PVLF 2025

Interview with Hilda David & Francis Jarman, Author of "The Moving Finger: Writers on Writing"

The Moving Finger: Writers on Writing is an anthology of diverse essays on writing craft by established authors, offering insights, inspiration, and practical advice.
on Aug 29, 2024

Hilda David is a novelist, stage director, and teacher. Until retirement, she was a professor of English at the Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce in Pune, and coordinator of the Centre for Liberal Arts, where she taught Advanced Creative Writing, Literature and the Supernatural, and Crime, Law, and Literature. Dr David has been a consultant to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coordinated and organised the Ibsen Festivals in Pune and Delhi, and was chosen by the English Speaking Union to represent India at the Shakespeare Workshop in London in 2008. Her works have been translated into Hindi, Urdu, and Kannada. She is the co- editor, with Francis Jarman, of India Diversity (Om, 2017) and Text Wars (Oxford, 2021).

Francis Jarman is a novelist, playwright, and critic. Until retirement, he taught English, comparative cultural studies, and intercultural communication at Hildesheim University, Germany. He has also taught or lectured at more than twenty other universities, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, including being a scholar in residence at Symbiosis, Pune, and a visiting professor at American College, Madurai. Dr Jarman is the co-editor, with Hilda David, of India Diversity (Om, 2017) and Text Wars (Oxford, 2021). His novels, published by Wildside in the US, include the Lemnos science fiction trilogy (2011–16); the historical fantasy series The Gardens of the West (2015–ongoing), and the campus thriller Cold from Your Breath (2019).

Frontlist: The Moving Finger: Writers on Writing is a diverse collection of essays offering insights into various aspects of the writing craft. Could you elaborate on how this anthology came together and what inspired you to compile these essays?

Hilda & Francis: If you spend any time on social media you soon become aware that there are huge numbers of people in India who dream of being a writer. It’s surely a much worthier ambition than wanting to be a rapper or an influencer! But how do you do it? Whom can you turn to for help on how to write well?

Traditionally, you would comb through literary criticism to find out what makes the great writers great. But are literary critics always the best guide? You’d think that someone who can write would actually do so, rather than just writing criticism of other people’s work. If you were ungenerous, you might say that they were failed writers, or would-be writers who lacked the self-confidence to step out onto the ice. It would be kinder to say that writing and critiquing are different processes, using different parts of the brain. Though it is possible to do both, wearing different hats so to speak: the poet T.S. Eliot and the novelist Martin Amis are examples that spring to mind.

Then there are the “teach yourself” books, full of “tips and tricks,” often very banal stuff. They give you pedantic rules to follow, rules which you’ll frequently find broken by the very writers you most admire.

And there are also writing courses, a spectrum that ranges from, at one end, the offerings of dubious “schools” or “institutes” whose most obvious interest in you is commercial, to, at the other end, elite workshops at retreats, or classes in university departments of creative writing, where prizewinning authors will be your instructors.

We are not focused on parting you from your cash, beyond the modest outlay on a copy of our book! We had the idea of putting together a collection of essays by writers about the processes of writing, organised and occasionally reined in by two editors who were themselves creative writers but also critics (because, left to their own devices, writers can be exhaustingly self-indulgent).

Our contributors are all successful practising writers or professionals who give us the lowdown on writing in the genres in which they have experience and expertise. Which approach they should choose was left up to them. Some of the contributions are systematic, others more subjective, some are humorous, and, yes, there are some “tips and tricks” too. What we wanted most of all, though, was that our contributors should give us insights into their personal motivation and ways of working, and into the pros and cons of the writing life. The aim was to enlighten, occasionally to warn, but always to encourage. To help each of our readers on that path to finding their individual and distinctive voice as a writer.

Frontlist: With such a diverse range of contributors—from novelists to poets, scriptwriters to translators—how did you approach selecting the essays for this anthology? Was there a specific criterion that guided your choices?

Hilda & Francis: It was more of a practical process than following any single criterion. This was our third collaboration as editors, after earlier books for Om Books International (India Diversity, 2017) and Oxford University Press (Text Wars, 2021). That alone gave us a considerable number of contacts in Indian cultural and intellectual life whom we could approach. Then there were those friends or colleagues of ours who were good potential contributors. Finally, we followed up on recommendations from knowledgeable people like our literary agent Suhail Mathur of the Book Bakers, Dr. Premila Paul, the director of the Study Centre for Indian Literature in English and Translation in Madurai, and our editor at Om, Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri.

Since our project was with an Indian publisher, it would target mostly (though not exclusively) Indian readers. For that reason, most of our contributors are Indian authors, though many of them are read outside India too and some have been the recipients of prestigious international awards. We did, however, include a handful of contributions from writers in English from other countries, because if you set out to write in English in India you are locating yourself within an international literary tradition that is unrivalled in size and outstanding in quality, you are joining a huge and lively community of writers, and you are entering a challenging echo chamber of intertextuality.

