This Writing Life with Casia William
Former Bardd Plant Casia William discusses the importance of family in her writing life, and the daunting prospect of writing a book about Betty Campbell.
Where are you from and how does it influence your work?
I’m from the Llŷn Peninsula in north Wales. Living in a rural area I went to relatively small primary and secondary schools, and therefore had a lot of experiences and opportunities that influenced me. I still remember author visits, walking from school to the local library and teachers reading to us at the end of the day. Also, people are very open and there is a strong sense of community on the Llŷn, and that’s definitely influenced my work, and I think is partly why I’m so fascinated by people and their stories.
Where are you while you answer these questions, and what can you see when you look up from the page/screen?
I’m in a café in my now home-town of Caernarfon, enjoying a rare coffee in peace. I have two young boys, so café visits are often a frantic mix of trying to keep everyone occupied and stopping drinks from spilling! This café has windows all along the front so it’s the perfect spot for some people watching; I can see an elderly man in a blue cap and sunglasses even though it’s overcast, and four young girls chatting and laughing.
What motivates you to create?
More often than not, it’s people. I will meet someone and think, ‘I want to put you in a book’. I’m interested in what makes people tick, what people get up to at home, what goes on in their minds. I’ve recently been motivated by wanting to explore certain topics too; in my first novel for young adults, ‘Sêr y Nos yn Gwenu’, I explore the idea of being a young person in a rural community. Then again, sometimes I’m motivated by seeing a big old gap that needs filling. When I was the Bardd Plant (Children’s Poet Laureate) from 2017-2019, I was struck by the huge difference between the children that were sat in front of me, and the children featured in Welsh language children’s literature. That’s why I wrote the ‘Sw Sara Mai’ series, novels for children aged 8+, with a black, Welsh main character.
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