Today, we’re speaking with Inkubator Books’ author OCS Francis, the author of All Your Lies.
IB: What does a typical day of writing look like for you?
OCS Francis: I wish I had the luxury of a day of writing. With a busy job and a young family, it’s really a matter of squeezing it in round the edges. On a weekday, I try to set aside at least two good hours each evening for writing – and then I might have a couple of half-days over the weekend if I’m lucky. Then I’ll sometimes take a few days leave just to write in a solid block, often when I’m revising a draft. Until then, having a target for a daily word count (and being ruthless about it!) really helps. I don’t really believe in writer’s block: there are good days and bad days, but it’s rare that just the process of writing something doesn’t unlock a new idea or way forward.
IB: What does your writing space look like?
OCS: I work a lot of the time at a big old roll-top desk. I’m not really one for antique furniture – but this desk belonged to my grandfather, who died before I was born. He was born at the very end of the 19th Century and fought in the First World War, so it feels like a place that has lot of connections and history. But it’s in a room full of distractions too, so sometimes I prefer to be on my laptop somewhere else. It’s often as much about finding a mental rather than a physical space: that zone where the world falls away and the fiction starts to envelop you.
IB: How do you approach a new book? Do you start writing or do you outline?
OCS: It’s really changed over time and different books. For Inkubator, agreeing to an outline is a key step, but for other books I’ve explored things more as I’ve gone along. Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses. I’ve found that writing to a strict outline can make the writing process itself less fun as there’s less of a sense of discovery as I go. But on the plus side, writing to an outline can be much quicker as you always have a clear sense of where to go next.
Whether or not I outline in detail, I always start each book by writing a few chapters with some of my key characters. It helps them to feel real and rounded, and helps me to get in touch with their motivations. Because even when you outline, that rule that character should lead plot and not the other way around still holds.
IB: What comes first for you – plot or characters?
OCS: As I say, character has to be at the centre. But in terms of the germination of an idea, it varies. Sometimes it’s a plot idea, or a location, or a strong visual image. A book only really starts to emerge when a few of these elements collide. With All Your Lies, Benedict Raine sort of appeared to me almost fully formed, but there was also one very visual scene during the climax of the book which came to me very early on, and I knew that I would be building to that point.
IB: Do you base your characters off people you know or are they all the product of your imagination?
OCS: Imagination is like a sort of big blender that hoovers things up and spits them out in new forms, so even if a character has an element of someone real, they become separate from that person the minute they hit the page. Sometimes a character can grow from a mood, or a photo of a stranger, or a line in a newspaper article. It’s one of those weird author things that in theory we are in complete control of what our characters do and say, but at the same time they often still manage to surprise us.
IB: How do you come up with names for your characters?
OCS: Sometimes it’s super-easy, they just pop into my head. Again, Benedict Raine was one of those – though I’ve no idea where it’s conjured from. Sometimes it takes ages to get right – a name that feels and sounds right for the person and the ensemble.
IB: Which do you enjoy writing more: dialogue or internal thoughts?
OCS: It’s about the mix. With both of these, the aim is always to cut them down. The really satisfying feeling is when you manage to convey the characters’ thoughts and feelings through action and reaction. That adage of show don’t tell. Physical action is also a lot of fun to write – big set pieces where the characters aren’t talking or thinking out loud.
IB: What’s the most difficult part of your writing process?
OCS: I actually find putting a plot together really painful at times. Partly because I really want it to be watertight. I’m the first to complain about continuity or unconvincing behaviours and motivations in other books, so I don’t want to lay myself open to that. (Whether I succeed or not… well, I’d have to leave that to my readers to decide!)
IB: Have you ever traveled to research for a book?
OCS: Not specifically, but whenever I’m somewhere new I’m looking around for things that might feed into an idea or project I’m working on. Because of Covid and having a young family I’ve travelled a lot less recently, but I have this trove of photos and memories of places that I can now use in future books, which will also be a chance to revisit these places in my head.
IB: What are you doing when you aren’t writing? How do you relax?
OCS: Relaxing is something I need to get better at – although I am a little too good at procrastination and getting distracted. Family of course – my son teaches me a lot about how to be happy in the moment. I like to play the piano, and take photographs. I used to travel a lot, but less so these days. Few things beat sitting in a nearly empty cinema on a weekday afternoon as the lights go down.
IB: What genres do you like to read? Who are some of your favorite authors?
OCS: I read pretty eclectically across genres, and I try to have at least one fiction and one non-fiction book on the go at once. I’m really bad at making lists of favourites of anything, but a list of authors whose books have made a significant impression on me would include at least Raymond Chandler, Patricia Highsmith, Graham Greene, Daphne Du Maurier, Jonathan Coe, Kate Atkinson, JG Ballard, Franz Kafka, David Mitchell, George Orwell, HG Wells, Gillian Flynn, Evie Wyld. And many more.
IB: Have you ever abandoned a book you were writing? How did you know it was the right thing to do?
OCS: Like most authors, I have plenty of unpublished work as well as things in development. So I don’t consider anything ‘abandoned’ – everything is just in progress!
IB: How do you approach your genre in a unique way?
OCS: I think that’s a better question for my readers. I don’t think it’s unique, but I do hope my books have a little going on beneath the surface. I hope my books stay with people a while after they’ve read the final page.
IB: Who are your first readers when you write a new book?
OCS: I have a few trusted readers, who are generally at a bit of a professional distance. You need to have readers who will be unflinchingly honest with you.
IB: Do you have any tips for first-time authors?
OCS: Be honest with yourself about whether this is something you really want to commit years to. Find people who will be honest with you about your writing. Criticism and rejection is part of the territory. In the grand scheme of things, there are more important things. Get on with it.
IB: Who inspires you?
OCS: People doing kind, clever, brave and useful things. Sometimes the smallest, simplest acts can be the most inspiring. I think we only need to watch the news right now to see this.
IB: If you could eliminate one thing from your daily life, what would it be?
OCS: I’d love more hours in the day. Who wouldn’t? But I’m lucky that my life is so full of things.
IB: What’s one thing you wish your readers knew about you?
OCS: I’m quite happy for people to guess.
Thanks to OCS Francis for sitting down with us today.
You can find OCS at the following places:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/O-C-S-Francis/e/B09FTKP6R9/
Website: http://www.ocsfrancis.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fromOliver
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromoliver/
