The Sunday Seven. Keith Gow. Playwright.

Keith's something of a friend of the blog, having previously contributed to Review 2005.  This year his Doctor Who themed show, Who Are You Supposed To Be? is at the Edinburgh Festival.

How did you become a playwright?

When I was studying Professional Writing and Editing, I took a class called "Performance Writing" - which a nebulous subject addressing different forms of writing for anyone to perform. It covered screenwriting, playwriting, performance poetry and writing for radio. I took the class expecting to specialise in screenplays, but got pretty excited about all the different forms the class addressed - and the class was taught by a playwright, Ray Mooney. He was quite inspirational in that first year of my course - and I went on to study playwriting specifically, the following year, with him as well. I'd always loved seeing live performance, but it still took me a while to consider writing plays, maybe because all the playwrights we study at high school are dead? Then you meet a real live one and think, "Why not?" And then the passion for writing for live performance came from there. In some ways, I was still distracted by wanting to write for film or to write a novel, but eventually theatre won out. Though I always hear the siren call of those other two forms - and I'll be making a short film soon.

What was the inspiration behind Who Are You Supposed To Be?

As with most of my plays, "Who Are You Supposed To Be" started with an image - that of a woman dressed as the character of the Doctor. And in this case, the title is the first line of the play, "Who are you supposed to be?" Asks an incredulous boy geek. And it was also inspired by the terrible "fake geek girl" meme that is insulting and, to me, just makes absolutely no sense - since most of my geek friends are women and my history with fan societies and groups has always had healthy female involvement.

I've been developing the show with actor Jennifer Lusk since December, so it pre-dates this recent talk of a woman in the role - but that was a discussion that happened when David Tennant left, too. So, for fandom, that discussion has precedence. I don't know how widely it was discussed by the public last time, but this time the discussion is happening outside of fandom circles, too.

A lot of my work engages with gender relations - and many of my plays are about women. But the show is about two geeks who meet at a science fiction convention, so I've also had a lot of fun poking fun at fans, fandom and various science fiction franchises. It's a really funny show, that just starts with an argument about a female Doctor and becomes a discussion on what society expects of us - and what we expect of ourselves when we meet someone else for the first time.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

Because the show is still in development, this is a bit difficult to answer. But as far as the writing goes, early on we had a very clear view of Ash, our female protagonist - and not so clear of a view of Gene, our male lead. I think Ash's journey was clear, because she's the one that comes up against the resistance of Gene to what she's wearing and what she's doing and how she interacts with fandom. And we wanted a way to make Gene sympathetic, too - since he was that antagonist for the early drafts. Eventually we found a story to tell with him - and everything snapped into place.

Finding a balance between pop culture jokes and a dramatic structure that would propel the story forward was a balance not easy to get right, but I think we've managed that really well. It's hilarious.

Of everything you've done, what have you been most pleased with?

A show I had on last year that I developed with three wonderful local actors called Painting with Words & Fire. It was three monologues for women with a fourth devised piece that had these three very different characters meeting. The meeting was devised with the actors and the collaboration brought the three pieces to a really satisfying conclusion - both dramatically and thematically. The separate monologues have all had lives outside the collection, but together they make a really powerful night of theatre. I was also lucky to see a one-night-only reading of Painting with Words & Fire in New York last year.

How do you feel about how Tommy Westphall's Universe has become so synonymous with St Elsewhere, it's rare that an article is written now that doesn't mention it?

It's a little bit odd, though the concept existed before I catalogued the universe with my Tommy Westphall collaborator. The fact that it's still talked about is very gratifying, but it existed before me and now it exists without me. I love hearing about new TV crossover connections, even if the website remains static now.

Oddly enough, I've still never seen St Elsewhere, so for me the show is all about its ending - which was very controversial at the time and still is amongst some of its fans. I like that people keep discovering it randomly. It's pretty fun to search twitter for Tommy Westphall and see that people's minds are still getting blown by the extent of the connections between TV shows. And I still tweet as @crossoverman, so it's still a little part of me.

Who’s your favourite playwright?

I'm going to pick two, because this is a tough question in any case. As far as classic playwrights go, I love Tennessee Williams' work. I feel in love with his famous early plays, but I've recently started reading his more obscure later works and they're so thrilling, even if they never gained the notoriety of The Glass Menagerie or Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Of current playwrights, I love the muscular language and unapologetic style of Neil LaBute. Most of his work is tough to watch, but it's visceral in a way that reminds me why I love text-based theatre. The Shape of Things, The Mercy Seat, In a Dark Dark House - so hard-hitting and powerful in completely different ways.

What stops you from feeling listless?

I'm not sure I ever feel listless. I felt like that more when I was younger but now I have a lot of enthusiasm for seeing theatre and making theatre. I don't think I'd ever have time to feel listless, but certain my energy for making theatre often comes from seeing great theate - on the mainstages or in non-traditional spaces. Seeing great theatre makes me want to make great theatre. And making theatre inspires me to go out and see more theatre. It's a happy cycle.

Who Are You Supposed To Be? is at the C venues - C aquila at the Edinburgh Festival from 14-26 August at 15:40 (Box office phone: 0845 260 1234). 

 If you want to help it into existence, there's also an Indiegogo fundraising campaign.

