Ahead of the Tauranga Arts Festival on October 25, historical novelist Debra Daley shares insights into her writing life

Tauranga historical novelist Debra Daley is published by Heron Books in Britain. Her most recent novel is Turning the Stones (2014), while forthcoming is The Revelations of Carey Ravine, set in England and India. 
Ahead of an appearance at the Tauranga Arts Festival on October 25, she shares insights into her writing life. 

See the full festival programme at www.taurangafestival.co.nz

Given that both your latest books are set in the 18^th century, what is it about that period that fascinates you?

The 18th century is the beginning of the modern era in Western culture. When I first began to read 18th century English literature and history as a young woman, I identified with its democratising impulses. It was a time when it became easier for ordinary people to have access to the printed word, for instance. There was a passion for literature, the development of the novel and new modes of personal expression that are the beginnings of romanticism. I always loved 18th century literary style –– its wit, irony and nuanced writing. Women began to be published more widely and to find ways of earning a living as authors, translators, editors and typesetters. The 18th century sowed the seeds of the hyper-capitalist age that we live in now. It saw the rise of mercantilism, the establishment of stock exchanges, and the machinery of business. It recognised that the force driving people’s lives was one of political economy just as it is now; it fascinates me to note those parallels with our own age.

Do you feel that you’re living in the wrong century?

No. It is important to live in the present. 

What sort of research do you do and where has it taken you?

I try as much as possible to do primary research. So I spend a lot of time in the British Library in London. It is a repository of original 18th century English texts, letters, journals, diaries, newspapers, pamphlets. That kind of ‘from the horse’s mouth’ research is great for recreating 18th century dialogue, and finding the correct nomenclature. The Old Bailey’s trial transcripts from the 18th century are very useful for reading people’s actual dialogue and give a vivid sense of phrasing and cadence. My aim is to give the reader a ‘time-travel’ experience –– to make them feel as much as possible that they are in the 18th century without drawing attention to the enormous amount of research it takes. If it is a particular landscape I want to describe then I will go to that place if at all possible and take photographs and draw maps. I have to do my own fact-checking, and am conscientious about getting things right. When I work in the British Library I keep a journal with notes and drawings. I try never to have more than one journal with me otherwise the research can get overwhelming. You have to know when to stop researching and to start writing the book.

Can you walk us through the completion of a novel and the effect it has on your life?

The latter stages of completing a novel are probably the last 30,000 words of the second draft. So, at that point I’m generally aiming to complete 1000-2000 words a day. It’s quite an intense mental effort. I go to my desk and don’t stop until I’ve got through my quota.

Once a week I go to a yoga studio and also try to fit in a couple of sessions on the treadmill at the gym just so I don’t lose the use of my legs completely from so much sitting.

I sit at my desk until I’ve finished the word count I set myself that day. Mostly I have no time to print pages out. I read them through on screen and edit as I go. I have index cards on the wall to remind me of plot points, and maps of all the locations in the novel and routes plotted out so if I want to say, ‘It took four hours to reach Dover’– I really know that it took four hours. I don’t want to have to think about details like that while I am composing or it would block my flow.

I don’t make a living from writing fiction, so I have a fulltime job as well. I pretty much work seven days a week factoring in the job and the writing. In the latter stages of a novel your publisher also starts to want collateral from you ... blog posts, bios, stuff for the sales and marketing teams, website content.

In terms of an impact on my life, well, it IS my life. I am used to deadlines and prioritising. You just accept you’ve got homework seven days a week. You end up being highly scheduled and become an expert at not wasting time. In between writing I do the same things everyone else –– family stuff, housework, pay bills, buy groceries, work in the garden. Being a novelist is a vocation. You have to really want to do it.

What do you do to stay sane?

I have been a professional writer, journalist and editor all of my working life, so I am habituated to the cycles of deadlines. They can be demanding, but they aren’t a threat to my sanity. I consider myself a pretty well-balanced person. Working to tough deadlines is tiring but not to the point of losing my mind. I appreciate how fortunate I am. I am living a nice life in a nice town doing something I love. 

Are there moments in life that words cannot capture?

There is nothing that defies description. Everything in the world is explicable.