Remember that writing is still work, Dovey says.

Question: Do you have any advice for young writers

Dovey: I guess just that it’s always a kind of work. I mean I know that’s sort of self-evident, but there is a kind of myth, I think, surrounding all artists that it’s this kind of hallowed form of creation; that somehow something is parting through you, the way inspiration is talked about in general – almost as a sort of external force that, you know, manifests itself. And it’s never felt like that for me. It’s always felt like hard work. And maybe it means I shouldn’t be doing it. But mostly the pleasure is in the relief of just having got your quota of words for the day; and a kind of long term pleasure of the slow, crawl of something that turns into something. But I guess yeah, not to get . . . not to get disheartened by the slog . . . the everyday slog of the process. Recorded on: 12/6/07