I'd like to welcome you to my interview with writer, Ruth Snowden. Enjoy.
Ruth Snowden
Hi Ruth, can you please introduce yourself?
I'm Ruth
Snowden, from Cumbria.
How
long have you been writing?
I
wrote my first book when I was eight, which was a long time ago! I've been
writing professionally for about 15 years.
What
first got you interested in writing?
I
spent a lot of time ill in bed as a child and began writing to amuse myself.
Do you attend a writing group?
I attend Whitehaven
Writers. I started going in about 1998.
Why
do you attend a writing group?
In
order to meet other writers, get ideas and feedback, and to give something back
by encouraging other people.
What
is the most valuable thing you have taken away from your writing group?
Friendship.
Inspiration. And a pair of green amber
earrings.
What
genre(s) do you write? What drew you to
this/these genre(s)?
I
write non fiction in the holistic/alternative/psychology field. I was drawn to
this genre by my life-long interest in dreams - this interest, plus my degree
in psychology, brought me my first commissions. I also write magical fantasy
type fiction for children and adults. I was drawn to write fiction because I
love reading stories, particularly good children's stories. I have also written
poetry since I was a child, when I read poetry at home and learned poems off by
heart at school.
Are
there any genres that you don’t enjoy writing?
Why?
I'll
have a go at most things, but I'm not much good at romantic fiction - probably
because I don't enjoy reading it, so it doesn't flow. I don't think I could
write a historical novel either, because I haven't the patience to research it
properly - I prefer to make stuff up! Probably lots of others, but I can't say
I have tried them all by any means.
What
types of things do you write?
Mostly
books. Also poetry, blogs, tweets and the occasional article for newspapers and
magazines.
Have
you ever had anything published?
I
have had many books published by HowToBooks, Hodder, McGraw-Hill, Piccadilly
Press and Wild Women Press. You can find out more and buy most of these on
Amazon. See my author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruth-Snowden.
Most
of my adult non- fiction books are about Freud, Jung and dreamwork.
My
children's books are magical adventure stories. I am concentrating on these at
the moment.
More
information about some of my books and work in progress can be found on my
blogs - see question 29 for the links.
I
have also had lots of newspaper and magazine articles published, but not many
recently, as most seem to use in-house writers these days.
Have
you sent your writing to agents/publishers?
Have you received any rejections?
Yes
- publishers listed above, and I have an agent. I have had loads of rejections
over the years but thankfully a lot of positive results and commissions too!
That shows that the hard work pays off and you have to take the rough with the smooth. (sorry, I think I just swallowed a book of clichés!) Would
you consider self-publishing/e-publishing?
Why/why not? Are you interested
in eBooks, or do you prefer the old fashioned paper-made books?
I
have recently self-published two children's novels on Kindle. The first The Island That Wasn't There was
published originally in paperback by Piccadilly Press. Return to Hildaland is the sequel.
I love books in both forms - paper and electronic - each has its own
merits.
Who/what
influences your writing? Where do you
get your inspiration from?
I get my creative inspiration from nature,
landscape, history, myths, legends, literature, people and ideas from my
writers' group. My dreams are also a rich source of ideas. Some of the more
zany episodes in my stories have been lifted directly from peculiar dreams of
mine, and I am not above poaching those of friends as well, but only with
permission!
How
do you come up with your characters’ names and personalities?
I
don't know where my characters come from - they seem to find me! Often I dream
about them, or they wake me up in the morning with vivid ideas and demand that
I write about them. So I guess they arise from my unconscious. Often a
character is an amalgam of people I know, and may also have some aspect of
myself, past or present. I sometimes take names form gravestones, or from the
telephone directory. Occasionally I earwig conversations in cafes and pick up
interesting names and snippets!
Do you have a writing routine?
I
don't have a routine at all. I dislike routine and write when the muse takes
me. Sometimes I let my mind lay fallow for a few days, but then I might write
obsessively for weeks. I am often very creative around full moon.
Do
you start out with a complete idea for your stories, or do you just start
writing and hope for the best?
I
usually begin with words, phrases, characters and visual imagery then kind of
throw them all together and watch what happens, like watching a film. I never
know at the outset what is going to happen.
I am not an organised writer when it comes to fiction - this is strange
seeing as I also write non- fiction, which has to be very organised. I think the two genres use different parts of
my brain.
Do
you have an editing process? Do you have
someone else read over your work? Do you
read your work aloud to yourself in front of the mirror?
I
always edit my own work thoroughly and then brace myself to have it pulled
apart again by editors, friends and my agent before it gets published. My agent
has an almost supernatural ability to winkle out the bits I know deep down are
no good! I also read stuff aloud at the writers' group - it's amazing how many
errors you can spot that way, and I get feedback too. But not in front of the mirror, no.
What
do you enjoy the most/least about writing?
I
enjoy it when I read back through something I have written and feel amazed and
wonder where such fantastic stuff has come from. I enjoy it when I get `into
the zone' and my words flow effortlessly. And I enjoy it when I meet up with my creative
friends and we bounce wild and zany ideas around. And I guess I hate it when I
get stuck in one of those dreary cycles of stupidly trying to write something
to `fit the market.' This utterly kills my creativity. And I hate marketing,
public appearances and tax returns. I just want to get on with the writing in
peace and I have a strong inner conviction that really those things ought to be
someone else's job.
