BEHIND THE HEADLINES

BESTSELLING CRIME AUTHOR WILLIAM SHAW TELLS CRIME MONTHLY WHAT INFLUENCES HIS WRITING

What was the inspiration behind your new novel?

My novels are set in Dungeness, a huge single bank in South Kent on which a few people live. I’ve been writing about the place for years now, but back in 2021, I came across the story of the Concrete Man, a strange folk-art sculpture of the body of a man lying flat on the shingle. Nobody knows who made it or why it’s there. I spent two days trying to track it down. Dungeness is vast and mostly featureless, so it’s not so surprising that it wasn’t easy to find. When I did find it, it was eerie. It really looks like a dead body lying there on the stones and if you didn’t know what it was, it could really freak you out. Of course, it’s that kind of thinng thdat sparks the imagination and it became the starting point for The Wild Swimmers.

What attracts you most about writing crime?

Crime is a peculiar mix of fiction and non-fiction. The reader requires certain things to be real in order to be convinced – it might be the forensic details, or the reality of where the crime is committed. I believe that mix gives crime fiction an extraordinary power. In fact, the best crime fiction investigates that real world in a really interesting way.

Is what you write based on real life?

My character, Bill South, lives in a shack on the beach that’s remarkably like the one I own and go to live in sometimes. His is on the electric grid, which makes it a little superior to mine. I’m a big fan of wooden shacks, which was one reason I wanted to write about Dungeness.

How do you keep track of all the twists and turns in your novels?

I’m a pantser – writer jargon for someone who writes by the seat of their pants. The truth is, I don’t keep track of my twists and turns,

I just carry on writing until things start to happen. Then I have to go back and try to make sense of the terrible muddle I’ve gotten myself into. I can’t seem to do it any other way.

What inspires your work?

The last book I’ve read that I got lost in is always what excites me. So, currently that’s The Reader by Bernhard Schlink and a proof of Storm Child by Michael Robotham – both excellent in very

different ways.

‘IT LOOKS LIKE A DEAD BODY LYING THERE ON THE STONES’

How easy do you find writing?

Luckily, I find it relatively easy. As a journalist, I used to have to write thousands of words a week, so I’m not afraid of filling pages. Plotting, on the other hand, is murder.

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Find other writers to share your lows and your highs, then gradually winnow out the ones who just want to talk about their own writing. The rest are goddesses and gods.

Finally, what do you love most about your job?

I have permission to make stuff up and it’s glorious. I’m still pinching myself.