All the advice I’ve ever been given for writing a novel is that I must write every day, however little I produce. This did stand me in good stead when I started New History and really hadn’t a clue about what was in front of me. Apart from inculcating the necessary discipline, it kept my brain fully engaged with the characters, plot etc. However, I’ve noticed recently that I’ve got a bit lazy in this respect and now have some weeks that I think of as writing weeks and others where I do less. I find a spurt of writing energy will carry me through for a while but then I have to call a halt and take stock.This applies particularly when I’m tackling original writing. (Editing is easier to pick up and put down at will).
Recently I heard Kate Atkinson give a talk and was gratified to hear her confess to a similar routine, to the extent of having ‘writing days’ where she stays in bed with a laptop. Naturally, I would follow suit if only I had the right equipment!
I’m a big fan of Atkinson and am currently engrossed in One Good Turn. It’s an interesting departure for her to do a ‘sequel’ (though she might argue with that description) since I think her previous novels are remarkable for their ‘infinite variety’. I also wonder if she’s playing with us a little, or rather with the Ian Rankin fan club. Very tempting to compare and contrast John Rebus with Jackson Brodie when they are on the same turf. In fact, when St. Leonard’s Station was mentioned I thought Rebus himself might be about to put in an appearance!
Ali Bacon / Books and Other Things 
I enjoyed one Good Turn very much indeed, as I did its predecessor – and find Jackson Brodie quite adorable! I think Atkinson plays with and teases her readers all the time and I too felt that Rebus was always just around the corner in these books (probably disappearing into a bar!).
Averse though I am to speculating on fictional characters outside the confines of the books in which they appear, it did strike me while reading One Good Turn that Brodie and Rebus would not get on at all well!
I confess that I’ve found Atkinson’s playfulness a little overdone in some of her novels, but in the Brodie books it was well judged and most engaging.
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PS – this is so bizarre – my bookshelves are a total muddly mess, as witness various photos on my blog. I just went across my study to switch on my printer and noticed in the jumble on one shelf, One Good Turn, lying sideways on, on top of Exit Music! It was obviously meant to be!
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Think I probably liked Case Histories better than OGT despite it’s rather sombre side. I notice that with Julia gone Jackson is free to stay for a new ‘adventure’ (and no doubt a new woman). Hope it doesn’t become too much of a series!. And must try to stop thinking of who one would cast as JB in TV version. (move on girl, life is too short!)
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