The Thought Process

‘I have never tried to second guess what an audience would want.  I have always written what I wanted to write.’  Says William Boyd, author of  Bath Festival’s Big Read, Brazzaville Beach.  The idea of promoting a specific novel follows the BBC initiative a few years ago to discover the nation’s favourite book.  It persuaded many more people to start reading for pleasure and the Big Read experience grew.    I met Boyd in January when he visited Bath to launch the 'Festival Big Read'.  Since then hundreds of readers across BANES have been encouraged to discover this modern classic.

Brazzaville Beach  is an appropriate choice for the Festival’s theme of ‘Home and Abroad’.  Set on the coast of an unnamed West African country and narrated by a British woman, Hope Clearwater, the story looks back at the traumas of her life.  It weaves between her work in the scientific research of chimpanzees and her attempts to understand her previous existence and failed marriage.   The story is hard to pigeonhole

‘All of my novels are quite different from each other.’ Boyd says. ‘But whatever else they are, they always have a very strong story.’

When planning a book, Boyd goes into great detail before starting to write.  Although he may take a year to write a book, he will probably have spent twice that time in preparation.  Once he starts to write, everything else stops. 

‘You have to write every day you can when you are writing a novel - you have to be ruthless about it.’ He explains.  ‘Even if I don’t want to do it, because I’ve spent all this time previously with elaborate diagrams and lists, I don’t have the excuse of not knowing what happens next.’  He does acknowledge that he may not use what he first writes and that the process of fiction writing is one of constant revision. 

Boyd knew early on in his life that he wanted to be an artist of sorts.  He doesn’t think he would have been able to hold down a proper job.  Initially he wanted to be a painter but by the end of his teens knew he would be a better writer.  As an undergraduate in Glasgow, he wrote a lot of student journalism and also completed his first novel.  But it was when he started a PhD in Oxford, that he seriously attempted to get published. 

‘It took me several years.’ He recalls.  ‘I finally cracked it and sold a short story collection and a novel simultaneously.’ That was in 1979, aged 27.

Nowadays with his career firmly established, his priorities have changed. 

‘All of my books are still in print.’ He tells me.  ‘And in a way that becomes a great challenge – can you keep it there?’  Having a book chosen for the Bath Festival Big Read is significant.  

‘This is a book that was first published 16 years ago.’ He says.  ‘It’s not about getting your picture in the paper, it’s about getting a whole new generation of readers.’  Another reason why Boyd is a good choice of author for the Festival theme is that his readers are not just UK based.  France is his second largest market and his books are popular elsewhere in Europe, the English speaking world and South America.  He is also a great fan of  foreign writers. 

‘I think it is to do with a kind of world view or sense of the absurd rather than a particular writing style.’  He feels there is a shared perspective.  ‘With Vladimir Nabakov, I don’t write like him, but I like his sense of humour and I very much admire the attitude of mind in Chekov’s  work.’  He respects many American authors too, notably Saul Bellow and John Updike.

Apart from novels, Boyd writes non-fiction, radio drama, short stories and screenplays.  He has written the screenplay for Brazzaville Beach but recognises that cinematically, the chimpanzee scenes could present difficulties. 

‘It’s easier to do now than when the book was first published because computer generation has become so good.  But,’ he adds, ‘it would be very expensive.’

Brazzaville Beach is an example of how Boyd manages to combine respect as a literary writer as well as being commercially successful. 

‘I think all artists want to be taken seriously and have a big audience’  he says ‘Even if you’re a poet and have sold 10 copies of your book, you’d like to sell 20 – you create your art for public consumption so that the more people who read it the better.  I would never want fewer readers.  Any writer who says that is a liar.’

William Boyd is in the enviable position of being one of Britain’s greatest living novelists by writing what he wants and is understandably pleased with his achievement. 

© Judith Cameron