The Sunday Seven.Sinta Tantra. Artist.

Sinta Tantra created one of my favourite installations at last year's Biennial, which is still in place, the facade at the Open Eye Gallery.

How did you become an artist?

I don't think I was particularly interested in art when I was younger; I was much more of a musical kid. At school I played the piano, trumpet and sang. It was only until my late teens that my attitudes towards art developed. I preferred the more contemplative side of art making; the creative process seemed more private and I took refuge in the fact that you didn't necessarily need to 'perform' in front of an audience. Fast forward another 15 years and ironically, what we see now is a practice all about engaging with audiences and people - from the passerby who encounters the work on street level, to those I work closely with on production and pre production. There's a strong visual formalism too which is rooted in my learning about musical composition and four part harmony.

What was your inspiration for newest commission?

I am inspired by stories and the framework of narrative. Narrative (meta or grand) acts as a cultural wormhole that enables one to be completely submerged in another space or being. The title of my latest public art commission in Swansea is called, 'A Greater Reality of Elsewhere'. It is a quote taken from a Truman Capote travel sketch essay of New York City. I enjoy Capote’s sharp style of writing which lies somewhere in-between story telling and journalistic reportage. As an artist I am intrigued by the ‘fantasy / fiction’ duality - especially in the context of pop culture and the world of art. ‘Romantic truth’, as seen in the drip paintings of Pollock, has been replaced by the 'genuine fake' of Warhol – and it is this sense of hyperreality that I wanted to bring into my work in Swansea.



What was the trickiest element to achieve?

For me the trickiest part of any commission is engaging with the local context and site - creating a work which is both intriguing and challenging. Previously, the only facts I knew about Swansea were Dylan Thomas and beaches. When visiting Swansea I was struck by the cultural diversity as seen on St. Helen’s Road. Walking past you’ll see Welsh next to Ethiopian, next to Chinese, next to an Indian, next to Italian – and coming from Bali, I was particularly drawn to the unexpected presence of an little Indonesian restaurant called 'Garuda'. Although I am very used to towns and cities dividing themselves into cultural neighbourhoods such as ‘China Town’ or ‘Little India’, I have never seen such a crazy cultural mish-mash on such a small stretch of road. I wanted to create a piece of work that reflected this experience and challenged the stereotypes of Swansea – injecting a sense of exotica and tropical deco into the fabric of the town itself.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

Most artists are very critical of everything they do. Its a game of highs and lows - figuring out what you want to say, how you are going to say it and whether what you have to say has any real significance to anyone, anywhere. To answer to your question, for me there is not one particular piece that highlights my career, rather its about developing a practice that's in it for the long haul. What I am most pleased about though, is the fact that I have somehow figured out a way of working which enables me to visit extraordinary places and meet the most interesting people.

I really love your Open Eye Gallery installation. How do you go about designing a composition when it's the facade of a building like that?

As you know, Open Eye Gallery sits within a new development on Liverpool's waterfront, Mann Island. One of my first tasks was to talk to the two architects involved with the development: Matt Brooks from Broadway Malyan (who designed Mann Island) and Tim Riley from RCKA (who designed Open Eye Gallery). I was intrigued to find out what types of buildings they wanted to create, the type of social and historical dialogues they wanted to engage in, their thoughts on art, architecture, community. On a very practical level though, I would say that I work very much like a designer but not like a designer. I draw on the computer, make models, animations, write e mails - but rather than pursuing a total concept from start to finish, I give myself much more of a licence to change direction whenever it feels necessary, exploring new tangents and avenues to the slight worry of my commissioners.

Who’s your favourite artist?

Can I cheat and mention a few? In my staple diet I have: Matisse, Sol le Witt, Paolozzi, anyone and everyone from the Bauhaus - a wonderful Balinese artist called Nyoman Lempad who made the most exquisite drawings - Duchamp, Beuys, Jorge Pardo, Polly Applebaum.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, Dim Sum in China town, cocktails and conversations, Farrow and Ball paints, vintage hats, black and white films, swimming and sunbathing either by the beach or by the pool but with a pair of Italian sunglasses.

Sinta's new work, A Greater Reality of Elsewhere is part of Swansea's Art Across The City festival which runs at locations across Swansea from 28 March – 12 May 2013.

The Sunday Seven. Joanna Wyld. Writer of Programme Notes and CD Liner Notes.

As a big fan of classical music but always in need of guidance as to the history of the works, biographies of the composers and what to listen out for.  I've often wondered who the writers who provide that guidance might me and here's one of them, Joanna Wyld of Notes Upon Notes.

How did you become a writer?

I’ve always loved writing creatively. As a child I’d doodle “Joanna Wyld: Athor [sic]” in large letters, expressing my ambition despite being unable to spell it. Then for a long time I wanted to be a composer, but the writing simply took over.

I was working as an editor for a record company, and one of our CD note-writers dropped out at the last moment. They called on me to step in, and I managed to produce a surprisingly convincing note on a 1930s jazz outfit called “The Cats and the Fiddle”, of whom I’d never heard. Before long I was combining the editing work with more and more writing, usually about classical music – about which I know considerably more – and the whole thing snowballed. Now I write about music for a number of wonderful artists and record labels.

What was your inspiration for Notes Upon Notes?

