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Eve Mayes: Jacqueline, thank you for agreeing to this interview.
Jacqueline, in your introduction to 'Double act' you say that your house looks exactly like a bookshop, and that you have
'fifteen thousand books crammed all over the place'.
Why is reading so important to you as a writer?
Jacqueline Wilson: Reading's always been the most important thing in my life and I think I wanted to be a writer simply because I read so many books
and even before I could read I liked looking at the pictures in books and making up my own stories, but I do have the most terrible book buying habit.
I could not possibly get through my 15,000 books unless I lived to 500. I still buy a book I would say every week. I can't seem to stop.
Eve: Where else do you get your ideas from?
Jacqueline: I don't get my ideas from reading. Sometimes if I'm reading a book where the style is really beautiful and perfect, I get a sort of
little shiver down my spine and that helps me think yes, I want to do some writing now.
But I don't ever get any kind of inspiration from anybody else's books.
I suppose it's a bit like my dreams in that sometimes my dreams reflect something that I've seen or someone that I have met
but sometimes something comes just straight out of the blue and that is exactly the way it is with you know, inspiration for my stories.
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Eve Mayes: How do you start the writing process? Do you start with the plot or the characters?
Jacqueline Wilson: I always start with the characters and I make them up in my head.
As a little girl I used to have many imaginary friends and really this is just the big girl version and
I play with the characters until I really feel I know them well.
And then I have some vague idea something has gone wrong in their lives
or they badly need to do this or to do that and that's the way the plot forms itself.
Eve: In 'Double act' Nick Sharatt and Sue Heap did the illustrations and the illustrations are very important to the way
that we think about the characters.
Did you write the novel first, and then get the illustrators to do the illustrations?
Did you work closely with them as you were writing?
I wrote the novel first but in the manuscript and I've still got it at home I did have a very distinct way I wanted the twins to look
and so I did draw my own not very good drawing of Ruby and Garnet on the very first page and Nick Sharatt who does most of my illustrations
is used to me being a bit bossy occasionally and sort of went with that and he and Sue Heap really rather enjoyed both of them illustrating
the different characters and I think it's fun for children when you actually flick through the book working out did Nick do this did Sue do this.
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Eve Mayes: Jacqueline, why did you choose identical twins as your main characters in 'Double act'?
Jacqueline Wilson: I think twins have always fascinated me. As a little girl. I'm an only child. I longed for a sister, particularly a twin sister.
I thought it would be wonderful to have somebody to play with all the time to share different games to talk about each other's books.
When I got older, I started to think about it more deeply and realise that it could have a downside in that if you had a very bossy dominate twin
forever telling you what to do, rather as Ruby does to poor old Garnet, you know it could have a bad side to it.
But I've known several sets of twins and it is bizarre seeing that complete double image and it must be so odd having a sister who looks back at you
and it's almost as if you're looking in a mirror.
Eve: What do you do in your writing to make the reader sympathise with Ruby and Garnet?
Jacqueline: I generally write in the first person which was a bit of a challenge with 'Double act' because both twins write in their very distinct voices
and I try always to let the readers see what they're hoping and thinking about inside their heads, what they're worrying about even if they're
not always particularly sweet and gentle characters because Ruby certainly isn't.
I like my readers to understand her and find her fun.
Jacqueline: (reading from book) We're twins. I'm Ruby. She's Garnet. We're identical. There's very few people who can tell us apart.
Well until we start talking I tend to go on and on Garnet is much quieter.
That's because I can't get a word in edgeways.
We're exactly the same height and weight. I eat a bit more than Garnet.
I love sweets and I like salty things too.
I once ate 13 packets of crisps in one day, all salt and vinegar flavour.
I love lots of salt and vinegar on chips too.
Chips are my special weakness I go munch, munch, gulp and they're gone.
So then I have to snaffle some of Garnet's.
She doesn't mind.
Yes I do.
I don't get fatter because I charge around more. I hate sitting still.
Garnet will hunch up over a book for hours but I get the fidgets.
We're both quite good at running, Garnet and me.
At our last sports day at school we beat everyone even the boys.
We came first, well I did actually.
Garnet came second but that's not surprising seeing as I'm the eldest.
We're both 10 but I'm 20 minutes older.
I was the bossy baby who pushed out first, Garnet came second.
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Eve Mayes: 'Double act' has won many awards, including the Smarties Prize and the Children's book award.
What do you think it is about this book that has made it so successful?
Jacqueline Wilson: I think lots of people are interested in twins, in the relationship between sisters and also sadly nowadays lots of children
come from broken families and have to forge a relationship with a stepmother.
I mean I think the twins are very mean to poor Rose.
I think she's a wonderful stepmother to them but I'm writing from the twins' point of view but by the end of the book I do think
even Ruby sees Rose in a very different light.
Eve: What other literary techniques do you use to engage the reader-to make them want to keep reading?
Jacqueline: I try and start right at the very sort of beginning of the story and get straight into it and to involve people right from the first page
so that they don't have two or three chapters going, 'Oh, it's a bit boring' or 'it's all description here'.
I want them to know the characters straight away and find out what's going to happen to them and right at the beginning of the book the twins' dad
actually introduces them to Rose.
They don't like her, you know there's going to be trouble.
And so I like to suck my readers in and keep them there.
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Eve Mayes: 'Double act' deals with some difficult issues in families. Is there a message that you want the reader to take away with them?
Jacqueline Wilson: I don't set out to write a book with a specific message.
In 'Double act' I think it is all about family relationships and trying to understand each other and it's very hard for the twins because
they've lost their mum and I think if you've lost a parent because the parent has died, I think that's the worse thing ever
and I think that's why the twins have become so very close and have their own private language and their whole way of doing things
and it's very hard for me if I see, there's a schools television version of 'Double act' and at the end when the twins are separated, it's so sad
and sometimes I wonder was it right to send Garnet away to boarding school.
I think if I ever do a sequel I'll have them back together again.
I think that's where they belong.
Eve: Is there a general message that runs through your other work?
Jacqueline: I suppose it's really a message to sort of comfort any child who feels a bit out of things, an odd one out, a child who doesn't really feel
that they're in the main stream, that they're the most popular in the class.
All the other ones I identify with, I feel sorry for and yet the odd thing is that my books have had you know, to bring in enormous amounts of letters
from children and the children all say, 'I identified with so and so', so I think really no matter how confident children seem on the outside
everybody feels a bit scared and lonely sometimes inside and I suppose my message is it's okay, you know, lots of you feel like that
and things will get better for you one day.
Eve: What tip would you give to aspiring young writers?
Jacqueline: I think I'd tell young writers to read lots and lots, not to get ideas from books but simply to enrich their imagination,
improve their vocabulary, learn how writers actually have specific techniques, so read lots and lots and maybe keep a diary too,
to keep you in a regular writing habit.
Eve: Thank you for your time today.
Jacqueline: Thank you very much.
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