Sarah Jost: 'Your perspective is unique, and you should embrace the creativity and freedom it brings'
BY Katie Smart
2nd Nov 2021
Sarah Jost was a student on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2019, now she has deal for her debut love story One Last Chance, which is to be published by Piatkus and Sourcebooks next year.
Read on to find out all about Sarah's time studying with us, her approach to writing as a non-native English speaker and the inspiration behind her high concept romance novel...
You studied on our three-month Writing Your Novel course in 2019. How did your time on the course impact your approach to writing?
Honestly, it’s made a huge difference. Firstly, with my confidence. Being selected as one of the 15 students on that course was the first time anybody had shown faith in my writing for years. The comments from my fellow students during the workshops, and from Charlotte all throughout the course, made me believe for the first time that I could potentially write something people would enjoy reading! Secondly, I’d never really thought about some aspects of storytelling that Charlotte taught us about. Her expertise and constructive criticism unlocked so much for me, and my awareness of the craft of writing progressed hugely during those three months.
What was the best piece of advice you received during the course?
So many pieces of advice, most of which I can’t remember specifically because I’ve internalised them… but one that really stuck was ‘upping the stakes’. I naturally write characters that struggle internally, but nobody wants to read someone moaning about how sad they are when nothing happens to them. The idea of upping the drama in a scene, including through external factors, really building up situations that put the characters out of their comfort zone is something I’m much more aware of now.
Many of our students form writing support groups. Are you still in touch with any of your course mates?
The first lockdown happened immediately after we finished the course (I think a week or two weeks after the agent drinks!), so we haven’t had the opportunity to meet again as a group, but we have a WhatsApp group to share writing news and encouragements, and most of us meet semi-regularly on videocalls. They’re amazing; so warm, so talented, and I’m sure you’ll hear from more of them in the future!
Your debut novel One Last Chance will be published by Piatkus and Sourcebooks next year. It is a love story that follows Lou, a young woman who slips back in time to revisit a fateful night two years earlier and her encounter with someone who could change everything. Can you tell us a bit more about the book and the inspiration behind it?
After writing a very dark and bleak historical novel which didn’t go anywhere, I decided I wanted to write an uplifting love story… But me being me, it got pretty serious and sad almost immediately. I’d been thinking for a long time about the impact of mental health on our perception of time, and how depression and anxiety make us feel stuck in loops of regrets, unable to project into the future or to live in the moment. My day job as a Housemistress in a girl school and my own experience of anxiety all contributed to Lou’s experiences as an unwilling time traveller. That said, though the themes are serious, there is also lightness and humour in Lou’s quirkiness and the way she sees the world, the cast of characters are warm and funny (so I’m told!) and it’s definitely a redemptive story. Through her different loops, she learns to heal, give life and love a chance.
You and your protagonist are both bilingual, how important was it for you to portray this in the novel?
It all stemmed from an initial lack of confidence. Before, I was trying to ‘pass’ as an English writer, and felt like it wasn’t me, wasn’t my voice and I couldn’t compete. So I decided to embrace my bilingual ways, jotting down the French expressions that popped into my head as I was writing because they fitted the mood perfectly, or filled a gap in the English language. There isn’t that much left of this in the book, but some small touches, colouring Lou’s experience of England, and the world, as they do mine. (Although I’m more anglicised than she is, having lived here since 2008.) Now it’s become a strength; I no longer feel that I ‘can’t’, but I choose to embrace the bilingualism of my voice. It’s makes me ‘me’.
Do you have any advice for writers working in their second language?
Try to silence the imposter syndrome, that little voice telling you can’t ever get anywhere with your writing because you didn’t have the head start of being born surrounded by a specific language. I’m not saying I’m always managing myself, and imposter syndrome is a major theme of the book I’m working on now. But every writer, native speaker or not, works hard and despairs at finding the right word, and your ability to think in two (or more) languages is a strength. Your perspective is unique, and you should embrace the creativity and freedom it brings. Read widely, be curious, keep learning, and don’t be afraid to twist the rules once you know them.
What does a typical writing day look like for you?
I work as a French teacher and Housemistress in a secondary school, so during term time my writing day takes place between 5 and 6am, when I drag myself out of bed to my desk, squint at my screen and try to cram a few words in! I’m too tired (‘brain’ tired) to write at the end of a school day, so this is the best I can do to keep going. Writing becomes my job during the school holidays, when I spend a few (much more normal) hours a day editing or writing, depending on what is most pressing.
What final words of wisdom would you like to share with the aspiring authors reading this?
Rejection is an awful feeling, but it passes. Like every writer out there, I’ve had my share of rejection. I wasn’t selected for the CBC three-month Writing Your Novel course the first time I applied. I never made a competition longlist, I got plenty of ‘form rejections’ or radio silence before my amazing agent, Olivia Maidment, picked me up. Rejection is not personal, and frankly, when it happens you only ever have two options: give up entirely or keep going. So it’s not really a choice! Just treat it like a breakup: allow yourself to feel sad and dejected for a little bit, snuggle up on the sofa and treat yourself to your favourite ice cream (Mövenpick Stracciatella for me, unfortunately not available in the UK.), then dust yourself off and get back out there.