Fighting Prose Interview with Grace Lambert!

Welcome to my in-depth writers series Fighting Prose. Where I talk to authors in the industry on what their process is like and what it takes for them to keep on creating, through all the odds.

Grace Lambert

is my interview this week!

How long have you been writing?

I remember writing from quite a young age, my early stories tended to involve a lot of animals, including lions and unicorns.

What's your favorite genre to read? Write?

I love reading fantasy novels especially ones that have a romance element (I’m looking at you ACOTAR) so I think everyone was surprised when I produced a Thriller novel for my debut, but I’m really enjoying writing in the Thriller/Crime genre.

How do you get in the mood to write?

It doesn’t work every time but I set time aside, make a cup of tea and light a candle. It’s been slow progress but now these combined together make my brain think it’s time to write.

How do your characters come together?

I’m not exactly sure but I think like other writers they’re influenced by a mixture of people we know, characters in books or on screen, and our imaginations morph them into the characters that then live within our stories.

Who do you admire in the writing world?

I really admire E.L.James because she’s helped with the stigma against writers that create fanfiction.

If you're not busy writing, what are you busy doing?

When I’m not writing I’m normally at my full-time job which I really enjoy. If I’m not working or writing I’m normally reading or watching a cheesy Romcom.

Have you always been creative?

I’ve always had a big imagination for as long as I can remember. Writing is main creative outlet but I also enjoy playing the piano and I’m okay at drawing (I can copy draw but not freestyle)

Have you ever had writer’s block? If so, how did you get out of it?

I’m a great believer of if I have writers block that there’s no point trying to force myself to write. I wait until I’m feeling creative and then dive back in. I try to remember that writing isn’t something that’s supposed to be a 9 - 5 task.

When you sit down to write, is it easy or hard? If it's hard, what makes you keep showing up?

I enjoy creating the first draft but I sometimes find it hard to move the story from my head onto the page. On those days I try to remember that my writing isn’t perfect and it’s okay to find it hard sometimes but no one else can write the story I’ve created.

For a writer starting out what advice would you give them?

Write what you want to write not what you think others want to read.

What is your dream writing location?

A cozy, log cabin with a crackling fire and rain drumming against the window.

If you could bring one of your characters to life who would it be? Why?

Probably Adrian because he is pretty swoon worthy and everyone seems to have a crush on him.

What do you think makes a good story?

Hmm I’m going to be careful with this question because I see a lot of ‘do this, read this, do that to create the best story’ and in my opinion there is no set way to create a good story because if we all followed the same method our books would be pretty similar.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

It varied but one of the earliest careers I wanted to be was an archeologist but my Mum said I was very adamant that I only wanted to dig up pottery not bones.