Interview with Bilberry Lane
It's great to be interviewing you, Amanda, as we became friends through our shared love of Sanditon and fanfic, and you are fantastic support to loads of writers as well. It feels like most people who follow Heybourne fic will know you from your encouraging commenting on AO3! But I’m excited other people will get to know you more through this.
So I didn’t know you before you started writing in the fandom, tell us how your love of Sanditon began?
BL
Well, I was relatively late to the party! My mum recommended Season One to me. I was pretty much Team Stringer, though, because I could never get past how patronising and angry Sidney was with Charlotte and Georgiana. And then, the way it ended, of course.
We saw it was cancelled, then renewed, and then I broke the news to my mum that her man Theo would not be back. She never recovered.
I had love heart eyes for Colbourne after about a minute of him appearing on screen. I’m a sucker for a nerdy, hot recluse with kids. At first, I was just obsessed with his hair. By episode two, I was completely smitten. And here we are.
LH
Does that mean your mum doesn’t share your love for Season 2 and 3 then?
BL
She never came around. Does not understand my complete fascination with Colbourne at all. My closest cousin, who is like my sister, she was totally with me though.
LH
Ha, knowing your love of that particular part of his anatomy, that is not surprising!
So even if you hadn’t just said that, I think I would know the one word answer you’re going to give to this next question, but… why do you write Heybourne?
BL
Colbourne.
LH
Yup.
BL
I find Charlotte lovely, just not particularly fun to write. And I really don’t like her to be too perfect or all-knowing. When I write her, I often manipulate her character for my own purpose. I prefer her when she is grabbing her life by the throat. I also like to explore the trust issues she would almost certainly have after two people she loved let her down.
LH
You already know we completely agree on that! And I think anyone who knows your writing would agree that your Colbourne is consistently a strong character.
I do like to alpha him ever so slightly. Or maybe I just see alpha qualities where others don’t. But for me, it’s all him. He’s complex. Honourable. He gets it wrong. He’s unobvious, intelligent, funny. I like that he’s mature, a father. I like that he loves his housekeeper like a mother. There’s obviously childhood trauma there.
I love that he has this previous relationship that was an absolute disaster, and has scarred him so badly.
Also tall, dark, handsome, and emotionally reticent. Yes, please. I’m married to a Colbourne, btw.
LH
Lucky you! I think…?!
BL
Ha!
In terms of writing, I had written a couple of modern romance stories (not Sanditon related), and then I read an Emily Henry novel (if you haven’t, you should) for the first time. So then I went on the Heybourne fanfiction journey to see if I could inject more humour into my writing. Broken Fairy Tale was the first time I’d ever published something I had written. I was terrified.
LH
Yes, hitting the publish button is a big thing! It’s been so brilliant recently with so many new writers publishing their work.
So you have obviously been writing for a while, with a couple of modern romances under your belt. What is the easiest part of writing for you? The hardest?
BL
There are golden periods when my fingers cannot keep up with how much there is to say. Vocabulary is pulled from the dark recesses of my brain with ease, and everything I write feels perfect.
And then there is the dark abyss. Complete absence of light. Words come out excruciatingly slow. One by one. Insidious little thoughts start - Why do I write? Why do I do this to myself? I am terrible at it. No one would ever want to read this bullshit. What the fuck is this story even about? Hahaha. Oh gosh. Those times are hard.
I really love flirty banter. Most dialogue flows well for me, I guess. I like to write about food and clothes. Smell.
LH
Yes you can bet that if my writing includes some description of clothing, you’ve prompted me to add it in! It comes naturally to you in a way it just doesn’t to me. Does it frustrate you reading pieces where those kinds of details aren’t in there? Or do you just imagine anyway?
BL
I’m not a hugely critical reader, I can usually make the jump in my head visually. I certainly don’t like pages of description, or too many adjectives in each sentence, or adverbs generally… but I do like details to keep me in the scene and help build better pictures.