I’ve always loved both words and music, so I find the process of writing about music genuinely inspiring. I’ll never tire of it! I always feel an almost childlike excitement whenever I receive a new commission.

The most inspiring thing is imagining my audience – whether they’re children or aficionados – and trying to capture for them the joy of the music they’re going to hear. I aspire to write in such a way that the words themselves give pleasure. To me, really great music writing evokes something of the thrill of the music itself, either through a particularly fascinating quote from the composer, or through a felicitous turn of phrase, or through something musical about the language itself.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

Notes upon Notes has evolved in a really enjoyable way, so the trickiest moments have been specific challenges, usually involving juggling commitments.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

A few years ago I ghost-wrote a book on human trafficking. I worked with an amazing team of people who research and campaign to raise awareness about modern-day slavery. In the space of a month I had to assimilate all these facts, figures and harrowing stories, process them, and then write about them in a way that was both emotive and coherent. It was painful, and I was under a cloud by the end of it, but the book is now used as a resource by the United Nations. To think that my words have contributed, even in a small way, to their fight against injustice, is humbling.

How much research do you need to do for each set of notes?

It depends on the commission and the audience, as some will expect a greater level of detail than others. But I always begin at my local library, get as many books, CDs and scores as I can carry, and then pack in as much information as seems relevant.

Who’s your favourite composer?

Impossible to choose just one! Elliott Carter is astonishing: to be writing music like that at the age of 103 seems almost miraculous. To relax I’d probably choose Sibelius, Richard Strauss or Debussy. I also admire Delia Derbyshire, who created new sonorities with real innovation and imagination.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Playing or listening to music, and hanging out with my daughter. Those things make me feel... listful?

Joanna Wyld writes Notes Upon Notes, which is also available on Facebook.

The Sunday Seven. Vicky Duncalf. DJ.

Also as her Twitter profile explains, "space writer, comedy writer, copywriter. English girl in Vancouver penning astronomy novel."

How did you become a DJ?

I was the bane of local radio presenters in the northwest of England. Teenage Me got so obsessed with hearing my own voice coming through the speakers that I’d dial up and be on every phone-in, no matter how irrelevant:

- So, now we have Vicky on the line – she’s only 13, but she has some choice words for Councillor Cox on the subject of the new waste incinerator in Elton. Vicky, you’re on the air.

- Hiyaaa! Oh god, I’d like to say hello to my mum and sister and everyone in class 3H at Frodsham Highschool and can I win a pencil please?

I got sexually obsessed with the presenters too, and tried everything possible to snog one. Eventually I got my man. He was operating the switchboard on a phone-in show, and although technically speaking, he wasn’t a presenter, it was close enough and we met up for a snog in a bush. He introduced me to the world of volunteer radio, and for many years, I presented shows on community radio.

Community radio stations are the perfect way to get into professional radio. They’re underfunded and understaffed, so you can quickly fill up your CV by learning to do everything, from presenting, to reading the news, to making adverts, to selling advertising space.

I also spent ten wonderful years writing radio commercials at Wire FM – a hilarious and quirky career for any writer. You’re paid to be as creative and off-the-wall as possible. Lots of fun and stress-free too.

What is your inspiration for your radio work?

I can’t abide ‘ready salted’ radio, where a dispassionate presenter fakes an orgasm over the latest Rhianna track and only has three minutes to talk between songs. Give me sketches, comedy, characters and saucy bits. Steve Wright on Radio 1 captivated the nation with this style of radio back in the 1990s, and the airwaves are a much poorer place without Mark and Lard.

What are the trickiest elements to achieve?

Pressing the buttons in the right order. I make my shows way too complicated and the payoff would be songs starting in the middle of other songs, and not switching the microphone on.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

I did a series of shows with the papier-mache-headed Frank Sidebottom. We had a real comedy chemistry, and would create an incredibly insane and surreal world with every link. Music was a big part of these shows – he’d bring his keyboard and guitar and we’d freestyle our way through three hours of mayhem. Someone commented our relationship was ‘synergistic genius’ which is about as good as it gets.

Tell me about your writing. What is your book about?

My first novel was a comedy book set in a local radio station, but after ten months of trying, I realised the long novel format was too much for me to deal with. I can barely pay attention to a tweet, let alone a complex plot. So my new book is a true-life travel adventure called ‘Diary of an Astronomer Botherer.’ I’ve moved on from pestering presenters for pencils on to the big guns now, and I’m travelling the world to look through telescopes, and jog astronomer’s elbows. God help them.

Who’s your favourite DJ?

I miss Mark and Lard so very very much. Radio is a poorer place without them. It breaks my heart that radio can be the most creative medium, yet it’s so drastically underused. You can create a whole new universe with a few sound effects, but 99.9% of radio is just coffee-fuelled presenters talking about the price of fish, and the dreadful potholes. I’ve stopped listening to radio as a result. It’s a crime against this wonderful medium.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Writing 300 tweets a day. I’m thoroughly addicted and Twitter has changed my life for the better so many times.

Also, Twitter is like broadcasting on my own little radio station, and I especially like the @tinyvox app, where I can record sound clips and broadcast my own creations.

YOU HEAR ME????

Vicky and Frank Sidebottom on Cheshire FM can be heard here and here's Vicky's website.

