Renowned journalist and author Philip Womack talks to us about his process, the business and developing one's voice, book after book.
We first met Philip at an industry networking event - and while that sort of thing might inspire fear in us (spoiler, it really, really does), Philip was straight over with a big smile and welcoming chat. We soon got into it over writing, the solitude of long-form drafting, ideas spawning ideas... it got so indepth that we realised we were supposed to be having open chats with everyone else, too. What can we say? We like to get stuck in. Philip is a brilliant writer, with a career across industries, sectors and media and we're really, really glad we've got the chance now to continue our chat and open it up to all of you. So, without any further waffle, let's get cracking...
Philip! Great to continue our chat, let's roll it back a bit and start as we always start with our articles. Please may you tell us about your creative journey so far?
I wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember, and I used to write these very long and intricate fantasy stories when I was about 8 or 9 years old. I remember once writing something about the Fata Morgana for my school newspaper when I was 12 or so. So I was always drawn to the supernatural or the fantastical. I think I was drawn to writing children’s books because I had a very happy childhood, and when I started off being a “proper” adult, out of university, everything else seemed quite bewildering. I’ve been writing books with an element of fantasy in them for nearly twenty years, now…