LH
I know you are an adherent to Stephen King’s horror of adverbs, but you can use them judiciously…
BL
Ha! I loathe them. When you are editing and you add them, I agonise over keeping them.
When I’m writing I find the first chapter usually comes out effortlessly. But then I find it to be a real mental game. If I feel I’m writing well, it works. If I feel pressured or feel I am writing absolute dribble, I get stuck. Also, middle chapters are rubbish.
So I’m asking everyone this: how do you go about planning your stories?
BL
As you would know, I don’t. Hahahaha. I have a vague outline. I usually have the beginning and the end, but I have no idea how we are going to get there. Sometimes, the characters walk the way they walk.
LH
It's really fun to be there as editor seeing how the story evolves when you’re writing it. I can’t write like that, so watching that process up close is fascinating.
How do the characters form in your mind? Do you hear them telling you what to do or what they want to say?!
Absolutely. Some speak with more clarity than others. Lucy Colbourne (my version of her that I wrote in The Purgatory Project) pops into my head still even though I finished writing that story months ago.
Sometimes, I take on personality traits from the heroine. It’s weird, but it happens.
I once had a character appear in a dream. His name is Nick Northby, he’s in one of my modern romance novels. He folded his arms, leaned on my door frame and spoke about how I had treated him unfairly in this particular scene I had written. He said that he lacked sympathy in the scene and that could I please remember that he’s not an arsehole.
LH
Wow I’ve never had that happen. I do feel like sometimes the characters are chatting to each other in the back of my head, while I’m doing other things. Sometimes that’s really annoying, but often it's good to tune in and remember it for later.
BL
Full dialogue plays in my head at times. Sometimes I’ll write it down. I used a notebook for a bit, but now I prefer WhatsApp to message it to myself.
I usually have a clear visual in my head of what my characters look like and who they are, how they sound, and how they move. I use Pinterest boards and music for moods.
LH
Yes music is really important to you, like you said, it's part of that detail you perceive that I don’t! I’ve started the mood board thing now, and am finding it helpful.
What other research do you do for your stories?
Basic stuff. I don’t have time to give over to loads of research and I like the stories to be quite character driven. Although we did spend an inordinate amount of time trying to decide what species of tree lined the driveway at Heyrick Park. I had both Mella and you working on it. Even Mella’s mum had an opinion.
LH
Yeah, I still hold out that I was right, but I’ll let it drop eventually…!
BL
Hahahaha. I think I dropped the name from the sentence, and just called it a tree.
In terms of dialogue, I lived in London for a couple of years, so that certainly helps. And, I’m Australian, so our spelling conventions are similar to English ones.
LH
What’s the scene from the show that you go back to again and again?
BL
Ooh, that’s tough. I like season three episode two. Mostly, because it is a Colbourne episode. I think it is superbly acted. And, gratuitously, because of the appearance of these khaki-coloured breeches (don’t quote me, but I think the same pants - I know you hate that word! - trousers appear in Season Two episode two). I actually went and bought green pants for myself (I know) and tried to talk my husband into a pair. It was a hard pass from him.
LH
That’s hilarious!
BL
When he walks into that ball in Episode Five Season Two and he looks at her like, yeah, I was being an arsehole earlier. I came for you. Sigh.
Oh, and I love the awkward tea party — it is delicious.
I guess if I only have a short amount of time, I will usually play Season Two (my favourite season) Episode Three.
LH
What’s not to love about that episode - Hannibal and walking the grounds in search of Leo, the cornflower picnic, and Arthur being the hero with the hot air balloon.
So what are you most proud of having written?
BL
I think we should be proud of everything we write. I have a couple of favourite scenes, though: In Broken Fairy Tale, the voicemail Alex leaves Charlotte is gut-wrenching. I love the phone call she makes to him in the pub where she thinks he’s slept with Lydia. It is genuinely funny.
LH
I still maintain we should crowd-fund to pay BLH to record that voicemail…
BL
Yes!! In The Purgatory Project, I am really proud of the Bath scenes where Lucy and Alexander talk about their disastrous marriage and put it to bed, mostly because it was brave, and I was terrified. Things that push you and push your readers are good - if it is for a good reason.
