No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency author in Chichester

SussexWorld

With five books a year, Sir Alexander McCall Smith admits it can be a little tricky to remember which book he is supposed to be talking about at any particular event. But his date with Chichester will see him focus on the 26th volume in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. He will be in conversation with the Dean of Chichester, The Very Rev Edward Dowler on Saturday, October 25 at 13:00 in the Nave in Chichester Cathedral. Tickets are £15, with concessions available for students. Available from the Cathedral.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon. My name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at the Sussex Newspapers. Huge

00:06pleasure this afternoon to speak to Sir Alexander McCall Smith about the fact that you are heading

00:11to Chittester Cathedral, where you'll be talking about your work on October the 25th. It's

00:18a lovely prospect, and goodness, you'll have so much to talk about, not the least how prolific

00:23you are. You were saying that it's pretty much five books a year across a number of different

00:29series. That's quite something to sustain, isn't it? Well, it is quite a task that I set myself,

00:39but in fact, I enjoy it very much. I think that if I didn't like writing books, I wouldn't write

00:46even one a year, but I like writing books a great deal. So five books a year is something that I...

00:52But where does that drive come from? And it's unusual across different series, isn't it?

00:58I think that people who write often do so because they just feel they have to, in the same way

01:04in which people who enjoy playing the piano or dancing or whatever one likes doing, feel a

01:14certain compulsion to, or desire, perhaps compulsion, to do what they do. So if I don't write on any

01:22particular day, I feel that something's missing from my day.

01:27Every day you write without Felden, is that a reflection of discipline? You must be very

01:33disciplined in your approach.

01:35There is a bit of that. I think that books don't write themselves. And so you really do have to sit

01:43at your desk and apply yourself to it. I find that I do that. I can't come up with excuses.

01:54And I sit down. And then, of course, something rather interesting happens.

02:00Then I don't go into what you describe as a trance, but it's something not far from that,

02:07where I'm removed to the scene of what I'm writing about. And the words just come. I don't have to

02:14sit here and say, what's going to happen next? What is he going to say to her, et cetera, et cetera.

02:20The words just come, so probably from some part of the mind, which we call the imagination.

02:27When the muse is with you, but you were saying sometimes you do have to force the muse's hand

02:32a little bit, perhaps.

02:34No, no, don't wait for the muse to arrive. I think that people who wait for the muse to come

02:39and tap them on the shoulder are often in for a disappointment. The muse has got better things

02:47to do. You actually have to sit there and start work, really.

02:54And also, it's not just the fact, of course, that you are so prolific. It's the breadth of what

02:59you write, isn't it? That's one of the astonishing things.

03:02Well, I like writing about different things. I do write series in which we have the same

03:07characters appearing in each book. But I do write about a wide variety of things. And I

03:14find that ideas just come to me. I carry a notebook with me, as I think most authors do. And somebody

03:22may say something which fires my imagination, or I may see something that I feel I need to

03:28report on. And off we go.

03:32And all that, after a distinguished academic career, you were saying that you feel that authors

03:37need that kind of foundation, need to have done something before they start writing. What

03:42did that give you, that medical law career?

03:45Well, I think it's very important that you should go out and experience the world before

03:51you start to write about the world. I think there are some writers who write very profound

03:57and interesting things when they're 21 or whatever. But most of us actually really need to get

04:04a bit of life experience before we write anything of particular interest. So I think, therefore,

04:13it's a very good idea for an author to have a career of some sort, have a job, meet people,

04:20do different things. And that will inform the writing that then takes place. Because what you

04:27need is...

04:28Writing pushes it aside, doesn't it?

04:30Yes. What any author needs is material. And material is gathered by looking at the world,

04:37watching people, but also actually engaging in experience.

04:44Fantastic. Well, really lovely to meet you and to speak to you, Sir Alexander. And lovely

04:48to know that you will be coming to Chichester Cathedral on October the 25th. Thank you ever

04:53so much for your time.

04:54Thank you very much indeed, Phil. Thank you.

04:56Thank you very much.

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