Oram, Hugh

Hugh Oram is a freelance writer and journalist. He has written about everything from travel to the media and has presented and produced several radio programmes. He has been involved in the media business for 40 years and has contributed to over 50 publications. His wife Bernadette is a well published poet in both Irish and English. She worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin, where they met when he was working on a newspaper assignment.

Q Looking back, was there something in particular that helped you to decide to become a writer? Did you choose it or did writing choose you?

A I was always interested in the creative arts, whether it was film, theatre, radio or television, but I never had any conscious desire to become a writer. Writing really chose me, rather than the other way round, and I started by writing mainly nature-based poetry. I was aware, however, of this dam of words waiting to break and as soon as I started to write, the dam broke and I knew that was the moment.

Q When did you 'know' you were a writer?

A I wasn't aware I was a writer until I began writing poetry in my early teens, then when I was in my late teens, highly political writers like Bertolt Brecht had a big influence on me and inspired me to write prose. Poets like W.B.Yeats and Keats also had a big influence, as did Thomas Hardy with his Wessex novels.

Q Were you a good writer as a child? Teenager?

A I wrote nothing when I was a child and my early attempts at writing when I was a teenager were dismissed by myself as juvenile meanderings of little worth. I don't think I even bothered keeping any of my teenage writings. However, I didn't really get a big kick out of writing until I had my first book published, back in 1979, which seems like prehistory at this stage.

Q What inspires you?

A People with fascinating life stories always fascinate me and I love anything with an historical twist. I've always found the vast historical narratives about battles and other great events in history boring, but increasingly, I find micro history, in terms of local community history, fascinating. It is really interesting to see how people in such communities react to change. I also find it fascinating to look at a local community say a century ago and relate it to today; very often, the physical changes are enormous, but deep down, the concerns of the community and the people who live there remain largely unchanged. I love hearing about local characters; they are often a great inspiration and if they're dedicated to a particular cause, so much the better.

Q Every writer has a method that works for them. On a typical writing day, how would you spend your time?

A There's no such thing as a typical writing day for me. Every day is different, depending on what I'm working on. There’s often a lot of immediate stuff to do, like journalism for different media, such as newspapers, magazines, websites and radio. But each day is usually a mix of research, which I really enjoy, either on the Internet, in the National Library here in Dublin or on location, depending on what's needed. Each day, I need to produce a certain amount of copy and tend to do that first, before anything else. While all the day-to-day stuff is going on, there’s usually an underlying current of research and/or writing for the book that I'm doing at that moment. So each day has its own individual mix of work and I find that once I have the jobs for that particular day well planned out, there’s no big problem in handling so many different tasks. Then of course each day brings a certain amount of administrative work to do – things like VAT can take a certain amount of non-creative time!

Q How long does it take you to complete a book you would allow someone to read?

A Once I've done all my research, I can start writing and once I start on the first draft, that’s usually pretty much the finished version of the book, apart from tidying up, so with a typical book, about three or four months after I've started writing, it’s usually ready to read. All my books are non-fiction, usually documentary. I’ve never actually written a novel or even a short story, and even though I've sometimes thought of changing direction, I’ve never been able to convince myself that fiction would be my forte. So that great earth-shattering novel remains precisely that, a vague dream unlikely ever to be realised.

Q Do you write right through or do you revise as you go along?

A Once I've planned the structure of a book, I start writing. The first draft is usually the last draft, as I don't normally make big changes to that script, apart from modifications and amendments and second thoughts about particular sections, which usually have a nasty habit of arriving in the middle of the night!

Q When you have your idea and sit down to write, is any thought given to the genre and type of readers you'll have?

A I give a lot of prior thought and attention to the particular genre when I'm starting off and try to visualise the type of reader who would find the book interesting. It’s easy enough to imagine the type of readers here in Ireland to whom my books might appeal, but harder in international terms.

Q Writers often go on about writer's block. Do you ever suffer from it and what measures do you take to get past it?

A I'm lucky, it’s a problem I rarely have. As soon as I turn on the computer, I’m ready to write and the earlier in the morning, the better. One of the problems is ensuring I keep within the word count with everything written tightly and succinctly. Once I start, it can be hard to finish! Occasionally if I'm in bad form over something external, I do get writer's block and my inspiration seems to vanish. When that happens, I just abandon any attempt at writing, forget all about it for a while and go off and do something entirely different, even a walk round the block or a chat with someone, preferably someone with a strong sense of humour or someone with a strong sense of outrage at what's going on in the world. Good gossips, the more salacious the better, are always a terrific antidote! After an hour or two, I’m ready to resume.

Q When someone reads one of your books for the first time, what do you hope they gain, feel or experience?

A If it's one of my historical books, I hope that they will enjoy a certain sense of nostalgia for the ways things were done and that they will find out something about their local community that wasn't previously well known or simply that a well-known local character will come to life again for them through the pages of my book. If they are reading one of my travel books, I always hope that people will be able to discover new things to go off and explore.

Q Can you share something you've learned about the business of writing since your first publication?

