How did you become a writer

I was finishing my doctoral thesis and working as a journalist when I was approached by a literary agent. I was eager to write a book. I developed my ideas into a proposal, and waited anxiously for good news. I was thrilled when my proposal received interest from publishers. I started work on my first book, Catullus’ Bedspread, the day it was sold. 

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

Herodotus, Catullus, Dickens, Woolf, Capote.

When and where do you write? 

I write in the morning when everything (especially my inbox) is relatively quiet. I sit at my kitchen table so I can move freely between drafting and breakfasting. Later, I might go to the library to research. I use many different libraries, but base myself at the London Library, just off Piccadilly in central London. It feels like a beautiful old house. Joseph Conrad, Agatha Christie and John Betjeman were all members. Perhaps some of their magic will rub off. 

What are you working on now? 

At the moment I’m doing a lot of talks at literary festivals and museums about my new book, The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny, which tells the story of the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius near Pompeii in AD 79 through the eyes of two men who experienced it. I’m also researching and writing a new book. 

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? 

I wouldn’t call it writer’s block, exactly, but laying down the first words of a book after years of research always feels monumental. You have so many ideas whirling in your head, and a vision of what the book should be, but at the beginning it’s chaos. Although it can take weeks for me to settle into the rhythm of a new book, I’m no longer scared of diving in and starting somewhere, as I know that’s how I’ll find my way. The Greek poet Hesiod explained that all life sprung from Chaos. I believe that the liveliest books also start this way. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received

Know your strengths, and aim to write no more than 1000 words a day.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Persevere. Go your own way. Be as harsh an editor of your own work as you can. For example, don’t become too wedded to anything you’ve written. Sometimes you’ll reach the end of the writing process and realise that those paragraphs you wrote at the beginning and felt so proud of are no longer working. Rewrite, but keep the originals in a back-up file. 

Daisy Dunn is a British classicist and critic. She is the author of Catullus’ Bedspread: The Life of Rome’s Most Erotic Poet (Harper). Her new book, The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny, is published this month by Liveright/Norton.