How
important is it for you to share your writing?
Essential.
I am a story teller - what's the use of telling stories to nobody?
Have
you ever entered any writing competitions?
Have you ever won?
Yes
I have entered a few, with little success, but I once won a competition in the
Independent, to write the first paragraph of a novel.
Have
you ever attended an open mic night for spoken word performers, and either an
observer or a performer?
I
have performed open mic poetry a lot in the past but I don't enjoy it - in fact
I find it draining and a bit
embarrassing. It has had a very negative effect on me actually - I no longer
write poetry much, because the whole poetry scene seems to be about performing
and showing off. I am an introverted poet L Surely I am not the only one?
What
is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever been given?
Less
is more, so edit rigorously. When I first became a professional writer a
publisher told me that my great strength lay in the way I used words sparingly
and left the reader to use their own imagination. A common error in
inexperienced writers is to overdo the explaining!
What
advice could you give to a new writer?
Keep
going even when things get tough. Write from your soul.
Apart
from writing, what are your other hobbies/interests?
Druidry,
nature, caravanning, crafting, artwork, playing the Celtic harp, yoga.
What
types of things do you read? Do you
think your writing reflects your book tastes?
I
read all kinds of things. Magazines, blogs, tweets, websites, novels, good children's
novels and non-fiction, especially in the alternative health and spirituality
area. So yes, my writing definitely
reflects my reading tastes.
If
you could have written anything, what do you wish that could have been?
Exactly
the things that I have written!
That's a great attitude! Do
you have any favourite lines from novels/plays/poetry/songs, or any favourite
literary quotes?
How
on earth do I choose? I collect more of them all the time and record them in my
journal. Here's a recent one that really made my spine tingle. It's from The Resurrectionist, by James Bradley:
`My
father died when I was twelve. We found him half a mile from the house, huddled
in the wall's low lee. His face turned away from the world, into the dark
stones, his body half covered by the snow. The sky overhead as fragile as an
egg.'
That's
what I mean by less is more - there is so much power in these few stark sentences
describing the harsh reality of life for ordinary people in Victorian England.
I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author - although this
one is not for the squeamish!
What
are you working on at the moment?
I
am working on editing several of my children's books and getting them up on
Kindle. A bit of a steep learning curve there! This is the area I am really
concentrating on at the moment, as I would dearly love to get well known as a
children's writer. So any promotion in this area would be much appreciated - I
have included an extract below in question 31. See also children's book blog
link below.
Also
working on a series of books for women about getting in touch with your inner
Wise Woman and keeping a spiritual journal. See Wise Woman blog link below.
Do
you have a website/blog/twitter/facebook dedicated to your writing?
For
details of all my available published books: See Ruth Snowden author page on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ruth-SnowdenMy
blogs all have extra material that is not in my books, and updates about work
in progress. The addresses are as follows:For dreamwork:
www.exploringdreams.blogspot.comFor Wise
Woman stuff: www.wisewomanjournal.blogspot.comFor children's
books: www.hildaland.blogspot.com
Is
there anything else you’d like to add?
You
can also follow Cocklepuss, the magical catfish from Hildaland, on Twitter
@Cocklepuss
And
myself on Twitter @RuthSnowden
Would
you be able to provide a short piece of your work?
(The following is an
edited extract from The Island That
Wasn't There, an exciting magical adventure story for children aged 8
upwards. You can buy the Kindle edition, and its sequel Return to Hildaland, on Amazon.)
`Her skin was pale blue-green, and it looked kind of slimy, like a
fish. She looked really ill, I thought.
Half of her
was buried, under a mass of twisted seaweed and bits of old rope, so I could
only see to her waist. But she looked about my size, perhaps just a little
bigger.
I nearly
screamed when I saw her eyes. They were huge and very dark, like fish eyes, or
some sort of weird insect thing. The silver-grey light from the clouds
reflected in her wide-open pupils.
She smiled then, sort of, and began to speak. Her lips were thin, and
her teeth were pointed – sharp-looking.
But her voice was quite ordinary.
‘Thank goodness,’ she said, rather unexpectedly, ‘can you help me get
out of this lot?’ She pointed to the seaweed that was tangled all round her
legs. I hesitated for a moment – I was still wondering if she was some sort of
giant insect . . . or an alien maybe?
I yanked the
seaweed off and then began untwisting some hairy old blue rope. All of a sudden
a big lump of weed came away, and I could see her legs underneath. She had
weird tights on. Sort of fishnet ones made of gleaming pearly stuff.
I stared for
a moment, forgetting it was rude. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, pulling a long
strand of green weed out of her hair. It was exactly the same colour, so it
looked as if she was actually pulling her hair out.
‘Your
tights,’ I said, ‘I’ve never seen any like that. They’re really cool,’ I added
hastily.
‘Tights? What
are tights?’
I pointed.
‘On your legs. Your stocking things.’
She looked
really blank. Her wide black pupils stared into me, swallowing me like dark
holes in the sea. ‘Legs?’ she said, with a slight shudder. `Mermaids don’t have
legs. We have tails!’ '
© Ruth Snowden
Thank you very much Ruth.