Cathy Forde worked as an English teacher before becoming an author. Her novel Fat Boy Swim was Shortlisted the Blue Peter Award and the British Book Trust Teenage Book Award in 2004. Cathy loves writing for teenagers and finds inspiration in the preoccupations of her teenage sons and their friends. She lives in Glasgow.
When did you start writing?
I always loved writing stories and
poems in school, but didn’t start to write seriously until my younger
son, Dec, went to school. That was nearly seven years ago now, and I
can’t imagine NOT writing or thinking about writing every day.
Where do your ideas come from?
My
ideas come from anywhere and everywhere, and most of them develop from
my own life and what goes on round about me. Maybe the way someone
looks will start me thinking about a character, or I’ll go somewhere
and hear a story about a place and the tiny nugget of an idea will
start to grow. A lot of the time my two sons give me stories without
realising it. They do something daft, or come away with a new word and
I steal it from them. Please don’t tell them I said that or they’ll
want payment!
How long does it take you to write a book?
My
long novels take about a year to write, especially if I have to do
research before I begin. Think Me Back, Fat Boy Swim and SKARRS each
took a whole year to write and The Drowning Pond (2005), which I am
still editing, has taken over a year because I am finding that other
aspects of being a writer, such as doing talks in schools, interrupt my
routine more and more. I’ve just finished writing a couple of shorter
books in between edits of The Drowning Pond, and have worked on them
very intensively for a couple of weeks each, and that’s been a whole
new discipline for me.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
First
of all you have to read and read and read, and secondly you should get
into the habit of writing regularly, even if it’s just a diary.
Thirdly, you should take notes of all your good ideas, especially if
they keep niggling at you.
Where do you write?
I work in
a very cluttered room, on a very cluttered table by a window that lets
in too much cold in the winter, and too much sun in the summer. Because
all my books have taken shape at the same table, I’m a bit
superstitious about making my writing spot more comfortable.
Who is your favourite character from all your books?
I’ll
have to cheat and name three. Jimmy from Fat Boy Swim is the first. He
just popped into my head fully formed and I think he’s really decent.
GI Joe from Fat Boy Swim is another character I have a soft spot for
because he is tough and kind and honest. My third favourite character
is Grampa Dan from SKARRS. He is based on my dad who died of cancer
just before I started writing SKARRS and before any of my novels were
published. The ‘voice’ of Grampa Dan is my dad’s voice and the
character is my tribute to him, from the way he talks to the music he
loved.
Do you base your characters on real people?
Elements
of most of my characters are partly based on real people. I’ll steal
the way someone talks, or looks or behaves, but not a whole person. For
example, Aunt Pol in Fat Boy Swim has lots of my sister Pauline in her
character, and many of the teenage boys are inspired by my sons and
their friends. I never, ever put anyone I don’t like in real life in my
novels, but people who I’m fond of will often become cameos in my
stories.
Who is your favourite author?
I have to cheat
here and list a few. I know David Almond is considered a children’s
writer but I think his work is stunning; spiritual and beautiful, and
Skellig is one of my favourite reads of all time. My other favourite
writers include Jamie O’Neill (‘At Swim, Two Boys’ my Top Read), John
McGahern, Brian Moore, Pat Barker, Bernard MacLaverty, Rohinton Mistry,
James Joyce and Charles Dickens. I could go on forever…
What was your favourite book when you were young?
I’m
going to cheat again and list two. 1. The Lion, The Witch and the
Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis. 2. Kavik the Wolf Dog by Walt Morley.
