Barefoot, not Behaving
Parents that Write #32 Q&A with Anna McNuff
Welcome to Parents That Write.
Parent writers, artists, and creators are more than just their ‘chaos’. We’re publishing books, dropping albums, optioning screenplays, and making magic every day.
HOW DO THEY DO IT? That's what we're here to find out. Each week, my guests tackle eight quick-fire questions, plus a few wildcards. But first, a peek into my own creative life:
No-Fluff Notes from my Writing Life
I offer you mood-lifting, myth-busting, bullshit-cutting beauties from my creative week. Let’s spread the good stuff:
Next week, I’m breaking the mother-streak (👏🏼 finally!) with my guest plus I’ll bring more creative pick-me-ups to fluff your spirit, and fire up your work. Come for the uplift, stay for the mischief.
Today’s guest is , barefoot marathoner, adventure queen, and all-round joy missile. She’s got a Substack full of soul and dirt and glitter, and honestly, I’d follow her into the wilderness without asking where we’re going.
Share a broad snapshot of your life. Who are you parent to and/or have caring responsibilities for?
I'm a mumma to three wild and spirited kids - big sister Storm, (aged 4) and boy/girl twins Rocky and Jupiter (aged 2). We live in Gloucester in the South West of the UK.
I earn a living in lots of ways -- all of which are a mixture of things I enjoy doing, but also pay the bills/ top up the travel fund.
Things like; writing books, narrating audiobooks, a weekly newsletter on Substack and partnership/ambassador work for brands. I'm also a speaker -- sharing tales of adventure with businesses at away days, conferences, all that jazz.
My partner also runs his own business so our household rhythm is different from one week to the next but on a regular week I carve out (and fiercely protect!) two short days for work, plus the odd snatched 30 minutes here and there.
We have some awesome support from a mother-in-law who's helped out loads with the kids and we have our eldest in nursery a few days a week too. Our life is, to say the least, colourful chaos!
Where can we find you?
Substack | Website | Instagram | Facebook | Books
Can you share favourite praise for your writing?
I loved this from TV presenter Claudia Winkleman on my book about cycling through South America..
"Anna McNuff's Llama Drama is simply hilarious. If anyone wants something witty and moving at the same time. Also, something empowering, then this is the one for them. I literally inhaled it."
Why do you write?
Oh my. I write because I have to. It's my happy place.
Writing makes me feel deeply connected to other people -- to know that they've read my words and it's made them laugh, caused to them think differently or just that the words have reached out from the page at a time they needed them and delivered a giant hug.
When an idea or a train of thought pops into my head, there's a spark of electricity that runs from my brain to my fingertips. It's a physical buzz, and I need to put those words on the page (or dictate them into my phone) before they get lost forever.
What does the inside of your writing mind look like?
Ooooh now that's a good question! My writing mind is like fields filled with different places of sanctuary, and I go into each one to express a different part of myself.
There's a yurt strung with fairy lights, where I'm reflective, light-hearted and carefree.
There's a stone croft house with no windows where I write from when I'm feeling broken and disconnected. The words that come from there are painfully honest and when I step back out into the sunshine I feel much better for having been in that cool, dark space.
And then there's the field itself -- where I run around with boundless energy, hatching plans and getting excited about EVERYTHING. The clouds, the wildflowers, the feel of the rain on my palms. It's here I write about big ideas, as well as the wonder of the world and the people who live in it.
How is your ability to write affected by being a parent and your ability to parent affected by your writing?
Becoming a parent has massively changed my ability to write. I'm not one of those people who can just bash books out on the fly, I need time -- first of all to sink into the creative space (and out of the space of 'overwhelmed mum').
But I also need time to wrangle the words.
I tend to brain dump everything for a newsletter or a chapter as a big smushy mess and then sculpt into something that makes sense. I used to get frustrated by the fact that I overwrite and then need to cut so much, but it's just my process. And there's always some hidden treasure to be found in the messy thoughts by writing that way.
I was writing one book per year pre kids and now I'm aiming for one book every three years. Or, to be honest I'm just aiming to finish the books as and when I can. Putting any kind of deadline in for the time being while they're so young (and I'm choosing to be so involved in their daily life) is unrealistic, so I'm rolling with it.
How often do you write with your child around or not, and what kind of writing do you get done when your child is nearby?
Errrr being honest... never. I just can’t sink into the place I need to be to get creative if the kids are around. I don't do well with split attention as I'm so easily distratced. I need solitude. And noise cancelling headphones on with brain.fm playing. I'm the most productive and happiest for writing when I'm totally alone. Except for the food -- food can (and should) always be nearby.
What is your best writing habit?
The best overall habit for me is actually a series of habits that I attach to the writing process
1. I have a process of getting a coffee, ordering up food, putting my beanie on (if it's winter), logging in on my computer as a separate 'person' (Writer Anna) -- where there's nothing on the desktop to distract me.
2. Then I pop my noise cancelling headphones on, press play on brain.fm, take a sip of coffee and off I go.
I've picked these things up gradually over a decade of writing. The headphones I got from Indie author Joanna Penn, the little habits idea is from Steven Pressfield, the hat... well that just came into play when I was once writing a book while on a road trip across Canada in the wintertime. The hat became a 'thing' to tell my brain it was going to be writing soon.
I don't have a desk or a set spot to write so I find that this little pre-writing routine gets me into the zone, and it can be done wherever you are in the world -- which works perfectly for being on the move a lot.
What are the three most important characteristics of being a writer who is a parent?
➡️ Going easy on yourself (if you don't write much/have a day where it's all a mess)
➡️ Carving out time for solitude (for creative ideas or the writing itself).
➡️ Protecting your writing time as if it were the most important business meeting in the world.
What or who is your secret writing weapon?
Coffee. Oat milk flat white please. 🙋🏼♀️
What or who has been the most significant creative influence in your life?
Anne Lamott's book -- Bird by Bird, about writing shitty first drafts. That was a game changer. Mix that with reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic and I was on my way!
What are your coping tactics for being (constantly) interrupted in your thought process?
LOL. I want to answer this one but I can't because my coping tactic is losing my sh*t! So lets leave this one...!
What’s your best writing time?
Morning, first thing (but usually after the kids are gone... so 9am) -- I have to leave my phone on airplane mode or at least not look at ANYTHING else, emails, social all of that before I write. It just clogs up my brain!
What unfinished writing projects do you have lying about?
Oooof, so many! But the chunkiest two are that I have enough material for a book of short stories and poetry for early motherhood, as well as enough adventure stories for a volume two of 'Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups.'
What is the favourite sentence you’ve ever written, and why?
Errr, can I have a favourite paragraph? Yes? I'm going for it. It's from the end of my first book about running the length of New Zealand:
"I know that when the cobwebs cling to the dusty pages of this tale, all of the hardships will fall away. All I will know is that I have placed myself in a state most fragile, so that I might see the world at it's most beautiful and it's people at their most kind. All I will know is that I have played an irreplaceable part in a great adventure, and that I have truly lived."
PARENTS WHO THINK (AND CREATE) MEET IN THE COMMENTS 👇🏻
What’s your version of adventure this week? Booking a little wild trip? Saying no to a thing you didn’t want to do anyway? Wearing matching undies? Tell us. I’ll go first.
Until next time.
 | A guest post by
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Thanks SO MUCH for having me in this here magical space - and asking me a load a questions I never take the time to stop and think about. What a treat.
My version of adventure so far this week: I sliced a peach with a steak knife and ate it leaning over the sink. Juice, wrists, everything.