The Sunday Seven. Keris Stainton. Writer.

Keris is an old friend of the blog. Here she is in 2006 asking me about what I thought of Keira Knightley in 2006 and to write a strongly worded letter to Steve Coogan in 2008. She also introduced me to Gilmore Girls for which I'll be eternally grateful.  In the meantime, she's become a successful author, her first novel, Della Says: OMG! was published by Orchard Books in 2010 with her second, Jessie ♥ NYC out in 2011. Her new novel is Emma ♥ LA.

How did you become a writer?

I always wrote - as a teenager I filled notebooks with the story of my romance with George Michael (and sometimes Andrew Ridgeley, I wasn't fussy) - but for some reason it didn't occur to me to try writing a novel until I was in my late twenties. And then it took me another nine years to finish one.

What was your inspiration for Emma ♥ LA?

The Venice Beach canals! I read about them in a non-fiction book and thought they must have been drained or concreted over or something, since I'd never heard of them before. When I googled them, I was completely blown away - they're so beautiful and so unlike the image of LA I had in my head. I'd been wondering about an LA story anyway - since I'd written about New York - and discovering the canals clinched it.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

Emma moves to LA with her mother after her parents' separation. I wanted Emma to have pulled away from her father and be struggling to forgive him, but I found it really difficult to write. I kept thinking I was leaving it open for the reader to interpret when what I was actually doing was chickening out of delving into it all. Thanks to my editor, I think I got it right in the end (I hope I did).

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

I think I was most pleased with the first draft of Emma Hearts LA, but then my editor absolutely ripped it to shreds. And I'm not sure about pleased, but I'm probably most proud of my horror appearance on The Vanessa Show. It was dreadful, but it taught me a lot and ended up being a really positive experience.

How do you choose the names for the main characters in your books?

Naming characters is a strange thing. I just have to keep trying different names until one clicks and I find that until I get the right name, the character won't quite work. I think Oscar - the main character in Emma Hearts LA - would be a very different person if he'd kept his original name (Adam).

Who’s your favourite writer?

Nora Ephron. When Harry Met Sally is my favourite film and Ephron has long been one of my idols. I still can't believe she's gone.

What stops you from feeling listless?

I don't usually feel listless - you're more likely to find me feeling restless - but if I ever do, Twitter usually sorts me out. Failing that, a big glass of wine and some old episodes of Friends will do the trick.

Emma ♥ LA by Keris Stainton is out now.

The Sunday Seven. Simon A. Forward. Novelist.

How did you become a novelist?

Sheer dogged persistence and determination. It's like throwing a lot of darts at a dartboard, except in this case it was Doctor Who novel submissions at Virgin Publishing, then BBC Books. Eventually, editor Steve Cole finally relented and gave me a slot in the short story collection, More Short Trips, and I think when he handed over the reins to Justin Richards he also passed on two or three of my novel proposals, one of which - Drift - impressed Justin sufficiently to offer me the commission. So I guess in a sense I got lucky, but while luck's involved, it's more a case of seeking out or generating as many opportunities as you can for yourself. Writing, of course, plus the willingness to peddle your wares. And if it's an uphill struggle, peddle faster.

What was your inspiration for Evil UnLtd?

With the greatest of respect for Star Trek fans, I'm afraid to say it was Star Trek: The Next Generation that triggered the initial light bulb in my head. I found it all just way too bland - a bit beige, as someone described it. Basically, I went from that to thinking how much better it would be if the crew boldly going and discovering new civilisations etc weren't so bound up by rules about being nice to everyone. Within seconds of that thought, my imagination presented me with a vivid cast of characters and that was pretty much it. Of course, there's Doctor Who, Star Wars, Hitch-Hikers and a host of other influences that helped slow-bake the recipe over the years leading up to that point, but that's how Evil was born.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

Without doubt the trickiest part is in the promotion, just getting the word out there that Evil UnLtd exists. It's a huge hurdle. But as far as the storytelling side goes, I tend to find that writing one book generates ideas for the next and so on. So plots are generally easy, especially when you know your characters inside out - they tend to take over and drive the thing forward, even if it's on a collision course with something you hadn't planned for. The big challenge is to be funny - that's the gauntlet you slap yourself with every time you sit down to write. But I operate a simple rule - don't try to be funny. If it starts feeling like work, leave it alone and work on something else for a while. It means the Evil books have to develop at their own rate, but (so far at least) between breaks what tends to happen is you end up on a roll for good stretches at a time. So the characters and story provide the momentum and - you hope - the laughs just arise naturally along the way.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

Hmm. There are a couple of unpublished works that would compete healthily for that spot, but I'll let you know about those when they've won over a commissioning editor. In terms of published works the honour would probably go to Drift. It's not my most accomplished novel, but it has a special place in my heart as my first, and there were people who read that - who weren't into Doctor Who at all - who enjoyed it as 'more than just a Doctor Who novel' and there were a couple of readers from New Hampshire who commended my depiction of their state in winter, despite my never having been there. So that was a powerful combination that did wonders for my writerly self-doubts.

Since I haven't read your Eighth Doctor novel yet (so no spoilers!) can I ask if there's one story you're surprised the television series hasn't tackled and how you'd write it?

