We had a great time with Janice Hallett and Joanna Wallace at West Barnes Library last night. Thanks to those who braved the cold to come and see us.

 

We learned that all three of us are pantser writers – flying by the seat of our pants as we write i.e. we don’t really plan and just start with an idea and go from there. As Janice pointed out though, that does mean there’s a lot more editing to do for the first draft!

 

Janice knew when she was six she wanted to be a writer after her teacher showed her how words could be used to communicate. Joanna started writing when her father was diagnosed with dementia. She used writing to process her rage about the illness and out of that came Claire, the part-time serial killer.

We also talked about different styles of writing. If you’ve read any of Janice’s books, then you’ll know she uses emails, texts, WhatsApp messages etc. from different people to convey the story. As she had previously written screenplays, these different forms felt like dialogue to her and therefore a natural way to write. Joanna likes being in the head of her characters so first person in the present tense gives her that as well as immediacy. As a reader, you’re right in the middle of things straight away. In regards to unreliable narrators, Janice posed the question – are any of us reliable narrators? Which made me stop and think!

As The Christmas Appeal is out now in paperback, we had a Christmassy theme to the evening with a Spotify list provided by Viper Books and a pantomime quiz. Janice and Joanna were very good sports in playing it. I won’t give their scores but it was a draw. Huge thanks to Janice and Joanna for joining us and to the Friends of West Barnes Library for facilitating the evening.

If you’d like to buy Janice’s books then click here for The Examiner  and here for The Christmas Appeal.

If you’d like to buy Joanna’s books then click here for The Dead Friend Project and here for You’d Look Better As A Ghost.