Maggie O’Farrell

Because I couldn't launch off on an mm sound, I would launch off on a different sound and I would just try to rush into it.

So I would say, you can call me Maggie and hope that I was able just to vault over the problematic mm sound.

You know, I don't think I would be a writer unless I was also a stammerer.

It gives you a huge sensitivity to language and I think anyone, any child who does stammer or stutter is able to come up generally with maybe seven or eight synonyms for a word in almost instantaneously.

because you're always looking for the line of least verbal resistance.

And in a conversation, even now, I still am thinking several interlocutions ahead and thinking, OK, well, if I want to avoid that sound or that word, which is really hard.

Even now, I practice and practice and practice and practice any kind of public reading I have to do.

And I have a special reading copy of my book, which I cross out words that are problematic and I put notes to myself or I remind myself when I need to breathe.

No, that's one of the absolute joys of writing, honestly.

So being a writer is, yeah, obviously being a stammerer and a writer helps you because you can perform these.

You've been performing grammatical and semantic gymnastics since you were tiny.

But also just I cannot express, Sam, the joy of typing and watching all those words just coming out with nothing to stop them.

Even now it gives me such a thrill.

So I decided, and actually I was 40 when I thought I really need to go and get some speech therapy done.

And what happened was I was on a program of live radio in Britain and someone asked me on air to read something in one of my books.

And it was so terrible because that was unexpected.

I wasn't prepared.

And there was a moment of kind of absolute dead air where I couldn't get the words out.

And the presenter was looking at me and the producers were looking at me.

And honestly, even now, I still have... That's terrible.