From burnout to bestseller: Julia von Lucadou opens up about trading TV stress for literary success

What made you quit your TV job and pivot to writing full-time? How did this decision lead to the creation of "The High Rise Diver"?

In my TV job, I pretty much worked myself into a burn-out. It was a challenging, high pressure work environment with very long hours and almost no days off. Work dominated my life, and waking up in the middle of the night to write to-do lists and emails was normal. I had completely internalized the ideology of capitalist performance society. My self-worth was entirely tied to my performance and productivity. And that was a very unhealthy way to live. At some point, my body broke down and forced me to reflect. I started thinking about the society we live in and how some of the technology we employ escalates this sense of competition with others and ourselves. Writing The High-Rise Diver was a way to work through this experience. Science fiction is such a great medium for thought experiments. I asked myself: What could happen if we continue to self-optimize ourselves into productivity-machines? What might be lost?

Do you see the themes explored in “The High Rise Diver” relating to contemporary social issues? Do you believe art needs to be political?

At its heart, The High-Rise Diver is about the world we live in. All the technology portrayed in the book already exists. Most of the social dynamics and self-optimization techniques already exist too. The slight exaggeration into a future reality makes these aspects more visible to me. I do consider myself quite a political person but not an activist writer. My novel is not a manifesto or pamphlet. The beautiful thing about literature is that it doesn't tell the reader what to think or do. Good literature to me isn't black and white with heroes and villains. It portrays the world in all its complexity and inconsistency. It poses questions, it moves you, it might inspire reflection. To me, my novels are the beginning of a broader conversation which the reader responds to.

How did you go about creating the setting and characters that enhance the story's impact?

The first thing I know about a story is usually my main characters. I get to know them, and I see who they are close to and with whom they are in conflict. Then, slowly, a world begins to form around them. Of course, it is heavily influenced by what I am passionate about or interested in at the time. When I was writing The High-Rise Diver, I was reading a lot about capitalism, technology, and Silicon Valley work culture, and at the same time, working through my own experience of burn-out, so that became a part of the setting pretty quickly. But Riva and Hitomi, my main characters, came first.

Please share some insights into your creative process for this novel. Were there any particular authors, works, places, experiences that influenced your writing style?

I think almost everything I listen to, read, or watch finds its way into my text while I'm in the process of writing. So it's quite hard to pick specific examples. I definitely like to read a lot of non-fiction articles or books related to the topics I'm writing about. While writing the High-Rise Diver, I remember reading an interview with a former Google software-engineer who had become a ''guru'' within Google, getting the employees to do mindfulness meditation to enhance their productivity. I also read a report on how Facebook had done psychological testing on users without their knowledge or consent. Another important thing that came across was the leak of an internal video called "The Selfish Ledger" that Google had made about their company goals and vision for the future. In it, they described how they want to completely predict and control people's behavior through complete data collection. I found all these materials quite unsettling. They gave me strong dystopian vibes and ended up influencing the atmosphere of the novel. I also get a lot of inspiration from art, film, and music. So I regularly hang out at museums when I run out of ideas to jump-start my creativity. Or I go see a film or plug in my headphones.

Do you usually follow a writing routine?

When I first became a writer, I had this romantic idea of sitting down at my desk in the early morning, writing tirelessly throughout the day. Unfortunately, I am not a morning person and I also can't be creative for hours at a time. So I had to learn to adjust to my personality. That means, my days can look quite different. I like to have routines and then break them regularly to not get bored. Sometimes I write in libraries, sometimes I work from home. Sometimes I take long walks and dictate text into my phone while walking. Also, while writing, I always get interested in new things I then need to research. Sometimes I fall into rabbit holes with that because there is just so much to know about the world. But at some point, the research brings me back to another idea or scene for the story.

Do you prefer to write from cafes or home or while travelling?

I prefer a mix of the three. I love to change things up because I tend to feel stuck or constrained easily. So, going to a new place and meeting new people usually brings me a lot of energy and inspiration. And then it's great to come home afterwards and live the "normal life" for a little while.

What is your antidote for writer's block?

I don't have one! If you know someone who does, please let me know!! I have a lot of writer's block because I can be too perfectionist. Through the perfectionist lens, everything I do suddenly doesn't seem good or worthy enough. Maybe therapy is the answer to writer's block…) Fingers crossed!

Any essential dos for aspiring writers and common don'ts they should avoid when honing their craft?

I think one of the most important lessons I learnt about writing is that every writer is so very different. There's no point in comparing yourself to others, whether in your writing style or your routines. Trust yourself, don't give up. Find things or people that inspire you. Oh, and I tell myself this every day to get over my perfectionism: Be brave enough to make mistakes and try things out. You can always edit it later if it doesn't work.

What are your recommendations for effective self-editing and seeking external feedback?

Pick people who have a similar idea of literature to you. Someone who gets the basic idea of what you're trying to do will have more helpful criticism than someone who just prefers a completely different type of text. And for self-editing, I have found that I need to leave a text alone for a while and distance myself a little before I can see it objectively and make helpful changes.

Balancing a writing career with personal life can be challenging. How do you maintain your creative energy and inspiration?

My social life keeps me sane, since writing is such a solitary task. And I watch / read / listen to a lot of art to keep my artistic juices flowing.

Do you have any book recommendations? Who are your favorite authors?

My favorite book is usually the one I'm reading! Recently, I've read and loved Rachel Ingall's "Mrs. Caliban" and Alexandra Kleeman's "You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine." Oh, and when I was visiting India, I picked up a short story collection from Assam called "A Fistful of Moonlight" which I adored. I especially loved "A Wagtail’s Song" by Bikash Dihingia whom I had the pleasure of meeting while I was visiting.