In writing: with the author Sophie Pointurier

Sophie Pointurier is a teacher-researcher in translation, specializing in interpreting in French sign language, but also the author of The peripheral woman (Harper Collins, 2022). In this brilliantly told first novel, which he plays as a detective, describes the reality of an art world that has long since obliterated women. From Berlin to New York, the novel anchors its story to two main figures: Peter and Petra, a couple of prominent German artists in the 1990s. the plot takes shape, over a disappearance, then a murder. An unmissable read and an unprecedented dive into the world of art (thrills guaranteed).

To miss. What is your relationship with writing?

Sophie Pointurier. Simple, it is a necessity. Since I discovered that I enjoyed reading, I have never stopped writing.

To miss. When did you start writing?

Sophie Pointurier. Quite young, around 8 or 9 years old. I had just read The four daughters of Dr. March, and I found it so beautiful that I copied and pasted the story into my dream life and rewrote it. It was obvious plagiarism! With this act I understood how a novel works, but above all I understood that it is what I liked to do.

To miss. What time of day do you prefer to write?

Sophie Pointurier. I write in the evening, usually around 10pm, it can last a good part of the night because I’m sleepless. I also like to write in the morning. During the day I am less efficient, and then I have a job, which materially prevents me from writing, even if in reality I always think about it.

Inspiration is not continuous and sometimes you need to give yourself some time to start the process. It’s a kind of gymnastics.

Sophie Pointurier

To miss. Do you have a favorite place?

Sophie Pointurier. My bed or my sofa. I like being installed comfortably, I have a bed tray that I carry around my apartment that has become my office. I use any tray on vacation, as long as the computer doesn’t slip.

To miss. How do you handle the blank page when this happens?

Sophie Pointurier. I have learned to welcome him. The inspiration is not continuous and sometimes you need to give yourself some time to start the process. It’s a kind of gymnastics. I don’t worry if it doesn’t come anymore, because sometimes nothing comes and after an hour I do something else. On the other hand, I never give up and try again the next day.

To miss. What is the book that changed your way of writing?

Sophie Pointurier. There are books that speak to me, those that shape me, but they are not necessarily the ones that impact my way of writing. The conspiracy of fools, by John Kennedy Toole is perhaps the first book that changed my way of writing. I found it funny and tragic, I laughed a lot reading it and this text is an endless source of inspiration. In French literature, I remember very well saying to myself, with The little Communist who never smiled, by Lola Lafon, “but yes, you can have whoever you want to talk to, you are free to invite whoever you want”. Reading it, she gave me a writing lesson. I really like this writer, she has a precision and freedom that touch me particularly.

To miss. What does it give you to write?

Sophie Pointurier. I am not a specialist in social relations … writing allows me to refocus, to be in a sort of meditative state of mind, I can spend several hours in a row writing without realizing it. Writing is where I feel in my element.

Write the book you’ve always dreamed of reading, with topics that touch you and that you master.

Sophie Pointurier

To miss. How do you write? Are you more of a typewriter, paper typewriter, or computer?

Sophie Pointurier. Computer. I lose all my notebooks, I never have a pen when I need it, so I text myself as long as my arm and half the time, I don’t understand anything anymore.

To miss. Any advice for Madmoizelle readers who would like to take advantage of the summer to start writing?

Sophie Pointurier. Above all, don’t censor yourself. If you want to write a novel, analyze the books you like or the movies you like and see how the story develops and develops. Write the book you’ve always dreamed of reading, with topics that touch you and that you master. I don’t know if there are miraculous recipes for a successful novel, I don’t really believe them. Personally I never follow my plan, but I imagine the characters as if they were memories.

Portrait of Sophie Pointurier in one: Advanced Melania