Nicky Greenwall writes about the origins of her novel ‘A Short Life’

‘To be able to write a sentence that someone else might read voluntarily and with pleasure is the work of a lifetime.’

Those words punched a hole in me when I first read them in Joe Moran’s brilliant book, First You Write a Sentence.

A Short Life is the second novel I’ve attempted. The first was rejected by everyone I sent it to — a turn of events I am now astonishingly grateful for. The novel was born out of a desire to understand lack of control. It’s the story of a group of friends who come into conflict when one of them dies suddenly, in mysterious circumstances. 

Two car accidents take place on the same night, on the same stretch of twisting valley road. The reader must discern whether one accident had anything to do with the other, and if so — what the consequences might be for the characters at the heart of the story.

It’s set in Cape Town and told from multiple, first-person perspectives. The central conundrum; we may be able to love a parent, a child, a friend and a partner simultaneously, but where do our loyalties lie when we discover the ones we love aren’t all on the same side?

Part of the inspiration for the book came in 2020 after I read Rumaan Alam’s remarkable third novel, Leave the World Behind. I savoured his writing style, while also furtively turning the pages. He had perfectly articulated what I had been feeling at the time by telling a propulsive story. Something shifted for me, and I knew what I needed to write. 

I’ve heard it said that writing is a compulsion. George Orwell likened it to having a painful illness, which was certainly the case for me. As it happened, I was also suffering from the complicated and misunderstood symptoms of long Covid-19 (or chronic fatigue syndrome) during much of the writing process. It was one of the most challenging times of my life so far — but it forced me to stop moving — and in part, this book came out of that st(illness). 

I’m very grateful to the team at Curtis Brown Creative, whose online courses (Starting to Write Your Novel, Writing to the End of Your Novel, and Editing and Pitching Your Novel) gave me the polish I needed to get published. Novel writing is not, as I’d first thought, a solo pursuit.

Working with a group of other writers (critiquing their work and having them critique mine) was an invaluable experience and one I would recommend to anyone who is serious about getting published. I’m also indebted to the best-selling authors who gave me such generous cover quotes.

It’s a daunting process to send other, more established, writers your work and hope they might lend their names to endorse it. I’ve been endlessly surprised by the supportiveness of the writing community. Perhaps it’s because we all know what a privilege it is to write — and be read.

A Short Life by Nicky Greenwall is published by Penguin Random House