![]() ![]() To think not just about conveying the facts, but about the characters, scenes and specific details that will bring it alive to the reader. What’s the best piece of writing advice anyone ever gave you? I often think of my first stage of writing as “whacking it all down on the page,” throwing down a shapeless lump and then crafting it into something with a coherent narrative that people want to keep reading. I’m thinking of someone whacking a huge, shapeless lump of clay onto a pottery wheel and slowly sculpting it into a vase, a pot, a bowl, or something with a recognizable and attractive shape. Given what I said about the importance of just starting to write, I’m going to say a potter. If you had to use a metaphor to describe yourself as a writer, what would it be and why? I’ve been a freelance journalist for over a decade now, and while it’s certainly not the most lucrative or secure career path, I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do something I find so fulfilling. Before I could read or write, I used to staple pieces of paper together, fill them with squiggles, and tell my parents that I’d written a book. What has been the biggest surprise of your writing life?Īctually being able to make a living from writing. But I find that it’s only in the process of actually getting words down on a page that I can start to figure out the logical puzzle of how precisely to sequence different pieces of information in the most compelling way. That’s not to say that it’s not important to digest your material and think about what to say before you write – of course, that’s a crucial part of the process, too, and I usually write some kind of plan before embarking on a draft. Once you have something down on paper, even if it’s terrible (and some of my very rough drafts – seen only by myself – are truly terrible) then you have something to work from, to sculpt and to craft. What is the most important lesson you’ve learned as a writer? Her first book, Karachi Vice, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. She was a finalist for freelancer of the year at the 2023 Society of Editors Awards. Her reporting won a One World Media award in 2023, and a Foreign Press Association award in 2021. She is a regular contributor to the Guardian Long Read, among other publications. Samira Shackle is a freelance journalist, author and editor based in London, specializing in long-form reported features. INTERVIEW | Getting the Words Down: Four Questions with Samira Shackle “If a reader chooses fiction, that reader is choosing story over fact, character over information, plot over events.” ![]() Writing to Savor | “How an arts reporter unraveled a controversial and opaque family art dynasty” by Rachel Corbett, Nieman Storyboard Interview | Four Questions with Samira Shackle Writers Speak | Kim van Alkemade on what a fiction reader chooses
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