5 MINUTES WITH Cecelia Ahern, author of If You Could See Me Now

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER?

I’ve been writing since I was in my teens, but I never considered it as a career. Weeks after graduating from university and beginning my master’s degree, I started writing my first novel, PS, I Love You. I don’t think I realised I was beginning a novel at the time, and I certainly had no intentions of getting it published; it was just for myself, but something about the writing and the story felt stronger and better than anything I’d done before. I’d just turned 21 and it all began there.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER?

I’m proud of many aspects of the journey, the small and large. I’m proud when I come up with an original idea, I’m proud when I begin the first page and then again when I complete the final chapter.

WHAT IS YOUR WRITING ROUTINE?

It continues to change as my family life does, but I spent the past 10 years writing a novel a year from the January until the May. I write longhand on paper and transfer it to the computer chapter by chapter. I’m very disciplined and regimental about being creative!

DO YOU HAVE ANY LUCKY CHARMS OR SUPERSTITIONS TO HELP YOU WRITE?

I’m not a superstitious person, but I like to light a candle (always one from Jo Malone) when I’m writing. I met Jo a few years ago and she explained that scent is like a trigger, so when I light the Lime Basil & Mandarin, it triggers my mind to go into creative mode.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOULD-BE AUTHORS?

Write with your own voice because that will immediately make your work original and distinctive. Write about something you feel passionate about, something that moves you and means something to you. Write for yourself and not for others. Approach each situation from a new angle; look around and ask, ‘What if?’