Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you write when the inspiration hits you?

I adopt the same methodology I used as a professional Rugby coach: it’s called “Periodisation”, and I divide the year into certain “zones”. My intense writing zone is from mid June until the middle of September, when I’m living in Marbella. During this period I set myself a target of a minimum of one thousand words per day – any less equals no beer. Outside this, when I’m living in Wroclaw (Poland) and teach English two and a half days per week, I have a weekly target of three thousand words. Then there are certain “don’t even bother” zones such as the Christmas period or when I’m travelling. Oh … and as I’m getting married in less than three weeks’ time, not much is currently getting done!

Waiting for inspiration to hit me would be like a drunk waiting to sober up. He will do anything to ensure it never happens.

What/Who was the inspiration for Richie Malone?

It’s often said that every first novel is autobiographical, and I suppose in certain ways I’ve drawn from both past experience (although I’ve never woken up to find a dead girl in my bed) and from my observations. And there is certainly no shortage of strange things to observe in Marbella. There are parallels between myself and Richie, but in Losing The Plot – and throughout the RM series – the real conflict comes from the constant battle between Richie’s attempts to overcome his sex addiction, to gain recognition as a writer of non-pornographic fiction, and his simple desire just to be loved; this creates an almost daily struggle between him being the man he is and enjoys being, and the man he knows he should become.

And who was the inspiration? I just loved Californication; the dark humour, the pithy dialogue and of course the characterisations; so without a doubt, a large slice of my inspiration has come from Hank Moody. Take a bow, Tom Kapinos.

What have you learned from Rugby and/or marathons that has helped you be a better writer?

Yeah, I’ve already talked about some of the methodology from Rugby. With both Rugby and endurance running the two most important things are getting started in the first place, and then having the discipline to keep going, no matter how bad you’re playing and how much it hurts. Visualisation and drawing determination from previous success really helps. I set myself short, medium and long-term goals and keep in mind what it will feel like when I cross that finishing line.

If you could have a dinner party with any 10 people living or dead who would you invite and why?

What question do you wish that someone would ask about your book, but nobody has? And what would be your answer?

Hmmm … that’s a good one; there are several. I like questions that provoke discussion and challenge my thinking, so I’m going to go for this one: why did I decide to write Losing The Plot in the first person?

Simple answer: because it’s Richie’s narrative; he is the main protagonist, there is a massive amount of personal information and backstory, and unless I tell his story through his own voice, I would have to rely on a box of tricks that I’d rather not open. And this would mean that his thoughts, emotions and past experiences would need to be conveyed through a narrator’s voice. This would distance the reader from Richie and I’d run the risk of creating something that reads like a history book.

But … there’s always a but – there are two main problems in writing in the first person: the first is that you’re asking your reader to stay inside Richie’s head for the duration, and unless she totally engages and empathises with him, you run the risk of her baling.

Secondly, unless you want to resort to the Bobby Ewing dream scenario – and I certainly didn’t – the reader knows from the get go that Richie survives his ordeal because he has lived to write about it.

There are ways around this of course. Take the brilliant biopic movie American Made. Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) goes on the run from a Columbian drug cartel and keeps moving from motel to motel where each night he records his past escapades on video. The whole film is told through his video narration, and you don’t know whether he survives or not until the very end. Look … no spoilers.

But if I were to write Losing The Plot again, I wouldn’t change anything, particular Richie’s voice.

What advice would you give someone working on their first book?

You probably won’t write a book that you feel comfortable with enough to publish until around your third attempt. But don’t worry about this – none of what you’ve written will be wasted; it’s all part of the learning process … part of your development as a writer, and this will serve you well in the long run.

I completed a novel called Compound 19 – a satirical time-shift narrative about an imaginary event that changed the course of the Irish “Troubles”, around two years ago. It took me six years to write – okay, I wasn’t devoting long hours to it – and so far it’s benefitted from two re-writes but has been mothballed for now. It’s not nearly good enough to put my name to it … yet.

However, I intend to come back to it after publishing my next two novels, give it a further re-write, polish it and publish. It’ll still be topical because unfortunately I don’t think we’ve seen the last of civil strife in my homeland. Particularly given that the current British PM appears to care little for the cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement.

Another piece of advice: write, write and write – never give up. And you must write because you love it, and not for extrinsic reasons. It is unlikely to make you rich, but it will ultimately make you feel better about yourself.

Oh … and one final point: do not over-edit as you write. One other rule I have: I always write sober but I re-read in the evening over a beer or three. This gives me a different perspective. But I don’t pull it all apart as I write – I only do this after I’ve crossed that finish line.

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The Book

Losing The Plot

by Richard Grainger

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

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