Fellow Flame Tree author Adrian Laing has been in the world of authors and publishers for years as the in-house lawyer at HarperCollins UK, and has also penned a number of popular nonfiction titles. Please welcome Adrian Laing to Word Craft!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tell us a little about yourself.

Author and barrister Adrian Laing

I am a lawyer by training; a qualified barrister and solicitor. I have been writing professionally since 1983 when my first legal article was published and have written many legal articles and co-authored three leading textbooks currently published by Bloomsbury Professional. I am married with five children.

I first ventured out of legal works after my father died in 1989 and wrote a biography of him which I can see retrospectively was my way of validating my self-perception not only as a lawyer but a writer. The research for that work was extensive and the process of interviewing many people over a considerable period of time, was very much a ‘writing experience’.

About the same time as that work was published, I was appointed the first in-house lawyer at HarperCollins, UK. My world centered around books and writers 24/7. In addition, my kids were growing up and they were encouraged by my wife and I to read, widely.

It seemed therefore like a small step to write fiction and I promised myself I would finish a full-length work as soon as I left HarperCollins. I had started fictional works earlier (much earlier) in my life but didn’t really pursue it to the point of being published.

What’s your book about?

Kosmos is about a young, inexperienced barrister George Winsome whose first jury trial is defending an old boy who thinks he is the mythical character, Merlin, on manslaughter charge.

INSPIRATION AND MOTIVATION

Why do you write?

That’s a fair and straightforward question. But interestingly difficult to answer without being glib. I can’t say I enjoy the writing process itself; that is hard work. There is however great satisfaction in having a work published whether it’s a brief article or a full-length work of non-fiction. I guess also with my father being a very successful writer there’s an element of filial competition going on but not consciously.

Have you ever taken an extended break from writing? If so, why, and what brought you back?

It’s perhaps easier to say that I take a break from not writing by writing. I am not consistent and need to take a run at it. If I am in the zone it pours out, if not I can stare at my screen for days pushing the peas around the plate to speak. I feel guilty if I am not writing something, so the impulse is always there but not necessarily the motivation or inspiration.

What do you do when you need additional inspiration or ideas?

I am not a great believer in ‘finding’ inspiration. It needs to find me. My dad used to say: ‘if you can’t find something, stop looking for it’. My tactic is to work around the edges: think of characters, develop them, list ideas, stories, incidents, events, triggers, interesting words, structure. Go for a long walk.

Do you finish everything you start? If a piece isn’t working, at what point do you cut your losses and abandon it?

I have at least three unfinished works. The problem is when you lose confidence in the story for whatever reason. It dies on you and it is probably the most difficult aspect of writing: when to let go. However, I have done that twice. Raced to 20,000 or 30,000 words and said to myself: ‘this is crap, let it go’.

METHODS AND PRACTICES

Adrian’s writing space

How often do you write?

There is no clear frequency; it comes in phases. The last work was a commissioned 25,000 words for the ‘Bluffer’s Guide to Law’ and when I got going it took six weeks. It felt like day and night. I know that if I’m in the zone as I said, then I need to keep going flat out as I also know that feeling may suddenly disappear on me.

Do you have a regular time of day and place that your write?

I prefer to write early in the morning and then revisit later in the day. I can only write at my desk at home, nowhere else works for me.

Do you keep a writing log? What data do you track (word count, session start/end, etc.)?

I don’t keep a log, but I am conscious using Word of the word count. I tend to think of a good session being at least 2,000 words but that is a generalisation. For the Bluffer’s Guide to Law’ I constructed an eight-line parody of Kipling’s ‘If’ and that took me days, on and off. I am still not happy with it.

What elements of your life distract you from writing the most, and how do you manage those distractions?

I am easily distracted. If the ‘phone goes then my concentration is broken maybe for hours. I have learnt to start real early as that is the only way I can manage distractions by reducing the possibility of being distracted.

Do you revise as you go, or wait for a complete first draft?

I write furiously, read and double-check for literals etc. I will chop and change all the time.

Who sees your work first, and why?

It depends on the work. I had for some time a great agent but being a ‘Great Agent’ he was super busy, and I needed fast feedback which I know is both unfair and unrealistic. I won’t show friends and family the work until it’s been through the first editorial phase.

What’s your backup system (for computer files)?

I keep my work on a dedicated USB stick and will sometimes send myself an email with the draft attached.

Do you have any particular methods via which you communicate with your subconscious mind?

Not really, except I do have dreams where the story I’m working on progresses or a character I am working on appears.

What methods or practices have you used to increase your productivity?

I don’t even think in terms of increasing my productivity. If, like with the legal works, I have been commissioned under contract with specific deadlines then I treat it as work. I set myself specific targets, leave some slack and got on with it as best I can.

How important are lighting, sound/silence, smells, and other sensory factors to your writing process?

Light is not an issue, it’s the silence that I need. The important thing is to create a working space where you feel comfortable to work. I would find sensory input (scented candles for example), a distraction.

FORTHCOMING

What are you working on now, and what projects do you have scheduled?

I have delivered a second draft of ‘The Bluffer’s Guide to Law’ to the publishers (Haynes). We are well past the point of the work being ‘accepted’ in fact it is due to go to the printers in June and a publication date is already set for the new academic year. The editor will respond in some detail to this draft and I will address, one way or another each any point raised quickly.

In some sense that work is done, my next work is a new work of fiction which I am developing slowly but surely. Once it takes shape, I will involve my fiction publisher (Flame Tree) and solicit their views which I value, a great deal.