A Two things really stand out in my mind. First of all, careful planning of the book is essential, so that before you write a single word, you know exactly what the structure of the book is going to be and how you are going to treat the various themes it contains. Secondly, as all my books are either historical or documentary, everything depends on research. Fortunately, I love research just as much as I love writing and there's nothing to beat finding the answer to some really obscure question three months after you've started looking for the answers.

Q What is Bygone Limerick about? Where did you get the idea and how did you let the idea evolve?

A Bygone Limerick gives a glimpse of how life was in the city and county a century ago, before automation and mechanisation. I'm fascinated by the old way of life, although I wouldn't have liked to have been around then. I’d miss my computer too much! I want to create an impression of how people lived then, how they worked and how they shopped, against a broad historical backdrop, without going into detail of such large-scale events like the Siege of Limerick. Quite frankly, I find the old-style accounts of those important historical events worthy but dull and I have no wish to emulate them. For the last few years, I’ve done a lot of this type of book, basing them on old photographs and old picture postcards, even the odd old cigarette card. The combination of old images and accompanying text seems to appeal to readers and enables them to enjoy history without getting bogged down in too much detail. The idea of the book actually came from George Stacpoole, the antiques dealer who has a wonderfully eclectic shop in Adare; he is also the president of the Irish Antique Dealers Association. George has been a good friend for many years and a couple of years ago, he said that he had lots of old photos of Adare and would they make a good book? He produced several albums full of old photos and immediately the idea took root, but I then thought that it would improve the book by including the whole of the county, including Limerick city. I was keen to include other places, like Kilmallock, that have a great sense of their medieval history, and which I've enjoyed exploring. I've long had a soft spot for Limerick. About 20 years ago, when the famed Michelin guide publishers in Paris decided to launch a green guide to Ireland, they wanted someone to work alongside one of their own writers, researching and writing copy. They had a competition to find that extra writer. I was one of the people chosen and was sent off to Limerick to write about the city and its history. This I did, discovering all kinds of things along the way. I was fortunate in winning the contest against some very strong competition and so began a couple of years of really intensive work for Michelin. It also meant going to Paris for regular editorial meetings and I was very amused to find that despite the French reputation for wines, the company runs a very strict non-alcoholic policy during working hours. All drinks in the company canteen in Paris are of the soft variety! That experience with Michelin was my first in-depth introduction to the history of Limerick and I was immediately intrigued. I still am and wanted to write something positive and rewarding about the city and county, which has suffered for so long from having such a negative media image. I also find a certain bolshieness in the air in Limerick – people won't take no for an answer and that appealed to me too!

Q What kind of books do you like to read?

A Most biographies, especially of people in the entertainment business, appeal. I like reading travel books, especially about more out-of-the-way places.

Q When you are not writing, what do you do for fun?

A When I'm not writing, I spend a lot of time keeping up with the news, both from here in Ireland and around the world. It’s very important to know, as best one can, exactly what is going on in a world that seems riven by change, often chaotic change. I like to get news from a variety of sources; it’s not all online. Radio, television and newspapers are equally important sources. I also like most genres of music – jazz is the only one that doesn't really appeal – but again, finding time to listen to it is often the big problem. I used to dine out a lot, but these days, there tends to be so much happening during the day, I just like to relax at home in the evenings. If the weather is fine, I love walking, which is also a great form of exercise, and try and walk several times a day. Some places outside Dublin really appeal to me, like Skerries in County Dublin, and if the weather is good, there’s nothing better I like than heading off there and going for a good walk around the town and the harbour. I used to like going to Greystones, but since they started all the construction work around the harbour, that's put me off. But another place in County Wicklow is still a great favourite, Wicklow town. I also get great enjoyment from my travels round Ireland. Admittedly, this is all part of work, but there's nothing better than going to a different part of the country, meeting people in the area and getting a feeling for the whole atmosphere and history of the place. I also like travelling abroad and have made innumerable trips to France over the years. There are so many regions in France each with its own character, so much so that each region is like a country in its own right. At this stage, I’ve explored literally every region in France and it's a great inspiration to contrast French culture with our own - it makes one appreciate Ireland even more!

Q New writers are always trying to glean advice from those with more experience. What suggestions do you have for new writers?

A While you can learn the mechanics of writing, I don't think you can teach yourself to be creative. It’s either there or not there, and if you have the creative gift, it will eventually emerge of its own free will. The best experiences for writers come from life itself. You’ll learn from online sources and books, but the best experience will come from life on the street, so pack in as many adventures and as much travel as possible while you are still young. If you enjoy doing something, give it everything and if you find a writer whose work you like, read as much as you can by that author.

Q If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

A I can't imagine doing anything other than writing, but if I had to choose, it would have to be something creative. I’ve always enjoyed craft work, so anything to do with working in wood would appeal. Believe it or not, I’ve always enjoyed building and decorating work, which I find very satisfying and rewarding, so maybe something in that line, although building jobs are very hard to come by these days! If I was looking for something creative to do in the media that didn't involve writing, I’d like to be involved in radio production. I’ve been involved in a few radio productions and it's very satisfying translating a few ideas on a sheet of paper into a radio programme that people enjoy listening to. Radio is also fine, because you are working with a small team, whereas television production is much more diffuse, takes longer and involves many more people.