'Where I'm going; not how to get there'

 

“My advice would be not to write until after 35. You need some experience, and for life to knock you about a bit. Growing up is so hard you probably won't have much emotion to spare anyway.” – Joanna Trollop

 

Born in Gloucestershire, England on this date in 1943, Trollope (who often has written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey) started her writing career at age 37 and with a bang.  Her first novel Parson Harding's Daughter was named the 1980 Romantic Novel of the Year by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Since then she’s authored three dozen books, several of which have been adapted for television, especially on the award-winning PBS Series “Masterpiece Theater.”  Her “upmarket” family dramas and romances tend to transcend these two genres, and she’s noted for writing with “striking realism,” especially in terms of human psychology and relationships.   Her most recent book is the bestseller Mum and Dad.

“I plot the first 5 or 6 chapters quite minutely, and also the end.  So, I know where I am going but not how I'm going to get there,” she said.  “That gives (my) characters the chance to develop organically, just as happens in real life as you get to know a person.”