed in the Guardian:

Do you find writing easy?
It isn't easy! Every day I am faced with a blank page and I have that feeling of having to pull it out of myself. But it gets easier. I have more faith in myself and when I get stuck I think, Tracy you've managed to do it before.

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How do you write?
During school hours, I try to write 1,000 words in longhand and then I edit it and type it into the computer. Typing straight into the computer feels soulless. There's something tactile about touching the pen that touches the ink. Next day, I read what I wrote the day before and that jumpstarts me.

What good advice was given to you when you were starting out?
Rose Tremain, who was my tutor at UEA where I did an MA in creative writing, said do all the research but then put the notebook away and just write the story. Try not to let the research take over the story or get in the way of the story.

What advice would you give to new writers?
Never think that what you've written can't be improved. You should always try to make the sentence that much better and make a scene that much clearer. Go over and over the words and reshape them as many times as is needed.

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