Ah, Emotional Chemistry, yes, that's all about - no, don't worry, I won't spoil it. As for other Doctor Who stories, there are a number of ideas I'm holding onto on the off-chance I ever get to write for the series again (in book form at least!) but I don't know if I'm surprised the show hasn't done them as they're a bit off-beat. As a throwaway example, look at Dreamtime - I'm sure there's a (better) modern Who adventure centring around Aboriginal mythology. On the other hand, Uluru in space is no stranger than traveling on the back of a giant space whale really, which has been done. I guess, as a Russophile, I'd be tempted to go with the Russian revolution, something about the Romanoffs, Anastasia perhaps. Or the Master impersonating Lenin on that sealed train returning to his mother country with some plan to change history. That or a Doctor Who/Muppets crossover. The licensing would be prohibitive, but it'd be fun and a good tonic after the doom and gloom of a Russian adventure.

Who’s your favourite novelist?

Elmore Leonard, I'd say. It's not that he wrote my favourite novel - that would be Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. He doesn't even write science fiction, which ought to qualify as my favourite genre. But he's the most consistent and prolific author whose works keep drawing me back for more. The plots won't necessarily blow you away, but he has a gift for snappy dialogue and equally snappy prose, and, above all, character. I love the way his characters drive the narrative and that's probably as influential on me as anything else.

What stops you from feeling listless?

That's a particularly good question, because the 'great British summer' has been in danger of inducing a bad case of listlessness lately. This afternoon, for instance, drying off after a particularly damp, grey day, I stuck a Doctor Who DVD in the player and sat back to enjoy some comfort telly. Sometimes I need something a bit more active and engaging, and for that either a video game (usually something with an involving storyline) or a spot of lively music will often snap me out of it. I also live in this great place a stone's throw from the beach so a walk along the seafront is great, but then I rarely feel listless on a sunny day. Although I'm currently having trouble remembering back that far.

Simon A. Forward's Evil UnLtd is out now for Amazon Kindle.

The Sunday Seven. Dr. Brooke Magnanti. Scientist.

Such is the way of the online world, this isn't the first time I've asked questions of Dr. Brooke Magnanti. Back when she was still anonymous, I emailed her, admittedly out of panic because I was such a fan of her blog, to check that she was real that she wasn't "Zadie Smith or Toby Young" as PopBitch had alleged, and the fact that Brooke's was gracious enough to reply with a denial was good enough proof for me. A year later when The Guardian ran a Q&A I asked for her favourite blog and her suggestion was unexpected but perfectly judged.

How did you become a scientist?

I wanted to study physics at university - it's what my dad studied - but ended up in anthropology and mathematics instead. Later, I kind of stumbled into the world of cheminformatics through people I'd met working in a laser lab. The people in that field really inspired me to go back and get a PhD, which was in applying algorithms commonly used in chemiformatics to studies of forensic human remains. Not the most accessible field of study exactly (its adherents more or less begin and end with me), but loads of fun to do.

What was your inspiration for The Sex Myth?

After coming out as Belle in 2009, I suddenly found myself a target for a lot of people who were against sex work, pornography, and so on, as if I was personally responsible for these phenomena. Erm, I'm not. But it did seem like writing a book was possibly the best way to answer the critics.

I was also aware anything I wrote after Belle de Jour would be criticised by people more interested in analysing me than analysing my writing, so writing a book that would purposely be a big, fat target for that was the thing to do. Whatever I write next, if people are still hung up on the call girl thing, that's really their problem and not mine. Play the ball not the man as they say.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

I knew a lot of the topics are controversial, and perhaps because of that you can't win arguments on numbers alone. Getting the balance right between evidence-based arguments and things that, I hope, will appeal even to doubtful readers was really difficult. I was very aware that the majority of people who pick up the book probably won't share many opinions with me to start with, and really wanted them not to be threatened by it all, but to show a different approach to 'won't somebody think of the children?'

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

A review of Jordan's second book for the Times back when I was still anonymous. It remains, in my opinion, the strongest worded and most succinct thing I've yet written. Basically it asks why it's okay to dislike Jordan based on her image, and indeed women in general who make different grooming and career decisions to the lady columnists of Fleet Street. I've not yet had a good answer to that, by the way.

Back in the Belle days, was it ever frustrating that you couldn't blog under your own name and did you ever consider running a parallel blog as your real self?

Well, there was my old blog Methylsalicylate and for a while a cheminformatics blog called Cosmas. But because those were more link-logs and topic orientated, perhaps that's not really a parallel. If I had been writing about the more personal stuff in my life under my real name there's no doubt people would have made the connection with Belle immediately. Some did anyway. Blogging was such a small world back then.

Who's your favourite scientist?

Of all time? A tie between Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Of people working today? My mate James (he used to blog as The View From Here, for old school bloggers who know). He's very hardworking and has a vast range of knowledge not just in chemistry, and is also a really sound bloke. These aren't qualities likely to make him rich or famous but he really is everything I think a professional scientist should be.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Sport. When I was living in London and writing as Belle it was rowing, for some years it was running, most recently I've taken up powerlifting. Clears the decks both mentally and physically.

Dr. Brooke Magnanti's The Sex Myth is out now.

The Sunday Seven. Alan Barnes. Writer.

