The English Novelist: Samuel Burr [inside my journal]

English author Samuel Burr’s novel – The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers – has become a smash hit, topping best seller lists as well as being translated into 17 languages.

Samuel reveals why he wanted to write a book, how he got published, and how his paper republic journals played their part in his puzzle making. 

Why did you want to write a novel?

I was working in television as a development producer, devising new ideas for TV shows and pitching them to broadcasters. About 98% of the projects I worked on never made it to air. That’s normal in the industry and I was okay with it… for a while. Because for the 2% that did make it to screen, it was so exciting.

But I started to get fed up with it. I was always pitching and always getting a good response to my ideas. But a lot was beyond my control; politics in the company, or the timing wasn't quite right, or whatever it might be. 

I remember going to the pub with my colleague and saying to her: I think I'm going to write a book. Because the brilliant thing about writing a book, is that no one can tell me not to.

With TV shows, you need so many people’s permission to make it happen; sign off from teams of people, a million-pound budget. But the great thing about writing is that the only person that's going to stop you from doing it is you.

Of course, there are hurdles to getting a book published. But creating a story on the page is something that all of us can do. And that was the hugely appealing thing about it. I just wanted to be able to physically hold the thing that I made, and for it not to just be another idea that never made it to air.
 

How did you go from an idea to writing the story?

First, I signed up for a creative writing school. That was a bit of a wakeup call, because suddenly I was in a room where I was having to share my work for the first time. When I started the course, I didn't have anything on the page, but because my surname is Burr, I was at the top of the register, so I was the first person that had to read my work to the rest of the class. I actually tried to get out of it! I emailed the tutor and said: I'm not ready. I haven't got anything.

And she said: well, you've got till Monday. 3000 words please. 

That was the best thing for me, because I'm such a perfectionist I could have spent months and months polishing those opening 3000 words. But instead, I had just days to do it.

The response I got from that initial chapter, when I nervously read it to the room, really spurred me on and made me think: okay, this is something that I should not feel guilty about doing, and should really invest my time in. 

I think there's a sense that sometimes, creative projects can feel like a luxury and that they're not important. I certainly felt that starting out. But the combination of hearing the response from people in the room, and also because of the COVID lockdown, made me think:  you only get one shot at life. I'm going to throw myself at this and see where it takes me. 

So I'd encourage people who are thinking about writing, to just do it. The barrier of entry is so low you can literally just pick up a pencil and just go, whereas making a film or TV show, there are so many other hurdles to jump over.

How do you use your paper republic journals for your book writing?

I've got one journal, and two portfolios, so I'm quite a fan. I've also bought quite few for other people too as they make great gifts.

I use my paper republic notebooks mostly for plotting. I can get really bored sat at my desk staring at a screen, so I love to break away, take my notebook and go analogue with it.

Sometimes that could be writing myself lots of questions. It's something very useful when writing a novel. Your brain is full of questions about a character, about a situation, about whatever world you're writing about. So, I write pages and pages of questions for myself, knowing that at some point I will have to answer them in the manuscript, or just in my own head.

For The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, I wanted to make it a book you could read and play. So, there was lots of puzzle composing required. That was a real learning curve, because I've never, ever done that before. So, I used my journals a lot to design the puzzles that I later incorporated into the story.

I also used my notebooks for character notes; I'll write a character's name at the top of the page, and then any information relating to that character: their hair colour, their address, their age etc – so I have all that information on one page.

Of course, I could do that on my computer but there’s something I like about being able to write it by hand and see it on the page. A big part is just getting away from the screen, to have a bit breathing space, a cup of tea, and a bit of a reset. I found it was important for the creative process.

Sometimes just sitting at your desk with your hands on the keyboard isn't the best way to spend your time. Sometimes it's more productive to step away.

I do a lot of my writing away from the desk. I'm thinking all the time about my characters so I might be going for a walk, or doing the washing up, and suddenly something will come to me. In those moments I grab my paper republic journal and write it all down.

Like almost all writers, you typed your manuscript out on a computer. But do you think the popularity of using a journal to make handwritten notes is growing?

Yes, certainly in my writing circles, almost everyone uses a handwritten journal in addition to digital devices. I've got lots of friends that do ‘morning pages’ on paper, a creative writing technique. Every morning you get up and you write three pages of what's in your head.

People are much more conscious of how much time they spend staring at a screen. Whenever I go on the London underground, I'm always very interested to see who’s not just reading a book, but who's doing a puzzle. It's surprising how many people aren't scrolling through their phones but doing a crossword in the back of the newspaper.

I think we live such busy digital lives that it helps us to just to step away and have a moment where you reset with something that's physical. It’s something we seem to be all crying out for. 

What advice do you have for aspiring novelists to write a book and get a publisher?

The most important thing is to write the story that you would want to read. You are going to be spending hundreds of hours at your desk with these characters. So, find something that makes that process a little easier, and enjoyable on a personal level.

Someone once said to me, write about what keeps you up at night. For me, that was related to some volunteering I was doing, for charities.

During COVID times, I experienced how socially isolated many older people were. It really, really bothered me. I hated the idea that there were thousands of people who could go days or even weeks without seeing or speaking to another human being. And so that became a real motivation for the book. I wanted to celebrate the importance of kindness and community. On the surface it’s a book about puzzlemaking, but really it’s a book about the importance of human connections.

It certainly wasn’t easy to achieve this though. There were many ups and downs; many, many moments when I thought I would never finish it. It’s like running 10 marathons at your desk. That's often the difference between people finishing their books and not; the passion for the idea, fuels you to the finish line. 

I was also thinking about how I was going to sell the book. How I was going to get an agent and a publisher, because I didn't want it to be just a hobby. I reached a point where I was enjoying it so much that I knew I wanted it to be my career. 

So having an eye on the market, being proactive and reading lots of other people's work became very important to me. I was able to build my network and contacts, so when it came to sending out the manuscript to publishers and agents, I had a pool of people that were willing it forward. 

What is it about paper republic journals and notebooks that keeps you using them?

The quality is just really, really good. You can tell they are really well made. I also love the little personal touches, like, when you order, it feels like someone has hand packaged it and they did a little handwritten note on it. I just love the whole ethos of the company.

Has writing novels now become your main job?

Yes. I haven't worked in TV since I left. TV was a creatively very demanding,  I can't imagine a world where I'd be end up doing both writing and TV properly. I did try for a while, but that was really hard. So yes, now I'm focusing just on my second book, which will be out next year.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers (Penguin Random House, 2024) is available from all good bookshops. Read more about Samuel Burr and his forthcoming book here.

What's inside YOUR journal? Share your story with us!

How? Email: sam@paper-republic.com with a brief summary of how you use your journal, adding 'inside my journal' to the email subject line.