"Writing became torturous – all the projects I’ve tried to work on while I was ill kept flowing down a lot of alleys, that was part of the illness – I think it may be a feature with chronic fatigue that you become incapable of making decisions. I found it impossible to decide between one version of a sentence and another version, but also between having the plot go in this direction and having it go in that direction. Everything became like uncontained bushes, shooting out in all directions. That’s the state that the sequel to Jonathan Strange is in. It’s almost like a forest now.”

Wisdom about #writing and #ChronicIllness and #ImposterSyndrome from the incomparable Susanna Clarke.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/12/susanna-clarke-i-was-cut-off-from-the-world-bound-in-one-place-by-illness

(I've read Piranesi and was completely enthralled but have not yet read her first book — no spoilers please!)

#SusannaClarke #Piranesi #JonathanStrange