Hannah Dolby: 'Get your first draft down without over-analysing it too much'
BY Katie Smart
21st Sep 2022
Hannah Dolby studied on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in London. She went on to be shortlisted for the 2021 Comedy Women in Print Unpublished prize. Now Hannah has a two-book deal with Head of Zeus. Her debut historical novel No Life for a Lady will be published in March 2023.
We spoke to Hannah about her time studying with us, her approach to historical research and how she found her flow when she leant into comedic writing.
You took our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2017. How did your time studying online with us impact your writing?
I studied in person, with the wonderfully enthusiastic and positive Charlotte Mendelson and a few guest tutors including Jeffrey Archer and Imogen Hermes Gower, who shared her journey to publishing The Mermaid & Mrs Hancock with us. I was only just starting to write again after many years, so the course gave me much-needed encouragement and a real insight into the slightly scary publishing world. I loved reading my fellow writers’ work, all so different and brilliant in their own ways, and the heroine of my novel made her very first appearance on the course – although originally, she was having a very miserable and repressed Victorian time, and now her life is much more joyous.
Many of our students find lifelong writing friends on our courses. Are you still in touch with anyone you met during the course?
Yes, I’m still in touch with Anna Korving, who is writing her second novel, and a few others. I’m so pleased that the powerful novel Kirsty Capes was working on during the course was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction earlier this year. And although life got in the way of staying in touch with everyone, I’m always up for a reunion if they ever want support or to reminisce.
Your debut novel No Life for a Lady is to be published by Head of Zeus in 2023, the story follows a Victorian heroine on the hunt for her missing mother. Can you tell us a bit more about the novel and the inspiration behind it?
My heroine Violet is pretty hopeless at the start of the novel, busy rebuffing suitors and missing her mother, who vanished from Hastings Pier ten years earlier. But when she hires a seaside detective to help find her, she sets off an unexpected chain of events that throw her life into chaos. It’s funny, entertaining, romantic and perhaps just a little bit saucy.
Your debut was shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Unpublished prize. Getting jokes to work on the page can be a real challenge – do you have any tips for making the comedy flow?
The comedy was what made the writing flow for me. I had been trying to be serious and literary for too long, and the CWIP prize gave me permission to be as silly and ridiculous as I liked. I let go of the rules, ditched any great expectations of myself, and just wrote, fast and furiously, exactly what would entertain me to read – it was like being a child again. If you’re having fun building your own world, the comedy will follow. So, my tips are – write what makes you laugh, create funny characters who make the jokes for you, and get your first draft down without over-analysing it too much – comedy, I think, comes from that freely expressive, creative, playful part of your brain that works best without censorship. So, play first, and add in the gravity later if it’s needed.
How did you approach your historical research?
I dived headfirst down all the research rabbit holes I could. As well as books on Victorian life, I tracked down several about the history of Hastings and scoured the Hastings & St Leonards Observer from 1896 for news snippets. I spent a few weekends wandering the streets with my camera and haunting the many junk shops in search of Victorian photographs, guide books and maps, and I even stayed in St Benedict, a Victorian-themed bed and breakfast. Hastings is a perfect dream for research.
Who is your favourite fictional character of all time?
When I was younger, I went on a bad date with a Frenchman, who asked me endless questions such as ‘what is your favourite song ever?’ ‘what is your most favourite food?’ and ‘what is your favourite hobby?’, then looked mildly disappointed at each and every answer. Ever since, I’ve been reluctant have only one favourite of anything, and they may change with the weather. So, Rupert Bear (his yellow checked trousers and happy memories of being read to as a child); the nameless heroine in Rebecca, (the first time I read a true depiction of shyness) and Sally Jay Gorce from The Dud Avocado (I love a woman who is hellbent on living).
What does a typical day of writing look like for you?
There is no typical day – I would love to be the kind of person who gets up at 5am and writes for two hours every morning, but it makes me very cross for the rest of the day. So, it’s whenever I can snatch time, usually in the evenings and weekends. I have scribbled on napkins in cafes, and I write very well on trains, for some reason. There can be gaps when I don’t write at all, but I always come back to it. And if there’s a deadline, I can type so fast my keyboard goes on fire.
Finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
The book will be published next March, but meanwhile my brilliant agent Diana Beaumont secured me a two-book deal with Head of Zeus, so I’m busy writing the second. I’m not far in but I’m excited about the writing that lies ahead, as it’s starting to feel as much fun as the first. I’ve already put my heroine in a sticky situation, and now I need to throw her in much deeper. And after book two… I hope there will be many more. I’m not short on ideas.
Pre-order No Life for a Lady here.
Photo of Hannah Dolby by Tricia Keracher-Summerfield.