I usually write on a computer - unless I get stuck, at which point I switch to write by hand. I think that's common among writers if they get cornered on something.

She realises that if she is to save the show she is going to have to improvise a rousing speech, one of the many Henry V moments that make up her working life.

She shouldn't speak her thoughts; nothing good ever came of speaking your thoughts.

Happyish. Well, happyish isn't so bad.' 'It's the most we can hope for.

Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you

My 20s was a sea of worry. I worried about benefit forms, about being thrown out of my flat. I never went on holiday because I thought: 'What if an audition comes up?' I was a nervous wreck.

I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking them outside the room like noisy pets.