Heather Peace

Heather Peace has worked in theatre, commissioning and directing new plays before joining the BBC Script Unit in 1989, later script editing productions in Drama and Comedy. Other career credits include being the Head of Comedy Development at Witzend Productions. She is now a freelance editor and writer. Her novel, All To Play For was released in October 2011.

Describe your typical writing day?

Breakfast, and meditation for up to half an hour. That puts me in the right frame of mind. Then straight to it without checking emails until the afternoon. Later on I’ll read over what I’ve written and fiddle with it, but I won’t usually write any more that day.

Your latest novel, All To Play For was released in October 2011. Tell us about it and how it came about.

It’s a novel about working in television between 1985-2000, which I did more or less, mainly at the BBC. It’s entirely fictitious but true in spirit and in some of the detail. I started writing a story about one of the characters after I left, and I’ve been re-working it ever since, on and off. I don’t know whether to call it a comic novel – it’s funny and but serious too.

Where do you find inspiration?

That’s the easy part, it’s all around. People and the weird way they behave.

Do you have a planning process before beginning a new project?

I like to plan things loosely with room to change my mind as I go.

How do you approach editing?

As a former script editor in drama and comedy I self-edit all the time. The best way is to put a draft away and forget about it for a few months, then you can read it objectively as if it were by someone else, and give yourself the notes that will make it work better. It’s usually about identifying a problem and then finding a solution, and it’s usually a problem of structure.

What was your route to publication?

I read a little piece about Tom Chalmers in the early days of Legend Press, and I thought he’s the kind of publisher I want to work with. It took a couple of years but eventually they took me on – so I haven’t been rejected by the big six and I don’t have to give an agent any of my money! (That’s assuming I make any, of course.)

Which three books have you read that have had the biggest impact on you?

I find questions like these incredibly hard, as there are dozens and you can’t really compare them, but I’ll pick Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, Hanif Kureishi’s The Buddha of Suburbia, and DBC Pierre’s Vernon God Little.

Which character from fiction would you most like to meet?

Anna Wolf (The Golden Notebook). It might be a bit like looking in a mirror.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt since becoming a writer?

Writing isn’t as hard as getting a publisher to read your work.

The best/worst thing about being a writer?

When you’re in flow it’s bliss. The worst is having to do something else to earn a living when all you really want to do is write the next project.

Is there an author you particularly admire?

Loads! This week it’s Jeanette Winterson, she’s now utterly wise and wonderful and she speaks with such insight when discussing the last (astonishingly dramatic) ten years of her life.

Which three things would you want if marooned on a desert island?

Apart from the life-supporting things, it would have to be paper and pens and something to cheer me up and help me reflect…

Who would your ideal dinner guests be?

Kathy Burke, Dara O’Briain and Paul Whitehouse.

Any tips for new writers?

It’s going to take ten years longer than you think, so use the time well and keep making it better.

Visit Heather’s publisher’s website by clicking here. 

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by

Laura

I'm Laura. I started Novel Kicks back in 2009 as I wanted a place to discuss books and writing - two loves of my life. As someone who has anxiety, these two things give me, and I am sure countless others, a much needed escape.
There is a monthly book club, writing exercises, prompts, reviews, author interviews, competitions and guest posts. I cover many genres and I hope there is something for everyone.
I grew up by the sea in Dorset and currently live in Poole with my husband, Chris and three cats. I love writing and have a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Falmouth University. I am writing my first book. If only I could stop pressing delete. Chris has threatened to stop it from working. Haha.
I have always loved creative writing since I was in first school and would very much like to meet my teacher, Miss Sayers, to say thank you for all the encouragement she gave me then.
When not writing, I love reading, cats, Disney, singing (I can't sing but this doesn't stop me,) and falling into a good TV show or film. If I could step into any fictional world, it would be amongst the characters in ABC's Once Upon a Time.
I love reading many genres and discovering new authors.