This Writing Life: Annie Whitehead

This week, I am delighted to welcome Annie Whitehead to the blog. Annie  is a history graduate who now works as an Early Years music teacher. Her first novel, To Be A Queen, is the story of Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great, who came to be known as the Lady of the Mercians. It was long-listed for the Historical Novel Society’s Indie Book of the Year 2016.

Her new release, Alvar the Kingmaker,  tells the story of Aelfhere of Mercia, a nobleman in the time of King Edgar. It is the story of one man’s battle to keep the monarchy strong and the country at peace. Attempting to stay loyal to all those who depend on him, Aelfhere must make some very personal sacrifices. Annie is currently working on the novel which was a prize-winning entry in the Mail on Sunday Novel Writing competition and which she was encouraged to complete by judge Fay Weldon. 

Where and when do you enjoy writing most? What is your routine?

I would never have described myself as a morning person, and yet this is, weirdly, when I get most of my writing done. I try to be at my desk (okay, it’s actually the dining room table) by around 9 am and then I’ll write until lunchtime. After lunch I try to get back into it, but it takes me a while to get off facebook… Then I’ll steam on through the afternoon and early evening until someone suggests that it might be time to eat. 

How much use do you make of music or art as sources of inspiration – do you have a playlist for a work in progress, do you use collage, can you only work in total silence?

In the mornings I listen to the radio, and after lunch I work in silence. Certain pieces of music do inspire me and/or make me think of characters/scenes, but I generally listen to music when I’m not writing. (Although, my current work in progress will play out its final scenes to the strains of the last movement of Tchaikovsky's Sixth!) Often, I listen when I’m walking to work and certain songs will then give me an idea for a scene or a character's’ viewpoint. For the central relationship in my first book, To Be A Queen, I found that, every time I listened to Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, I thought of Ethelred asking Aethelflaed to be his companion against the world. I use photographs of faces quite a lot, to fix certain physical descriptions and make sure there are no inconsistencies. An eerie photograph of a hillside inspired me when I was writing one particular scene in ‘Queen’.

How do you start work on a particular book? Planner/Pantser or a bit of both?

Bit of both, I think. With each successive novel I’ve found I’ve done much more pre-planning, to the point where nowadays I find writing first drafts difficult, because I keep trying to edit each sentence as I write it, instead of going with the flow. I always know where the story is going and how it will end. The bit in the middle is more fluid, but I do believe in general that the more you can plan before you start writing, the less you will have to re-write when you finally get going. That’s the theory, anyway!

What tools do you use to write? Word processors, pens, paper, software preferences?

The first draft of my first novel was written in longhand in a succession of notebooks but these days it’s straight onto the computer. I don’t have that computer hooked up the internet, and I save everything onto at least two separate pen drives! I have piles of notebooks and scraps of paper with handwritten notes (often made while in the car - as a passenger, not a driver!) and I have notes on my phone which I periodically copy onto my computer. I have a shameful love of stationery, generally, and surround myself with pretty notepads, diaries and calendars.

What other careers have you had in addition to writing? 

I graduated in history and knew, even in my final year as a student that all I really wanted to do was write. I got a job in publishing but one weekend I visited the Cumbrian Lake District and suddenly decided that I’d had enough of the city. So I changed jobs, moved to the country and continued to write. Then marriage and three kids took up a lot of my time and when my kids were all of school age I retrained and became a pre-school teacher, after which I specialised in teaching music to pre-schoolers and school pupils up to the age of 11. I still do this on part time freelance contracts. 

What is the biggest myth about being a writer? 

That it’s all based on ‘creative flow’. Sometimes it’s about being disciplined, and approaching a project as any other office-based worker would. Planning, notes, schedules, charts - all these are tools for the writer and often need to be employed. If writers sat back and waited for the muse, we might, upon occasion, be waiting for a long time. 

How have you been published? (self, mainstream, small press) 

When I wrote To Be A Queen, it was picked up by an agent, who persuaded me to ‘get cracking’ on the next book, which I did. And then I wrote another. And still I hadn’t heard back from the agent. I decided to self-publish and it’s worked very well for me. To Be A Queen was long-listed for the Historical Novel Society’s Indie Book of the Year 2016. The other positive thing about being Indie-published is how it’s brought me into contact with so many other writers - the support network amongst Indie authors is absolutely amazing. So just a few weeks ago, I was able to publish my second novel, Alvar the Kingmaker, and early next year I shall release the third book. I only wish I hadn’t waited for so long for the agent to get back to me - there’s nothing scary about self-publishing, because it’s actually not, as it turns out, ‘going it alone.’

http://author.to/Annie-Whitehead-Author

http://viewauthor.at/Annie-Whitehead

http://mybook.to/To-Be-A-Queen

http://mybook.to/AlvartheKingmaker

http://anniewhitehead2.blogspot.co.uk/