As you'll see from the questions and answers, Alan Barnes wrote Storm Warning, the audio Doctor Who story which made me a proper fan again early in the previous decade and the first adventure for my favourite companion Charley Pollard. He's currently one of the writers on the new series of Fourth Doctor Adventures for Big Finish, the final stories for which have been released in this past couple of months.

How did you become a writer?

I graduated in 1991, in the middle of a grim recession. Rather than write out ten job applications a day, which is what the feller running the Job Club insisted I had to do, I spent as much time as I could writing stuff on spec – reviews, features, comic strips, radio series, anything – for as many markets as I could think of – not just the obvious culty, sci-fi stuff, but, y’know, puzzle magazines, corporate magazines, anything. Got absolutely nowhere. Two and a half horrible years later, I was at the monthly fan gathering in the Fitzroy Tavern when the conversation, for some reason, turned to the 1960s TV Century 21 Dalek strips. Gary Russell, who was editing Doctor Who Magazine at the time, said, fairly casually, that he’d always wanted to see a one-page Cybermen strip in a similar vein. I made my excuses, went home, typed up a proposal and a sample script, put it in the post the next morning… and my fate was sealed!

If there’s a lesson in that, it’s do as much practice as you can, waiting for the moment the opportunity presents itself… and pounce on it the second it does. But it was the two and half years’ seemingly pointless practice that meant the proposal was halfway decent.

What was your inspiration for Trail of the White Worm?

Bram Stoker by way of Ken Russell, obviously! But there was a lot about the 1970s in there, too – I’d been reading a book called When the Lights Went Out, a history of the time, and there was a lot in there about the strange right-wing ex-military types who were quite serious about assembling private armies and mounting a coup against the Labour government, so that was where Colonel Spindleton came from. John and Julie, the boy in love with the girl who’s in love with punk, came from the song Jilted John, aka ‘Gordon is a Moron’.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

It had to lead in directly to another two-parter, so I was juggling two stories that needed to be individually distinct and rewarding, but nonetheless intimately connected. You’ll have to listen to The Oseidon Adventure to find out if I succeeded! But yeah, that was the trickiest bit.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

Of the Doctor Who audios, probably The Girl Who Never Was – it was the first script I wrote after becoming script editor for the range, so not only did I have to split up the Eighth Doctor and Charley permanently, it had to be an exemplary script if I wasn’t going to end up telling my peers, ‘Do as I say, not as I do’. So I couldn’t afford to indulge any of my bad habits: it had to be bang on length, with snappy dialogue (no over-written speeches), plus constant intercutting between short, tight scenes. I don’t think I’ve ever put together anything quite so tightly plotted. Of everything I’ve done… probably ‘Sherlock Holmes On Screen’.

Apart from an unexpected and nostalgic trip to the old Doctor Who exhibition at Llangollen, the Big Finish audio Storm Warning was the story which made me a fan again. How did you go about find the voice of the Eighth Doctor given his short screen time in the TV movie?

The TV movie dialogue isn’t particularly distinct or expressive, but McGann’s delivery is, so it was about trying to find lines that seemed to fit that slightly ‘breathy’ delivery – then just crossing my fingers and hoping that it actually worked! And also, just to keep the whole thing moving at pace – the TV Movie didn’t really linger on anything, it’s all rush rush rush, bang bang bang, so I played the John Debney soundtrack on repeat while I was writing it, just to feel my way into that zone.

Who’s your favourite Doctor Who writer?

It changes week by week, but today: Robert Holmes. I’ve just been re-reading his Two Doctors novelisation for an upcoming Fact of Fiction (an archive feature in Doctor Who Magazine -- Ed.) and it’s brilliant – really wry and smart, with this mordant, borderline misanthropic undertone. Amazed that it isn’t more remarked upon – it’s up there with the Malcolm Hulkes, in my estimation. Tragic that it was the only one he ever did: oh, for his Talons of Weng-Chiang…!

What stops you from feeling listless?

I’ve got three children, I don’t have enough me-time to start feeling ennui!

Doctor Who: Trail of the White Worm and The Oseidon Adventure by Alan Barnes are out now from Big Finish.

The Sunday Seven. Jenny Colgan. Writer.

Yes, Jenny Colgan!  I know!  I know!

How did you become a writer?

I tried lots of different things; stand up (awful), sketches for the BBC (no interest whatsoever), children's books (hmm). Writing novels was just the first thing that clicked, I failed at everything else.

What was your inspiration for Doctor Who: Dark Horizons?

Well I love the Lewis Chess men - there's some in the National Museum of Scotland and some in the British Museum and I was just fascinated by the fact that nobody knows how they got there. There are theories of course, but truly it's a mystery, so I thought the Doctor might want to find out.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

This will sound odd, but in the tv shows everything is wrapped up in forty five minutes and they usually play in almost real time whereas the books take place over several days. This presents practical problems to do with meals, night time etc. Those were tricky.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

I wrote a series of books about a boarding school under a pseudonym (Jane Beaton). They didn't sell well AT ALL, but I love them, they're kind of like Malory Towers for grown ups and remain the books I would most like to read if I wasn't me, if that makes any sense.

How much did you have to change your writing style to fit in with Doctor Who?