LH
I was being the scaredy-cat editor on that scene, but I’m glad you ignored me, no question it worked…
BL
I think you were as worried as I was about how it would be received. I sat on it for ages. It was pretty smutty, and in terms of rules about fanfiction I think Colbourne not sleeping with other women is pretty rigid. Hahaha.
LH
Do you write in other fandoms?
BL
No. I have written a romance novel and have another on the way. I’m working on getting it published, which feels a bit like believing in leprechauns at this point. Fandoms scare me a little.
LH
What scene by another writer (fanfic, screenwriter, or any writer actually!) are you most jealous of and wish you’d written?
BL
I actually love so many of them, I don’t want to choose. There’s so much Heybourne writing that is exceptionally good. And as a writer, you learn by reading.
If you want to learn to write quietness with beautiful imagery, you should read Downagravelroad. If you want to learn how to create tension with short sentence structure, you should read Janice Matthey (Jaye Reid). If you love research and detail, you should read GatHeart. If you love being surprised in a story, PeasemealBrose is there. You, Sanditon1820, do great kick-arse females. And then the talent coming through over the last couple of weeks with the drabbles has been gobsmackingly good.
If you want to see an author grow from chapter one to the end, check out Aires614.
Some of the OG’s: Hoodie does great spice and has a wonderfully accurate regency voice, String of Stars also has a fantastic regency voice too. I’m too sweary and I want everyone to make out a bit too much. Hahahaha. And EvieJean’s The Plan Bee, is fantastic and much loved.
I obviously can’t list every single one that I love. I’ve loved so many of them.
LH
You’ve done a great job listing them, so many great writers!
So what would you say is the essence of good writing, for you?
I love writing that transports the reader. Writing which builds images. Where characters become so real, that you mourn them when it is over. There are a couple of things that I think make some writing stand out from other writing.
I think dialogue is the key to the characters feeling real. I think realistic dialogue probably sets apart some authors from others. Within dialogue, pauses and pace are important, but an awareness from the character, by the author, that sometimes things don’t come out verbally exactly how you would like them to, is super important. It adds realism to characters, giving them shade and dimension.
Then there is character. The beauty of fanfiction is that my audience already knows the character, so unless I’m changing the character, I don’t need to do a lot of characterisation building. They still need an arc but I don’t do as much building.
It’s a mistake to think that capturing those characters is easy. You can get it really wrong. I once had a reader let me know that she didn’t enjoy a Colbourne that I wrote. She felt he was too confident. I welcome comments like this. They tell me things I don’t know. I like him strong. Maybe I was heavy-handed.
If you write Charlotte wrong, she can become a Mary-Sue character. And if you get Colbourne wrong he can become weak—a man sooo smitten with his wife that he cedes all decision making to her 23 year old wisdom. When you do get it wrong, you can expect people to go, hang on a sec, I don’t like those characters that way.
You and I talk about writing quite a bit, and I think I may have introduced you to ‘show don’t tell’ (or maybe not) but essentially the concept of it is that the author can show the reader how a character is feeling with their actions rather than using an adverb. For example, having Colbourne twist at his ring shows us that he is nervous or anxious without me having to say anxiously or nervously. Good writers do this.
LH
Yes, you did - it rang a bell in the distant recesses of my mind, but it wasn’t til you said about it that I started seeing it everywhere - either not being used and the writing feeling really basic, or being done well and the writing drawing you in as a reader. It's such a useful tool.
What do you always hope people experience in your writing?
BL
I hope my writing is light-hearted enough to balance the angst. Realistic enough to build pictures and I hope they find it sexy and funny and sad and joyous. I hope I leave them wanting more.
LH
Well I certainly believe that you do, but then maybe as your beta I am a bit biased! Thanks for doing this, I hope you’ve enjoyed talking about your writing.
BL
I’ve really enjoyed reading everyone else’s, so thank you for including me. xx
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