Chris Power on starting his writing career, creative processes and getting published
Chris Power is a writer, critic and broadcaster. He has published his debut short story collection, Mothers, in 2019, followed by his first novel, A Lonely Man, in early 2021. Joined by an enthusiastic group of students and staff at Falmouth Campus’ Lighthouse for an early Monday morning start, Chris Power chatted with Clare Howdle about generating ideas, finding inspiration, and reassured us that he too finds the writing process hard.
Chris began by giving us an insight into the roots of his writing career. He first became interested in writing at age eight, when he discovered The Lord of the Rings which got his young mind ticking. From there, he infrequently experimented with poetry, but it wasn’t until he was in his thirties that he got into a regular writing routine. When questioned as to why he hadn’t tried writing seriously up until that point, he revealed that he never thought that his lived experience was interesting enough to write about, the realisation that this was not the case came later.
His story took an unexpected turn when he recalled that he was first inclined to write a fully-fledged short story was when his friends offered to pay him to do it in three months. They followed this up by promising that if he did not take up the offer, they would give the money to the Conservatives instead. He could see no escape, so began writing, and at the end of the three months had produced a short story he felt finally voiced the particular ideas he wanted to get across.
During the time of writing this short story he developed a routine that allowed him to hit his deadline. Every morning, no matter how tired or hungover, he spent a few hours in a coffee shop getting some words down. He reassured us that it didn’t matter if they were the best words he had ever written or the worst, he just had to get words on paper. The process is all about ‘making a promise to yourself’.
Whilst writing this short story, he was also running a reviewing series for The Guardian, ‘A brief survey of the short story’, looking at a different short story writer each week. As well as providing him with an income, he told us, it also taught him about how others write, and how he was able to apply this to his own work. Eventually he was able to compile a collection of ten short stories onto a collection called Mothers.
Chris then moved onto the task of getting a short story published. The simple fact being that ‘it’s not easy’. This is because publishers are likely to want to take one short story collection per season. Chris advised, however, that if a writer did have an interest in publishing a collection of short stories, ‘they should ensure that it is almost complete.’
When securing the publishing deal on his collection, Mothers, he agreed to a two-book deal. Initially, Chris said, smiling, they told me I would have a year to write the second book. In the excitement, he agreed to this, but informed us that his agent extended it immediately without even consulting him.
This second novel came to be The Lonely Man, a story in which two British men, Robert, a struggling novelist and the secretive Patrick meet in Berlin. Patrick reveals that he has been ghost-writing the autobiography of a Russian oligarch, who is now dead. Patrick believes it is not long until he is killed too.
After giving a brief introduction to the novel, Chris revealed that the idea for the story was inspired by a Buzzfeed article investigating a series of killings happening in Berlin at the time. He was able to access plenty of newly emerging sources while he was writing, so many that he ended up putting too much research in his first draft. He made sure to highlight the importance of getting the right balance of exposition. Chris then demonstrated this natural incorporation of exposition in The Lonely Man, when he read a short section to the hushed room.
Clare then opened the discussion up to the audience. Someone asked if Chris ever considered whether he was the right person to tell this story, as he had not lived in Berlin during the Russian conflict in 2014. After some contemplation, he spoke about how he believed it was a case-by-case situation, and there are certainly some stories he feels he would have no right to tell.
Moving on from this discussion, Clare pointed out the parallels between Chris’ own life and his protagonist Robert. Both are writers struggling to find inspiration, both having published short stories, both doing research on Putin’s Russia. With a chuckle, Chris revealed that he was also thinking about moving to berlin at one point with his wife, and that he sometimes considers The Lonely Man being an exploration of what might have happened if that had gone ahead.
Finally, sending a wave of relief through the audience of fellow writers, Chris informed us that, despite having his own printed and published book in his hands, he does not find the writing process easy. It got to the point where he was getting up at 3.30 am to write his book without distraction, and when he tried to switch to writing at night, he found it effective for editing only. He also revealed that after every period of editing, he finds he forgets how to write. Hearing that from a published author- that writing is hard work- was truly reassuring.
Despite the early start, listening to Chris Power talk about his own experience as a published author was an inspiring way to start the week.
Edited by FalWriting