Wattpad brings you a guest post originally published in Teen Ink magazine:
Author Jenny Downham
By banana, Johnston, IA
Jenny Downham is a British novelist who retired from acting and began writing young adult fiction when her son was born. Her first book, Before I Die, is about a girl with leukemia and her list of things to accomplish before she dies. Her latest novel, You Against Me, tackles the subject of sexual assault.
Hannah: Where do you get your inspiration?
Jenny Downham: I actually know very little when I start a new project. I may have a few ideas, but they’re usually abstract, as if I know the tone of the piece, but little else. I always use free writing techniques to gather material. This is a bit like improvising in theater – throwing words down and not planning anything in advance. Most of it goes in the bin, but the strongest themes and voices keep returning. After months of this, I begin to know more.
I also have a file of newspaper cuttings and scribbled notes. I take a notebook with me everywhere to jot things down, because however much I think I’ll remember an idea I had on the bus, I never do!
Your books often deal with controversial issues? Why? What difficulties come along with writing about these topics?
I don’t really think in terms of issues when I begin a project, I’m more interested in characters and the stories they have to tell. I start with them and see where they lead me.
I do seem to have a tendency to be drawn to the extraordinary in the everyday and vice versa. In Before I Die, the protagonist is dying, but the novel is actually an examination of what it means to be alive. In You Against Me, there is an allegation of sexual assault, but at the book’s heart is a love story.
