Be an emotionally invested writer; write about what you care about

Shaping a writer's style: medicine, poetry, and landscape

John Cullimore grasped the opportunity to write his first novel in retirement. The book, The Palace of My Imagination, has been published by Holand Press and is based on

the life and times of Swindon writer, Alfred Williams.

John says "For years, I’ve been fascinated by Swindon’s railway heritage and the story of Alfred, my novel’s real-life protagonist. He was an uneducated factory worker in the Great Western Railway who developed a passion for learning. I could readily identify with him, having devoted my own life to medical studies."

John was born in Liverpool and after finishing school left Merseyside to start his medical studies in London, qualifying as a doctor in 1978. He got his Fellowship as a General Surgeon before he made a career defining switch to obstetrics and gynaecology in 1983. He subsequently became a specialist in his field, spending his entire career as a consultant with special skills in oncological surgery in Swindon’s Princess Margaret and Great Western Hospitals from 1992 to 2023.

Author John Cullimore

While writing for medical journals was something that was an integral part of his career, it wasn't until retirement that he began writing fiction. In this interview, John stessess that being an emotionally invested writer and being curious about your subject are two of the key traits a writer needs to produce good work.

On Creative Writing: What life experiences have shaped your writing style?

JC: I’ve recently completed my debut novel, The Place of My Imagination, published by Holand Press. Although I’ve loved reading fiction since childhood, this was my first serious and successful attempt at writing it.

My previous writing experience was rooted in the practice of medicine—original scientific papers, review articles for medical journals, a postgraduate MD thesis, and a little editorial work. That background taught me to stay focused, avoid unnecessary digressions, and communicate in a clear, succinct style.

In my spare time, I became increasingly fascinated by the life of a local poet and writer. That interest sparked my first foray into creative writing: a musical play based on his life. While I concentrated mainly on the songwriting and orchestration, I also contributed to the libretto . Since retiring from medical practice, I’ve moved house and am closer to the landscape in which my novel is set. That move, and two decades of thinking about my central character, finally gave me the time and space to fully commit to writing a novel.

On Creative Writing: Which authors and/or types of books do you like to read?

JC: I tend to gravitate toward fiction, particularly historical and crime novels. That said, many of the books I’ve loved don’t fit in these categories—what draws me in is often the way an author creates their world in the opening pages. If that’s done well, I will read right through to the finish . I also take note of any recommendations made by friends and family who enjoy reading. My go-to authors—the ones I’ve read extensively and often return to—include Daphne Du Maurier, Nevil Shute, R.J. Ellory, Robert Goddard, John Boyne and John Wyndham.

On Creative Writing: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

JC: What seems to work for me is that I like to have a mental outline of the ultimate objective of writing the novel, but I relish the idea of a free-form kind of writing where being present in the world you’re writing about stimulates creativity ‘on the hoof’ in ways that the somewhat more detached situation of plotting may not.

An emotionally invested writer

On Creative Writing: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?

JC: I'm a relative novice to this field, but what my writing projects seem to have in common is that:

I’m significantly emotionally invested in the subjects I’m writing about, and therefore not only do I take personal pleasure in the act of creating the worlds I’m describing, but I feel that I can identify with them more intimately. I also find it helpful if I’m constantly asking myself questions about the characters, e.g. why did they take such and such a course of action, how did the people around them react etc. So my advice would be to write about what you really care about.

Navigating artificial intelligence: a dual perspective for creatives

On Creative Writing: Do you see generative AI as a benefit or a threat to writers?

JC: Like any instrument or application which is hugely powerful, I think it has the potential both to benefit and to harm. Real life parallel examples might be the use of nuclear power or electricity. If AI can be used to augment one’s creativity through supporting background historical research, or by making it easier to reflect on your writing, and facilitate thorough and efficient editing of your prose—in other words engaging more deeply with one’s work, then this must be positive. If however, its used to supplant creativity or as a shortcutting process, either by generating complete plot structures, inventing characters from scratch and producing large amounts of text, then this might be seen as undermining creative writing as we know it.