I started writing when I was seven
years old. I sold my first short story when I was ten, for ten shillings and
sixpence, and when I saw my name on the story I think my destiny was sealed.
Subsequently I wrote stories for our local weekly newspaper, the Armley &
Wortley News and when I was 16 I became a reporter at the Yorkshire Evening
Post, a large daily paper. At 18 I was promoted to Women's page editor; at 20
I went to work on London's Fleet Street as fashion editor. After a year I went
back to being a newspaper woman, as a feature writer on the London Evening news.
Later I was with Today Magazine and after that I went back to newspapers as
an executive editor and columnist for the London American.
What type of writer are you? Do you plan ahead/plot or do you simply fly by the seat of your pants?
I think most writers find their own genre, and settle
into it, whether they want to write detective stories on crime novels, historical, romantic or mainstream
fiction for women, which happens to be my genre. I think this is because one must find a genre one
understands, and which one feels comfortable with. I always have the story mostly figured out in advance
of sitting down to write it. I find it integral to know the life history of your characters long before you
begin the story. For me, I know everything that has happened in the life of my main characters leading up
to the point in their lives covered by the book. And often I know where their lives are headed after the
story has ended. Without a plan, I don't know how I would be able to execute the task at hand.
Do you write best at a certain time of the day?
I like to get up early in the morning
and head straight to the typewriter at around six AM or earlier. I seem to do my best work
while feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep. Also, the early
morning is generally filled with fewer distractions, so I get to write
uninterrupted until the phone starts ringing around ten or eleven.
What type of writing schedule do you have?
I am very structured when it comes
to keeping a writing schedule. Once I get into writing a novel, I usually set aside anywhere from
six to nine hours a day where I lock myself in my study and focus on
writing. I try to keep to a schedule of 6:00AM to about 3:00PM, with
a short break in between for lunch, research and to run errands.
Because my husband Bob returns home each evening from the office at approximately
the same time, I try to be done by 3:00 so I can be dressed up for him and often
with dinner ready, or plans to go out
How do you handle life interruptions?
Interruptions are a part of life and one has to anticipate that they will inevitably pop up at the most inconvenient times. As one who
tries to stick to deadlines, I occasionally get put off by the phone ringing or an emergency in the middle of a busy day. In the earlier
years this was a great source of frustration. However, with time you come to expect that life will happen no matter how focused you are
on a particular project. These days I have my husband Bob and his staff to deal with most business and personal requests, so I can do
my best to stay focused on writing.
Do you get blocked? Any hints how to stave it off?
Because I have an outline of a
story to work from at the outset, I rarely ever get stuck in knowing where to
take the story next. That isn't to say that I never get blocked, but rather
that I usually know what is supposed to happen next more often than not. Sometimes
I find that the best solutions to writer's block are getting away from the process
to take your mind off the story you are constructing. In talking to friends
or watching a good movie, one can have time to form a sense of objectivity about
where the story is going. As I try not to write much on weekends, often I come
up with great ideas that leave me excited for resuming my work come Monday morning.
Taking breaks are a key to letting the creativity flow.
What authors do you look to as a role model and inspiration?
I did not have a specific teacher
who helped me develop writing skills, other than my Mother at an early age.
But I did read a lot, especially the English classics such as Dickens, the Bronte
Sisters, John Galsworthy, etc. My favorite book has always been Wuthering Heights.
What's the best advice you ever received?
My Mother always encouraged me
as a young girl to write a little bit
every day, no matter how difficult it might be. By taking an hour of my day
to put something down on paper, I managed to harness my abilities and form a
comfortable style. I think its very
important for young writers and any writer to write every day, if only three
or four pages. Practice makes for perfection and it hones one's skill and improves
one vocabulary.
What sparks a story?
Inspiration for a great story can
come from anywhere. Often it happens from real life inspiration, such as meeting interesting people, or traveling
to a unique destination. My novel A Secret Affair was inspired after Bob and
I visited Venice for a wonderful holiday. With all the exquisite scenery in
my head, I managed to develop a story for a torrid love affair with the city
as a backdrop. My latest paperback Three Weeks in Paris was partly inspired
from the many visits we have made to that wonderful and historic city.
