7 Solid Writing Tips from Best-Selling Author Lady Colin Campbell

Prince William & Harry are bi-racial?

Did you know Lady Diana was biracial? Her great-great-grandmother Eliza Kewark was the daughter of a father from Armenia and a mother from India. Read more here.

King Charles, too, is descended from Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, who was descended from a Moorish branch of the Portuguese royal house. Additionally, Queen Philippa of Hainault (14th century), consort of King Edward III, may have also been part Moorish. Read more here.

These are some of the royal revelations researched by author Lady Colin Campbell and published in her book "People of Colour & the Royals." 

The British-Jamaican writer is herself of mixed ancestry. Her father was Christian from Lebanon and her mother's mother was Jewish (making her Jewish according to the Jewish definition, just as Obama really is Muslim according to the Muslim definition.)

What qualities give a book staying power?
Lady C sets out to write books that will stand the test of time. Selecting a worthy topic of universal appeal and then telling the truth about that topic is a great start. Her book "The Real Lady Diana" was the very first book ever written on Lady Diana. (She recommends the British version, much better book than the US version.) 

1. Universal Appeal  Lady C first met Lady Diana when the stunningly beautiful future princess was only 17, and recalls, ironically, that she was absolutely forgettable. Although in those days Lady Diana didn't yet come across as interesting, Lady C took the elements of her story and wrote about her in an interesting way. Soon Lady Diana grew into her own persona and became the interesting person Lady C had described.

2. Truth  She is not afraid to convey the real human story happening behind the scenes. As an insider in the insular world of British nobility, she confirms facts through multiple sources. Beyond getting the facts right, she is careful to give a full and accurate picture of events. Unlike many books about the royal family, she strives to be objective and fair to all parties. 

"I don't have any beliefs...I'm not trying to convince you of anything, I simply want to write the facts." 

Lady C's Writing Tips

1.  Avoid perfectionism. "Aim for a Workable Standard." Begin with the idea that nothing is perfect, and nothing is going to be perfect. So when you've worked on your piece, come back to it and fixed it to your liking, you may still see flaws. If you can say, ok, it's not perfect, but it's very good, I like it, that's good enough. 

2.  Keep it simple. "Say what you want as straightforwardly and simply as possible."

3.  It's hard to assess your own work when it's 'hot off the press,' so always sleep on it. "After you've written, go back the following day, correct what you've written and move on to the next."

4.  Have a map. "Have a skeleton, from which you work" then flesh it out. You can do experimental writing with a short story, but you'll end up with a headache if you don't know where your book is going. 

5. Discipline, meet deadlines and bring your ideas to life. "There's nothing mysterious about writing. Get up and you write. If you're not disciplined, you're never going to finish. Artists who wait for inspiration usually starve...or never accomplish what they would."

Lady C was a huge hit on a jungle reality show.

On Her Writing Routine 
"My day to day writing has changed now that I got older. I have to be careful that I don't completely kill myself in terms of my back."
(Truman Capote solved the problem by becoming a "horizontal writer." He wrote lying down.)

"To hell with inspiration. Try just working." (Laughter.)

"I have noticed over the years when I have struggled with the writing or when it has come easy and I think oh, that's very beautiful, three months later I can't tell the qualitative difference. I don't know which was which, which is really interesting....I think you just struggle sometimes." 

Royal Writer's Breakfast:  "I like getting up quite late. I get up ... I have 2 oranges, an egg and tisane of peppermint or chamomile." 

Her greatest strength:  "Perseverance."

Greatest weakness:  "Well I'm not gonna say that...but it used to be gullibility."

Greatest fear:  "I don't have a greatest fear. I think in life you learn that if you're afraid of something, just conquer your fears. It's as easy to be courageous as it is to be cowardly. Either way you have foreseen and unforeseen consequences whether you are brave or cowardly so you may as well be courageous."

What one thing do you think is wrong with the world that you'd love to see changed:  "I'd like to see people have more RESPECT for their opinions. And that means that I have the right to offend you with my opinion and you have the right to offend me with yours." 

"Daughter of Narcissus" 
One of her most important books has turned out to be "Daughter of Narcissus." It's about growing up with a narcissistic mother and is rapidly becoming required reading as narcissism is on the rise.

Due to a genital deformity, she was assigned male at birth (according to the medical advice at the time) despite being female. No doubt the experience gave her a broadened perspective as a writer. By 1970, advancements in medicine made it possible to have the deformity  corrected, and she changed her name from George to Georgia, but still goes by "Georgie." But the change affected how her mother related to her.

"It took me maybe 40 years to figure out...that Mummy died to me in 1972 when she tried to burn me on my face. She tried to burn me on my face because someone said I was one of the most beautiful girls in the world, and Mummy, who was in competition with everybody, was just enraged."

"I got so many letters from people about what a revelation [the book] was.... There's a great sense of befuddlement when you deal with a narcissist because they have you coming and going....They love duping people. ...They are extremely dangerous and damaging people."

Tactics for surviving narcissists:  
"If you can possibly avoid them, avoid them. Nothing is ever going to end well. You are swimming with a shark and when it's hungry, it's going to bite off your leg. I didn't talk to my mother for 20 years. The only reason I started talking to her again was so my children could have grandparents....But I understood I needed to keep that shark in her cage.... She was also an alcoholic."

Two phrases helped her get through it:
"Good and happy relationships or no relationship at all" 
"I'm going to have to take a break"

"They will take any emotion you have and they will devour you...If you can avoid them, avoid them. If you can't, or you have a good reason...manage them with firmness and don't get sucked into their game. They are exploiters. They use everybody and everything. They have no feeling for anyone....If you think they love you it's only because they are using you. It's sad, but true."

The new edition of Lady C's latest book, "Meghan and Harry, the Real Story" launched today and is already out of stock. 

“…ostensibly pregnant” -Lady C