Not much, except it's a bit more adventurous and death defying. But really I feel my job is just to tell a cool story in a cool way, so the process didn't feel madly different. It was a bit odd writing for a character who exists physically though. Every time I see a picture of Matt Smith now I do a massive double take.

Who’s your favourite writer and why?

Ooh, there's so many, and I like different writers for different moods. I love Jon Ronson's general air of pathos; I love John Irving for his cheerful humanity. I love George Eliot for describing the world, and Douglas Adams for building it and James Heriot for being so kind towards it. I could go on and on and on, I really could. With a gun to my head I might suggest Philip Larkin had some kind of short cut to the essence of humanity not necessarily granted to the rest of us.

What stops you from feeling listless?

I never feel listless. I often feel jittery, if that helps. Let me see, I run a lot, I have three young children and I have three books coming out this year so I really don't have the time. If I'm ever in danger of feeling listless, I suppose I just remember how terrified I am of the zombie apocalypse, and that gets me back to jittery in no time.

Doctor Who: Dark Horizons by J.T. Colgan is published by BBC Books on the 5th July.

The Sunday Seven. Zoe Williams. Writer.

Zoe Williams is one of my favourite journalists and wrote the excellent 'Anti-natal' column for The Guardian during her pregnancy which has led to the book What Not to Expect When You're Expecting.

How did you become a writer?

I started off as an editorial assistant on the Evening Standard. These were the days when people thought you were fantastically clever if you knew how to save a word document and you could unblock a paperjam in the printer. If you could do all this and drink four pints at lunchtime, they thought you were a genius. I wheedled my way into writing about my drunk lifestyle, in a column called The Slut's Guide, but sincerely, my office skills were so advanced - not only could I save my own work, I also knew where the stationery was stored and what is meant by "Purchase Order" - that I think I should have aimed higher. I should have gone for leader writer or something. Anyway, for about ten years I wrote about being drunk. And then when I got pregnant, I had to find some other thing to write about (as a friend said when I announced it, "nobody's going to be cheering from the sidelines while a pregnant woman sinks her fifth glass of merlot"). Sorry, this sort of answers your next question, but I promise not to repeat myself.

Why did you write What Not to Expect When You're Expecting?

Well, good question, at the time that I wrote it, having been effectively pregnant for four years (give or take the months of breastfeeding in between), having put on and lost eight stone in four years (that's a totally irrelevant point, I just want people to stand back and go "wow. Eight stone. That's another whole adult"), I was totally assured of certain things: I thought there was a serious problem with the way pregnant women were addressed, the combination of incredible schmaltz (which I found alienating... I diidn't really feel anything for my children until they were out), paternalistic misinformation, a sort of nauseating maternal essentialism (where this moment of childbearing is taken as the true realisation of your femininity... which is a little reductive. And also patronising. And also not very sexy). Anyway, it seemed vital to me that I should rant about it at what I realise now is enormous length. In hindsight, I probably could have chilled out a bit.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

I wanted it to be very conversational, memoirey, even - and it's not hard at all, creating something conversational, you just imagine yourself talking to a specific person, one who gets things but doesn't necessarily know everything you're about to say. But what was tricky, and what I think I ultimately failed at, was the gear change between the chattiness and the attempt at something more polemical, because I did, ahem, feel pretty polemical about a lot of things. But you know, you live and learn.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

I ripped this idea off someone once... no, wait, she wasn't a journalist, she was an academic, who said "wouldn't it be interesting to...." and I thought, yes. It would. It's not like she would have done it herself if I hadn't. So anyway, the idea was to follow up people who'd been on the Jeremy Kyle show, and just see what had happened afterwards. How they felt they'd been treated by the show's producers, and how it had affected their lives. And I got some of the astonishing stories, both about what wankers these TV people are, how subtle but precise is the exploitation, and how it's generally not a great idea to open yourself up to public scrutiny, and what the ramifications might be. But also. the people I interviewed were, in the main, pretty upbeat about it, and all said things like, "well, yes, it was a bit cataclysmic and my family stopped talking to me/ I got arrested/ I got fired/ I got divorced/ my neighbours started crossing the road to avoid me, but I think it actually did me good in the end, for x reason..." I learnt a hell of a lot about human resilience, and heard five amazing stories.

You used to write a column for The Guardian called "Words that should be banned". Are there are new words you think should be banned? Why?

Almost everything the coalition government ever says, from "hard-working families" to "GP-led commissioning consortia" makes my blood boil. Seriously, every scrap of jargon has an agenda behind it, whether it's old-school Victorian moralising or just fogging public debate so that nobody knows what's going on.

Who’s your favourite columnist?

At the moment, I'm a huge fan of Aditya Chakraborty. Peter Oborne is great when he thunders, but can be contradictory, so you have to read him sporadically, not once a week, so that you can't remember what he said about the issue last time. Janice Turner has a really human voice, you can hear it in your ear almost. I always look forward to Caitlin Moran and Deborah Orr. John Crace is great. I like loads of columnists, actually. I like the first-person, I-just-trod-in-a-turd ones and I like the long-pedigree, Addison & Steele modelled political lambasters.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Triple espressos. The other day I drank so much coffee that my top lip went numb.

What Not To Expect When You're Expecting by Zoe Williams is out now from Guardian Books.

