Afternoon Tea with Natasha Lester
I do try to get together with other creative people regularly
I’m often asked if there is a place and time that is of particular appeal to me. My answer is always Paris between the wars. After the tragedy of the Great War, the city burst to life and became a hub of creativity in art, fashion, literature, dance and music. What most attracts me to that era is the idea that a writer could go to the local café in the evening and meet with some of the greatest and most creative minds to discuss their projects and to hear about what the others were working on. I have always found that kind of engagement with other writers stimulating. Although I live in modern day Sydney, Australia, I do try to get together with other creative people regularly.
I was thrilled when I was able to catch up with fellow historical fiction writer, Natasha Lester
However, the challenge in Australia is that we often live far apart from each other, even when we are in the same city. So, when we do get together, rather than an impromptu meeting at a local café, it is usually something that must be planned in advance with time allowed for a fair amount of commuting. While social media does allow us to stay in touch and catch glimpses of each other’s projects, it’s always more exciting when we get together in person.
So, I was thrilled when I was able to catch up with fellow historical fiction writer, Natasha Lester, who normally resides in Perth, at the Palace Tea Room in The Queen Victoria Building in Sydney. We were both in the middle of our publicity tours (Natasha for The Three Lives of Alix St Pierre and me for The French Agent).
When Natasha and I met up, the first thing we said to each other was that we felt like we already knew each other!
Both of us are fans of each other’s work, so when we got talking about Paris, historical fiction, vintage fashion and our writing processes, it felt like we were kindred spirits.
Over tea and scones, I was intrigued to learn that Natasha likes to write an entire first draft without stopping, even if the story feels very loose at first, and then go back and redraft the story: ‘It’s my way of getting all my ideas out on paper’. I told Natasha that since I took a masterclass in screenwriting in 2021, I was now doing quite detailed planning before I started the actual writing process. (I wrote about this experience in my blog: Why I Went From 'Pantsing' To Plotting My Novels.
Natasha and I give a great deal of thought to costuming our characters
We agreed that both our approaches involved planning, just by different methods. It was interesting to learn from Natasha that despite having written a number of novels, she still experiences a twinge of self-doubt before commencing a new book. ‘But I’ve learned to trust that self-doubt is just part of the process’. I agreed with her wholeheartedly. I have found that writing a novel – no matter how much planning I do beforehand – is a lot like taking an overseas trip. You can have an idea of what you intend to do and book your travel and accommodation beforehand, but you can’t see every little detail in advance and nor would you want to. The discoveries you make along the way are often what makes the trip magical.
Ideas don’t arrive in one neat package
As many of our readers know, Natasha and I give a great deal of thought to costuming our characters. This isn’t just an interest in fashion, but also because clothes say a lot about our characters. It’s also good to have an idea about clothing historically - for instance that zippers weren’t widely used in clothing until the late 1930s. In The Mystery Woman, my character Rebecca Wood rides a bicycle and then runs for her life in one scene. I had to take into consideration how hampered she would have been by her 1950s underwear!
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work”
Natasha and I both agreed that the creative process is sometimes very messy. Ideas don’t arrive in one neat package. Therefore, both of us try to be as orderly as we can in the rest of our lives: Everything from keeping ourselves and our writing areas presentable; to getting some exercise in before the writing day commences to avoid afternoon fogginess or bad posture (both of us do yoga regularly).
Time went by very quickly
We both try to live by Gustave Flaubert’s famous quote: Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.
Time went by very quickly as we shared our love of history and how important it is to understand it so that humankind doesn’t repeat the same mistakes. In understanding where we have been, we can understand much better where we should be heading to create a better future for us all.
It was a delight to meet Natasha in person, and I look forward to catching up again with her in the future!
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