Interview with Laura Hird

Laura Hird's second collection of stories Hope sees more of the deep diving into the murk of the human psyche for which she has become known. Her previous books are the story collection Nail and the novel Born Free which was shortlisted for the Whitbread first novel prize and nominated for the Orange Prize. The new book contains the near-novella of the title story and ten others. One of my first memories of Laura is of seeing her read to a packed room somewhere in Smith's bookshop in Edinburgh. One of the main characters in the story was a cat zipped inside a holdall which you knew wasn't going to come to a happy ending. Hird's stories often make you squirm – the downfall of her protagonists is more often a case of when than if – but they are fast-paced, earthy and brimming with uneasy laughs.

You and I were both involved in an Edinburgh writing scene in the early 90s, where young writers of all sorts intermingled. Do you still socialise or discuss the writing process with other writers?

Yes, I'm still in touch with several of the writers I met around that time, many of whom I originally met at Rebel Inc magazine events, and also with other writers who I've met and worked with over the intervening years. It is always good to have people to share your writer's block with! In October I was over in County Mayo for 7 days with Kevin Williamson, Gordon Legge and Paul Reekie for the Rebel Yell Festival which was a series of readings and workshops to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the publication of 'Children of Albion Rovers' which was organised by Sean Walsh at Ballina Arts Centre. It's also good to watch writers who I first saw published in Rebel Inc and in other magazines and anthologies in the early 90s develop as the years pass.

If asked to pinpoint your greatest skill as a writer, I'd say it is pace. Your stories pick up the reader's attention very quickly and you keep them there. Do you write longer stories and pare them down, or is pace something you pay great attention to in a first draft?

That's nice of you to say but not really something I'm conscious of myself. I do tend to edit my stories a lot though so perhaps they pick up pace as I chop them to pieces. Because editing involves a lot of re-reading I have to keep my own attention up so this could be something to do with it also. I do tend to over-write to begin with. The original first draft of my novel, 'Born Free' is twice the length of the finished book.

There's no escaping the fact that much of your writing is uncomfortable, that 'bad things happen' and life is complicated for your characters. How would you answer those who suggest your work is too dark?

It sound like a cop-out but that's just how they always seem to turn out. I don't consciously sit down to write dark stories or create dark characters but they do seem to recur. I've always been interested in the darker side of human nature, and the grey areas of emotion and sexuality both in my own writing and other people's. For those who find my writing too dark, I'd maybe suggest they read something else.

Modern 'urban' fiction in Scotland inevitably links back to James Kelman. Is he a strong influence on your work?

I loved early Kelman – The Busconductor Hines, Greyhounds for Breakfast etc. I first got interested in contemporary Scottish writing through the anthology 'Lean Tales' which featured stories by Kelman, Alasdair Gray and Agnes Owens. I've devoured everything that Gray has written since and would say he is my favourite living Scottish writer without a doubt.

There are now around 600 creative writing degree courses in the UK, with the emphasis on literary fiction and poetry. Do you see that as a positive thing? Do you do any teaching yourself?

I didn't realise there were that many. Middlesex Polytechnic, where I studied in the late 1980's was one of the first places to have a module in creative writing as far as I know. It only played a very small part in the course but it was a good introduction in as far as submitting work to magazines was concerned. I suppose these courses are merely servicing a market for people who want to write with some sort of structure and support behind them. I don't actually think you can be taught to write though. I think if someone wants to write they will. They won't be able to stop themselves. I regularly run workshops and co-tutor creative writing courses for the Arvon Foundation which I enjoy very much. It's a real joy to get to know people through their writing and have a unique access into the motivations and experiences that colour that writing. They also give people a chance to get feedback from the other students, read their work aloud, get advice about editing and submitting stories and poetry etc.

Can you tell us a bit about Dear Laura, a book which is due early next year?

The book features letters my mum wrote to me during the time I was a student in London in the late 1980's and early 90's. At the time my friends and I would take turns and read the letters out loud to help combat our home-sickness and invariable end up in tears or uncontrollable laughter. After mum died in 1999, I took great comfort from the letters and again used to read bits from them to friends. Everyone I've shared them with has always said that it was a great shame mum hadn't turned her considerable writing talents to fiction. The book includes many of the letters, interspersed with my own feelings about our lives at that time, my parents' early lives and my own childhood, my relationship with my mother and father, regrets, memories. It was an emotional book to work on, but I could not resist the opportunity to finally get a book of my mum's writing out there. It's due to be published in March 2007.

Your website is a cave of wonder and must be a labour of love. Can you describe it for those who haven't been there before?

The site started out as a place I could feature the work of unpublished writers whose work I liked, as I was frustrated that some great new writing wasn't getting a chance to be read. Also, in its original guise I featured interviews with people from my local pub, recipes, a gallery and a few reviews I'd written myself. Over the last 4 or so years its developed into a place where I continue to publish new writers alongside award-winning and established international writers – ie Ali Smith, A. Igoni Barrett, Dan Fante, Rodge Glass etc. The site currently features stories and poetry from over 300 writers. I also have a loyal band of reviewers and interviewers who review books, films, music, gigs, events, lit mags and an extensive list of lit mags. I've also recently introduced The Devil Has All the Best Tunes section where people write about songs that have special meaning to them. I'm always looking for new ways to develop the site and for new people to contribute. Everything featured in the site since its inception if still viewable in the archive.

What are you working on now? Any plans for a second novel? Do you ever write in genres other than fiction?

I'm working on a couple of adaptations of stories from my first collection, 'Nail' with film-makers in Belgium and Germany and trying to write a treatment for the producers of 'The Full Monty.' I've just been involved in a song-writing project for Chemikal Records where I wrote lyrics for a song which was adapted by King Creosote and will be featured on a CD with other songs produced by Scottish writers and musicians working together. I'm also working on a sequel to my novel, 'Born Free' which was commissioned by Canongate.