Terence Blacker Questions & Answers

I'm lucky enough to get quite a few letters from people who read my books, and to meet them in schools and libraries. Here are answers to some of the questions I'm asked most frequently.

When did you discover you wanted to be a writer?

I've heard many authors say that they had always known, from a very early age, that they wanted to write. Not me. I enjoyed reading when I was a child and used to write stories - but no more than most children. I didn't come from a very bookish family and the idea that one day I could earn a living from writing stories never occurred to me.

After I had finished university, I spent an unsuccessful couple of years working in horseracing and riding as an amateur jockey before I went to Parks, where I worked as a bookseller. Eighteen months later, I came back to London to work in publishing and ten years after that in 1983, I left my job to become a professional writer.

Looking back, I can see that I was edging my way nervously towards writing over many years, but it took a long time to realise that it was what I really wanted to do. I wish I'd seen it earlier.

Do you do other kinds of writing apart from children's books?

Yes. I've written two novels for adults called 'Fixx' and 'The Fame Hotel' - in my experience, creating that kind of fiction is the most demanding kind of writing there is. I'm also a part-time journalist: at the moment, I write the 'Harvey Porlock' column for the Sunday Times and an opinion column about the book business in Publishing News. I enjoy the variety.

Of all the books you've written, which is your favourite?

'Homebird'. It's very rare that I can say that a book has been a joy to write from beginning to end - most stories involve serious re-writing and brainwork. 'Homebird' wasn't like that.

I had wanted to write a book for readers who liked both adventure and humour, a story that was both funny and serious. As soon as I decided to write it from the hero Nicky Morrison's point of view, and heard his voice, everything fell into place. Even the plot, which is quite complicated, unravelled as I wrote, as if it had been there all the time, waiting to be told.

'Homebird' has scenes involving bullying, family problems and homelessness. Was it written to make people think about these issues?

I never though of 'Homebird' as a campaigning, didactic sort of book. It's meant to be entertainment - but the best entertainment, in my view, often has a serious thread running through it. Obviously social questions are touched on but it's Nicky's experiences, and his view of the world, that are at the heart of the book.

Do you prefer writing for younger children, as you do in the Ms Wiz stories, or for older readers, as with 'Homebird'?

I enjoy both. Books like the Ms Wiz stories or 'The Great Denture Adventure' allow me to look at the funny side of life. When I'm writing them, I realise that my true mental age is only eight! On the other hand, in 'Homebird', I could combine humour with a bit more depth of story and character.

What advice would you have for anyone who wanted to be an author?

This is a big, big subject. Some people think that writing is merely a question of letting your imagination roam free while you tag along behind, making notes. In fact, one of the most important attributes an author must have is the ability to work, work and re-work stories. Very rarely do you get a story right first time; rewriting, being prepared to cut, expand or change passages that don't work, is an essential part of being a writer.

Before you reach that stage, it's a good idea to establish in your mind what you'll be trying to do in the story - not the precise details of the plot but its general direction. It's sometimes difficult to convince people that staring out of the window with your feet on the desk is all part of the creative process, but it's true.

It takes a while to find your 'voice' as a writer, so it's a good idea to experiment with different forms of narrative. Always be looking for new ways to tell a story. For example, I had never written in the first person present tense - 'I hear my own voice in the darkness as I wake at dead of night' and so on - but I was pleased by the way it turned out. Other experiments don't work but, for your writing to be alive, you should always be looking for new styles and approaches.

Above all, you need to be tough and resilient. Sitting alone writing books can be a lonely business and, for most authors, the disappointments outstrip the triumphs by a long way. You just have to keep writing, through the bad times as well as the good.

Finally, you need an understanding bank manager. Very few authors make a good living from writing and, if you're interested in earning pots of money, you should look for another job.

Do you ever think of doing another job apart from writing?

No. It's one of the most satisfying jobs in the world. Besides, no one would employ me to do anything else!