“Writing is almost like an extenuation of doubt. There is something profoundly foolish about sitting at a desk, conversing with these ghosts on the basis that other people will take you seriously. And some days it goes swimmingly and other days the same pages that mildly impressed you, turn to ashes. So the process of writing any novel is trying to get the balance of all those days, the good days and the defeat, the worst days. I can’t imagine anyone caring about fiction not feeling always this nagging sense.”
Want to hear more? Listen to the entire interview at https://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2016/sep/02/ian-mcewan-on-his-novel-nutshell-books-podcast