Interview with Christopher Jarman [quilljar] on Whohub

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What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote?

My first story was about pirates. I was nine years old. By that time I had been reading everything I could lay my hands on from Rupert Bear to Midshipman Easy.
My first writing success came when I broadcast a talk on Woman's hour on the BBC in 1962. I went on to do about 25 more broadcasts until I moved further away from the London area.
I also had a great many educational articles accepted in the professional press before being asked by a publisher to write a Teachers' book on handwriting.

What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it?

What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write?

I will have experienced a place or a situation that intrigues me. I then try and research everything I can about it. Google is now the easy way to do this. With short stories I think of the ending twist first if I can, and then work a story up to fit it.

What type of reading inspires you to write?

Absolutely everything, including newspapers, adverts, timetables and anything fiction or non-fiction. I admire old fashioned story tellers like EE Nesbit, PG Wodehouse and Nevil Shute.

What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story?

Authentic settings, two or three strongly described characters and a story that is not a cliché if possible.

What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person?

What well known writers do you admire most?

Jonathan Raban, Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follett, Terry Pratchett as well as the ones I mentioned above.

What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours?

To be based usually on a real person.

Are you equally good at telling stories orally?

I think so, but who can say except other people? I have had few complaints so far!

Deep down inside, who do you write for?

Myself and then my wife.

Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force?

No, I write the kind of stories that I would like to read. I do not write metaphorical prose, but adventure thrillers with some humour, I hope. Pretty well everything i write has a basis in some personal experience. I am hopeless at fantasy!

Does reader feed-back help you?

Only with grammar and style not with the story or characters

Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards?

No, I would never get an award.

Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust?

My wife Sally, she is my severest critic and able to justify herself admirably

Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for?

What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.?

None, I write only when I feel happy to do so.

What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate?

Silence if possible, then the Internet for research and a Thesaurus and dictionaries plus plenty of single malt whiskey and bars of dark chocolate.

Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process?

I use a computer and correct on the screen. I try not to print out unless I have to.

What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information?

What has been your experience with publishers?

Very positive and helpful when I was writing educational books, but with fiction, it seems that publishers today do not take risks and will stick to already successful writers on the whole.

What are you working on now?

Short Stories for the first time in my life and enjoying them immensely. I am also re-editing a novel for an American publisher who contacted me from this interview page!

What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone?

What should YOU do? Throw them all away, and start afresh with a new writing life! Always stay contemporary and optimistic.

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