How did you become a writer? By being a reader. I trained as an artist and came to London from Australia on a painting fellowship. I was struggling with making pictures, and being anonymous in London somehow gave me the freedom to explore the written word in a way I didn’t have the confidence to do back home, as I was never very academic. I turned to writing as a way of working through my confusion with the world; also, it seemed a better option than waitressing, which I did on and off for about 15 years. I learned on the job when I joined frieze magazine after writing a few pieces for them. I was utterly unqualified, but being surrounded by a group of talented writers and editors was endlessly inspiring and editing other people’s work taught me a lot about my own. Also, having to write fast and hit deadlines meant learning not to muck about. It took me a long time to acknowledge that I was a writer, a calling I’ve always been in awe of. 

Name your writing influences. There are so many, but Robert Hughes was the first art historian I read who could bring an image alive through words. Even when I didn’t agree with him, his prose opened my mind to the possibilities of what language can do. It was a revelation. Griselda Pollock's books made me aware of the structural exclusions of art history and challenged me to rethink everything I had previously assumed was carved in stone. Writing by artists, in particular Louise Bourgeois and Agnes Martin, showed me that art and writing could respond to each other with a reciprocal imaginative flourish.

When and where do you write? These days either in bed or the library but my magazine training means that I can pretty much write anywhere. 

What are you working on now? A mix of essays for artist’s catalogues, and the seed of an idea for my next book, which is gradually blooming (she said hopefully).

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? No. As someone who lives off writing, it’s a luxury I can’t afford. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? Be very disciplined. Don't get precious about it, just do it. No-one apart from you will read the first draft, so take risks, be stupid, play around – amid the dross, something will sparkle. Read what you’ve written out loud. Be rampantly self-critical, but not to the point that it stops you writing. If you're stuck, read something wonderful – other writers have been there before you, and they can show you the way. 

What’s your advice to new writers? Only do it if you can’t imagine doing anything else. And read, read, read. 

Jennifer Higgie is an Australian writer who lives in London. Previously the editor of frieze magazine, her latest book is The Other Side: A Story of Women, Art and the Spirit World. She is also the author of The Mirror & The Palette: Rebellion, Resilience and Resistance: 500 Years of Women’s Self Portraits (2021), the author and illustrator of the children’s book There’s Not One; the editor of The Artist’s Joke and the author of Bedlam, a novel about the 19th century fairy painter, Richard Dadd. Her website is jenniferhiggie.com.