Frontlist: As editors, what were some of the most surprising or enlightening revelations you encountered while working on this anthology? Did any essays significantly challenge your own perspectives on writing?

Hilda & Francis: Although we’ve both been in the literature business for a long time, writing, teaching and lecturing at home and abroad, we still found something new or interesting in every single one of the contributions included in the book. Whichever stage you are at in the adventure of writing, whether you’ve just set out on the journey or you are already a published writer, we’re confident that you will make such discoveries too!

For example, Jerry Pinto’s essay on translation begins with an allegory comparing the process of translation with the task of crossing a river in a fragile boat made of salt, a boat that is dissolving all around you. As a description of what actually happens in translation, this is brilliantly true, and also obvious—though only after it has been pointed out to you.

Frontlist: Do you see any overlaps or common threads between different genres in the anthology?

Hilda & Francis: Yes and no.

No, because the genres covered in The Moving Finger, including not just the classic “big three” of the novel, poetry, and drama, but also the short story, crime writing, children’s literature, mystery fiction, fantasy, mythology, historical fiction, translation (both literary and technical), and writing for television, all have their own specific themes and issues. We also have individual contributions tackling such topics as how to write about sex, or psychopaths. This makes for a livelier, and, we hope, more stimulating read than a collection of essays just about poetry or just about the novel. You might see yourself as principally a short story writer, or a poet, but reading about other genres will lure you out of your comfort zone.

And yes, because certain ideas tend to resurface across the different genres. Prepare well. Do plenty of reading, and be ready to learn from the masters. Trust your instincts. Listen to your inner voice. Be honest with yourself. When it doesn’t work, try again. In effect, be ready to embrace both the Apollonian (calmness and self-knowledge) and the Dionysian (passion, joy, and danger). To build E. M. Forster’s rainbow bridge between the head and the heart.

Frontlist: As editors and established writers yourselves, could you share some personal insights into your own creative processes? What writing rituals or practices fuel your work?

Francis: I doubt that I’m a good model for anyone to follow, but here goes.

Unlike many writers, who are “morning larks” who get up early and, fueled by coffee, put in hours of work to complete their daily stint of x number of words, I’m a “night owl.” I often work late at night, or at any time during the day except the early morning. And I drink tea, not coffee.

I like to work under pressure, as for instance when I’ve been commissioned to write something. If I haven’t been given a deadline, I set one for myself. That is probably because I’m basically a lazy person, and I need this kind of imposed structure.

I’m a peripatetic, meaning that I think best when I’m on my feet. I go for a walk, work the matter out in my head, and either write it down afterwards or let it stew for a few days. As I recount in The Moving Finger, I got the ideas for two of my plays, including their plots and main characters, on two separate occasions several years apart, while walking along the same cold, windy beach in Greece.

I never suffer from writer’s block, except when I’m simply not in the mood to write. If I’m stuck, and not sure how the plot should continue, I let my characters lead me.

My strengths as a writer? I’m good at dialogue (I started out as a playwright before I turned to the novel). I have a lively imagination, and I know how to construct a plot.

And my weaknesses? I’m aware that I’m not good at the tangible, at physical details, which is a terrible failing in a novelist. I try to counter this by adding in such details when I edit my first draft. I’m sure I have other failings, too, which I’m not aware of yet. Please let me know!

Hilda: My strength as a writer is the way my imagination works, and the immediate flow of creativity. I am constantly stepping out of the box. I am focused, and every day I spend some time writing. I do face writer’s block at times but I overcome it fast. I definitely do research on what I am working on and I love reading. My curiosity enables me to learn things from other people (I’m interested to know what is happening on the other table).

I am not a traditional writer with themes and plots. My weakness is wanting perfection in my work.

Overall I enjoy whatever I am writing.

Frontlist: For educators and students of creative writing, what role do you see The Moving Finger playing in shaping their understanding of literary craft and practice?

Hilda & Francis: We hope that young authors will benefit from the book. They should do, because it contains sensible advice from writers who are masters of their respective trades. We want to encourage them, but in the end it’ll be up to them.

You don’t play at being a writer. It’s not an existential gig, where you sit in a fashionable café, wearing black clothes and sunglasses, smoking too much, and spouting pretentious nonsense about culture and philosophy. “Hey, look at me, I’m a writer!” And you wave your self-published opus about as if to prove it. No, you become a writer, it’s a learning experience, and hard work is a very big part of it. You need to put in the hours at the coal-face. It’ll be worth it: what you achieve will give you deep satisfaction. Many of our contributors, including Shashi Deshpande and Anil Menon, stress how much pleasure can be gained from writing. And they’re right, of course.

As for the educators, we hope that teachers of creative writing will also find the book useful. It offers a huge number of topics for deeper discussion, points that the teacher can elaborate on, and claims or examples which can be used to formulate writing exercises.