What was it about your genre that interested you enough to choose to write in it and not in another genre?
Before I became a novelist, I
was writing books on decorating and design. I'd also written children's stories for a while. Then when I
decided to write A Woman of Substance, I didn't specifically elect to write a novel of popular women's fiction. It was my intention to
create a story about an ordinary woman who went on to accomplish extraordinary things. Seeing the remarkable response to my first
book, I've made it a point of trying to keep writing in the same vein.
I don't write to any formula and the plots are always different. But the
one constant is a protagonist who manages to overcome an obstacle or dilemma
to achieve something special.
Have you seen an evolution in your writing? What steps did it take?
Over time I believe one becomes
more comfortable with their writing style. For me I found myself grow in confidence
once I proved to myself that I could complete my first novel. From there everything
became a little easier, though I still consider every book to be a challenge.
I suppose if there has been a clear evolution in any process, it is the way
I research a book. I used to run from library to library looking up history
and travel books to verify facts. Now with the internet, I simply log into Yahoo
and can easily get information at my fingertips. It is a big savings in time.
What have you always dreamed of writing, but haven't yet?
I feel good about the wide range
of subject covered in my 18 published books to date. If there was one story
I would like to take a stab at, it would be a straight mystery. Certainly a
few of my books have elements of mystery in them like Dangerous To Know and
Katie Byrne. But I'm thinking about writing a more traditional mystery novel
sometime in the future.
What one thing do you like most about writing? Least?
My favorite aspect of writing is being able to share my love of history and
travel with my readers. So often I get letters from fans to thank me for describing
places that they always wanted to visit, but never could afford to go to.
Also in writing about historical events, I get wonderful feedback from people
who tell me that it made them feel as though they were there as an eyewitness.
When you get that kind of response, it makes you feel appreciated.
My least favorite aspect of writing would have to be deadlines. Although
I take great pride in having never missed a deadline for a publisher, I still
tense up as the due date gets closer and 've only gotten through 60% of a
manuscript. I work well under pressure, but in a perfect world there would
be no deadlines.
What is your next project?
I am currently completing my 19th
novel called Emma's Secret. This book will be a continuation from A Woman of
Substance and it covers some 'missing' years in the life of my most beloved
character Emma Harte. This book will be released in England this summer (2003)
and in the US at the end of the year. I can tell you that it is an epic, with
more than 500 pages so far. It has been a joy for me to rediscover all the old
characters some 20 years after last writing about them.
What advice would you pass along at this point in your career?
I think everyone who writes wants
to get published, just as an actor wants to go on stage or before a camera in
order to act. What's the point of writing if you don't have readers. Of course,
I was lucky, I was published very young and went on getting published up to
today. All writers must have drive to write first and then get published. The
young writer has to keep > persevering. My best advice to them is never to
give up, even if rejection slips keep coming in. If you really try hard and
put your heart into it, one day you will succeed. That's my motto.
She
has been called 'The First Lady of Fiction' and the 'Grande Dame of modern
women's literature.' The late Princess Diana hailed her as her favorite writer.
All eighteen of her novels have been worldwide bestsellers with sales of more
than 70 million books, published in more than 90 countries and more than 40
languages. For nearly a quarter century Barbara Taylor Bradford has been a
source of inspiration to women readers globally. Each of her best-selling
novels emphasize strong women who have often overcome great obstacles to achieve
remarkable success on a personal and professional level.
Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, is one of the all-time best
selling fiction titles with more than 20 million copies sold, and ten of
her books have been turned into network television mini-series. Later next
year, St. Martin's Press will release Barbara's 19th novel, The Secret
of Emma Harte.
She
has been called 'The First Lady of Fiction' and the 'Grande Dame of modern
women's literature.' The late Princess Diana hailed her as her favorite writer.
All eighteen of her novels have been worldwide bestsellers with sales of more
than 70 million books, published in more than 90 countries and more than 40
languages. For nearly a quarter century Barbara Taylor Bradford has been a
source of inspiration to women readers globally. Each of her best-selling
novels emphasize strong women who have often overcome great obstacles to achieve
remarkable success on a personal and professional level. 