The Sunday Seven. Trevor Gilks. Woody Allen Fan.

Trevor Gilks is nearing the end of a project to watch all of Woody Allen's films in order.  He edits the website Every Woody Allen Movie.

How did you become a Woody Allen fan?

My parents were fans growing up, and I remember watching movies like Annie Hall and The Purple Rose of Cairo with them as a young man. Following that, I grew up into the sort of person - neurotic, over-educated, whiny, spectacled, white - for whom Woody Allen fandom is just sort of assumed.

What was your inspiration for starting the project?

Boredom, a burning need to tell people what I think about stuff, and a long-held desire to be considered an expert in something.

What was the trickiest element to achieve?

The trickiest part is avoiding repetition - repeating myself, and repeating others. The Internet is over-populated with opinions and if I can't offer anything new, there's essentially no real justification for my existence. I don't always succeed, but I'm always trying.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

I think grabbing the domain 'everywoodyallenmovie.com' was a stroke of genius. It makes me seem more official.

When I did my own similar project, I found it easier to watch a chunk of them together and then go back and write reviews because it meant I could see the commonalities between them more clearly. What was your method, and did you have any particular aspects that you wanted concentrate on?

My approach was more one-at-a-time - watch one, write about it, then repeat. Unlike you, I don't have any other material I can put out in between Allen movies, but I still wanted to be able to publish content on a regular, non-sporadic basis.

I didn't go into it with anything in particular I was looking for. I figured I'd just head out and see what happened. I suppose my one hope was that the unique position I was putting myself in - watching them all in order - would give me a special perspective that would allow me to notice things others might miss.

What's your favourite Woody Allen film and why?

Annie Hall and/or Manhattan are my default choices, for all the usual reasons - emotion, characters, insight. However, I've seen those movies so many times, I feel ready to retire them. If I was going to watch a Woody Allen movie right now, I'd pick Take the Money and Run, Stardust Memories or Zelig. All three of them have a wild, unpredictable energy that's very exciting and lends itself to repeat enjoyment.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Continuous distraction.

Trevor continues to watch every Woody Allen movie here.

The Sunday Seven: Emily Speed. Artist.

Emily Speed in an artist whose work I've really admired at various exhibitions in Liverpool across the years, most recently in the Topophobia exhibition at the Bluecoat,  especially Panapoly (pictured above).  She was nominated for the Liverpool Art Prize in 2010.

How did you become an artist?

Hmm, I always was one I think, but aged about 7 I did a pretty amazing painting of a gymnast and other people's reactions made me realise there was something there.

What was your inspiration for 'Human Castle', one of the commissions for this year's Edinburgh Art Festival?

I've been slightly infatuated with bodies and architecture and those two things combined in human pyramids and the Catalan 'Castell' tradition for a while now, so when Sorcha Carey, the festival director contacted me about doing this commission that idea fell into place somehow. This human castle explores the idea of architecture as a protective layer around people a little further and the brevity of the performance - performers coming together for just a few minutes before going their own way -  will hopefully reflect the precariousness and instability of things. The motto for Edinburgh’s Royal Military Tattoo - Castellum est urbs (the fortress is the city) - sees city and castle as one in the same and the work will be sited directly under Edinburgh Castle.

What will be the trickiest element to achieve?

Working with other people! I have 11 acrobats on board and we're about to have our first workshop in June, so I'm very excited. I'm pretty sure that the way they move and visualise the work will have a lot of influence on the final result. I'm making architectural/sculptural costumes for the performers as part of the work, which will add to the castle shape, so making those in a way that allows them to climb will need some careful planning.

Of everything you've done what have you been most pleased with?

That's fairly impossible to answer as I'm always preoccupied with the things I might make next and all the unformed ideas that fill my head. I did love being in Panoply though and it was great to have the chance to try the work out with some really great support from Sara-Jayne Parsons at the Bluecoat.

Panoply forced you to become part of its fabric.  Why did you think it important for it to become partly performative and what were the reactions of visitors?

I guess my work is becoming more and more about the body performing or carrying the object so it's was a natural progression to end up in the exhibition. Most adult visitors never actually looked up or noticed me at all so that was interesting - continuing to move around despite it being for no one but myself. Children were the most incredible audience, especially because they would start imagining out-loud all the reasons that I might be in there and what it would look like inside. I got a brilliant drawing in the post from a boy called Ben, who had drawn me (a very bearded man) inside the work with a dog; amazing. Unusually I got a lot of feedback about Panoply from my peers, so I was very grateful for that and it felt like it moved my work along quite a lot.

Who’s your favourite artist?

That changes most weeks, but I am pretty enamoured with Oskar Schlemmer and Becky Beasley at the moment.

What stops you from feeling listless?

Fresh air, swimming outdoors and seeing new places. Also all the amazing books I have collected over my lifetime - they contain a lot of possibility. Listlessness still happens though, I just try not to feel too guilty about it!

Emily will also be part of  'Camp Out' at Laumeier Sculpture Park, St Louis, Missouri from June 2nd to September 16th (pictured above).

Picture credits:
Panoply, 2012, wood, scaffold and body. Image by Mark Reeves
Inhabitant (St Louis), 2012, cardboard and acrylic. Image by Dana Turcovic.