Maggie O’Farrell

And then something will feel wrong.

It's a bit like walking around in shoes that are too tight.

And I will look at it and I'll think, actually, you know what?

This is wrong.

This needs to be past tense.

This needs to be third person writing.

So I did once, actually, there was a book I wrote called The Hand That First Telled Mine, and I realised I'd done that.

So I had to spend a really boring fortnight changing every I to she.

But I had to do it.

It was wrong.

So I think you need to, I think I'm just one of those writers who just, I need to be actually doing it before I know it.

That's the only way I find out what it is.

I need to get in there.

I think for me, and I think everybody does it differently.

Every single writer I ever speak to, everybody has their own process.

And every book, I think, is very different as well.

I think in a way, you've got to let the book teach you what it needs.

I think just because you've written one book doesn't mean actually that you know how to write the next book, because you can know how to write that book, the one you finish, but the next one, you've got to learn about it all over.

It's a bit like having children.

When I had one child, I thought, you learn so much.