THE FIRST FIVE PAGES
The quick fox
Yangsze Choo talks about the spontaneous unfolding of the beginning of her magical new novel The Fox Wife
I must
confess that I don’t plan out my books. This is to my own detriment—if only I were more organised (I often think), I would be far less prone to staring out of the window instead of writing, wondering if that squirrel will manage to jump from the cherry tree to our fence. The image of a squirrel leaping precariously is in many ways similar to how the first five pages of a novel unfold, at least for me. Within those first few pages, the entire direction of the book, its tone and plot, are set in motion. It’s hard to explain, but if the book were a colour or an icecream flavour, those first pages are its taste for me. Like a squirrel, I’m leaping towards the unknown.
The very jump itself is exhilarating, yet fraught with peril.
When things are going well, I can often write the first chapter in one or two sittings, the opening scene unfurling rapidly so that I rush to write it down, sometimes in the middle of working on something completely different. That’s what happened with my new novel, The Fox Wife. In Chinese literature, foxes are thought to have supernatural powers, and to be able to turn themselves into very attractive people. Wily tricksters, they will steal your heart as well as any money or gold wine cups that you happen to have lying around.