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Jubilee
Books: What made you want to become a writer?
Vivian French: I didn't. I never thought of
being a writer when I was at school - I wasn't particularly
good at writing or spelling - one of my teachers tore up
one of my stories in front of the whole class. I wanted
to be a long distance lorry driver, or drive steam trains,
or be an actor.
What
was your first book?
I'm not sure which was first - Tottie Pig's Noisy
Christmas, Tottie Pig's Special Birthday
or Zenobia and the Mouse. They all came
out in 1990.
What
is your most recent book?
Singing to the Sun.
Where
do you normally write?
Anywhere I have my iBook laptop computer. I'm not an early
starter; I usually put off doing any work until around lunchtime.
Do you have any hobbies?
Loud, live music. I like Richard Thompson and Lyle Lovett
- my kids say I'm an old hippie. It's probably true. I also
like travelling and eating.
What books inspired you as a child?
I read an enormous amount, and my dad read to me a lot.
I loved The
Box of Delights by John Masefield, The Dawnchild
by Beryl Irving (has anyone else ever read this?)
and Magic in My Pocket by Alison Uttley. I
read all the fairy stories and folk tales I could get my
hands on - I especially remember a copy of Grimm's
Fairy Tales belonging to my grandfather. It had
really crude woodcut pictures, and it gave me nightmares
- but I kept going back and reading it again and again.
What books inspire you now?
I like American authors like Jerry Spinelli, Virginia Euwer
Wolff, Patricia Maclachlan. My favourite book of all time
is Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. You can
always find something amazing in it. I also like
parables - stories that have a deeper meaning.
Other writers that inspire you?
Samuel Johnson. He was very plain, which I like, and he
really loved words. His dictionary is a real work of art.
Most people seem to like heroic men, but I admire him enormously.
I also really like the metaphysical poets like John Donne,
George Herbert and Henry King. I know King's Elegy off by
heart; it's the most beautiful piece of writing.
What people have inspired you?
I think people who truly believe in something and go all
out to change a situation that they're not happy with are
inspiring. I think Eddie, who runs Jubilee Books, is an
inspiration to everyone in the children's book world; so
is Margaret Meek, and Wendy Cooling, and Lindsey Fraser
at Scottish Book Trust. It matters so much that kids have
access to books - and that they get the right books, not
just the commercial hard sell.
What
were your favourite subjects at school?
I didn't have any. I just liked reading, although I was
useless at reading out loud.
Actually, I'm still inclined to read too fast and make mistakes.
I recently looked at a school project on castles, and I
thought it said "only the healthy lived in castles." I
worried about that for the whole morning (what happened
if you got a cold?) until a nice child pointed out that
it said "only the wealthy lived in castles"!
What other jobs have you had?
I started off at the National Book League. I used to sit
and read children's books and answer people's queries, and
I only lasted six months. I didn't know anything about anything,
and someone finally noticed. Then I went off and joined
a theatre company. I worked for various kinds of theatre
companies, and toured a lot - all over England and Wales.
After that I was a drama worker at a community arts centre
in Barnet (in the days of the GLC), and while I was there
I began telling stories. When I moved to Bristol I went
on telling stories, and I also worked as a counsellor in
schools for a while.
Do you have a favourite TV show or film?
King Rollo, Mr Benn, The Magic Roundabout are some
of my favourite television shows. Films I like include
Breaking the Waves and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest. I really loved both the Toy
Story films, but I think my most favourite film
of all is The Princess Bride. 'Inconceivable!!!!'
Favourite food?
I like vegetables, especially parsnips, beetroot and tomatoes.
I also love bananas - and if I'm feeling weedy I make myself
a boiled egg with soldiers. Sad, really ....
Favourite place?
I'm always happy when I'm in Scotland, but I'm not certain
that I've found my favourite place yet. I do like
the seaside - but then again I love the bustle of cities.
New York is great - and so is Belfast - and I suppose this
means I don't really know.
What are your good and bad qualities?
I think my best quality is that I like people. My bad
qualities include being untidy and messy, and I leave everything
until the last minute. I always think I can stuff eight
days living into three.
What book have you most enjoyed writing?
The
Kingfisher Book of Fairy Tales. I had a totally
brilliant editor - Ann-Janine Murtagh - and she pulled something
out of me in terms of writing that I didn't know I had.
Also it was very exciting to revisit all my old favourites;
it made me look at Cinderella in a very different way, in
terms of time passing ... and I'd never seen that before.
You like fantasy?
I like the feeling of stories that go a long way back, and
some of those stories include fantasy. Someone once said
to me that they thought my stories sounded as if they had
been about for a long time, and I liked that.
What would you do if you weren't a writer?
I'd be a storyteller. Well, I am. If I couldn't do that
either - h'm. Maybe I'd be a long distance lorry driver
in America and drive one of those fabulous eighteen wheeler
trucks.
What is the best thing about writing?
You sometimes find a truth about yourself or the world
that you didn't realize you knew.
How do you come up with the idea for a story?
It depends very much. Quite often I have two very disparate
ideas that click together. I usually think about the overall
feeling of the book, and then the ending, and then I work
backwards.
What is the most important ingredient for a story?
Truth. If you don't believe in the story no reader will.
Even if it's about rabbits or space mice you have to believe
in the world that you're creating. I also think stories
should be written from the heart; the one thing we all have
in common is the ability to feel emotion.
What
advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Talk a lot, read a lot, listen, watch people and be around
people.
I sometimes feel that children - or adults - who are technically
good at writing are handicapped in a way because this facility
can get in the way of the story developing its own voice
and passion and individuality. When I'm working with children
in schools very often the so called 'least able writers'
have the most original and wonderful ideas - they just need
a little help with transferring their ideas onto paper.
Don't EVER let the fact that you can't spell or write neatly
put you off writing stories - use a tape recorder, tell
the story to a friend, draw it out in pictures - it's the
story that matters, not the packaging.
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