On The Eighth Day of Christmas

The Writing Advice Emma Forrest Gave to Me…

Happy new year!!

I hope you had a good one no matter where you were or what you were doing. I danced and danced and danced last year and so these old bones — and this head — are feeling a little weary this morning, so let’s keep it short and sweet for today’s Twelve Days Of Christmas Writing Advice. And today, is day eight.

Of course, on January 1st, it has to be all about new year’s resolutions. I’m going to try and keep mine simple this year — I’ve decided to look after my back. It sounds a bit dull, but any writer knows this is the place where we suffer the most. The first six months of 2021 were spent with terrible back pain for me, so much money went to physios, I invested in a proper office chair which the cat quickly commandeered. The key to a healthy back at this age — at any age — is exercise. But as today’s author explains, a healthy exercise regime isn’t just about physical health and she has a very creative suggestion for getting your daily dose of fitness.

By 30, Emma Forrest had written three novels and had swapped her Sunday Times column to pursue a career as a Hollywood screenwriter. Her novel Royals was a Radio Two Book Club pick. Her memoir Your Voice In My Head published in 2011 was critically acclaimed. Another memoir Busy Being Free will be published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson this year, and is described as an ‘unputdownable memoir about love and heartbreak, sex and celibacy, growing up and starting again.’ I cannot wait to read it. So, let’s hear from Emma herself…

Emma Forrest

“Exercise has been a vital part of my mental health strategy for decades now, and the great thing is: the more protected your mental health, the wilder your writing can be!

“I do like doing light weights/pilates and yoga at home and the interesting thing I've found through the pandemic is exercise by zoom in cities all over the world. I work out a lot via a studio in New Orleans, and it seems to really inspire my writing to see through their windows, into their beautiful city, as they're waking up and it's our afternoon. That kink in time and space has triggered a lot of strange and interesting ideas post work out. 

“So that's my counter-intuitive writing advice in the covid era: finding a zoom work out on the other side of the world from where you live and see what kind of writing emerges after you've sweated across time and space!”

• Emma’s memoir Busy Being Free is published this summer from Weidenfeld and Nicolson. She also has a podcast series called Benign Narcissist which you can find out more about here.