"Our lives are politically wound." — Sarah Hall

Various books revolutionised what I think about novels and showed me that they're not strict, formulaic things. 'Coming Through Slaughter' by Michael Ondaatje was one of them.

Writing, and its theatre of operation, is better than working shifts packing frozen sausages; that's all I need to think about if I'm having difficulties.

I can gabble on now, but I couldn't when I was a kid, so I spent a lot of time in my own head on the moors by myself. It felt like writing was the right way to express myself.

I felt impelled to write. It felt demonic, and I wanted to improve, the way some people habitually pick up a guitar and get better at playing it and making up songs.

The short story is very good at looking at shadow psychologies and how the system breaks down underneath.

Revisiting much-loved childhood novels is never easy.

I write in the mornings or afternoons - I'm not a night owl and can write for only four or five hours maximum.

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Our lives are politically wound.