Writers Who Run: An Interview with Rachel Connolly, Author of “Lazy City”

“Winter seeps into the day through the edges; I watch it come in.” These are the first words of Rachel Connolly’s debut novel, “Lazy City,” words Connolly held onto for years while the book brewed in her head.

A self-taught writer with a math degree, Connolly just needed the time to write the story. Several years after developing the characters and the scenes in her head, she was able to bring it onto the page through six a.m. writing sessions before her job as a data analyst and essayist. 

“Lazy City,” released in October of 2023, is about Erin, a young woman who has put her post-graduate studies on hold after the unexpected death of her friend. Now back in her home town of Belfast, Erin navigates the nuances of mourning alone while simultaneously reconnecting with people from her past life. Like Connolly, Erin is also a runner and the opening winter scene takes place while the protagonist is on a run. The surprise passerby she comes across on the run, her estranged mother, sets the story up for the tension to come. 

For Connolly, running and writing have a distinct quality in common: neither are very enjoyable when you first get started. But once you’ve built up your stamina, they become something else entirely. 

“I feel like starting running is not very fun, but you learn that the more time you put into it, the more fun it becomes. I think writing is very similar,” she says. 

The U.K.-based author picked up running in her mid-twenties, not long after she’d begun to think about the characters in “Lazy City.” Running became a part of her writing process, where she’d let her subconscious take the reigns. It’s even how she came up with the title. 

“I’m also really into dance music,” she says. “I think that's quite a big part of it, too. You know, a lot of festivals are in nature, kind of just going and being in another environment and letting your brain just seep in the new environment.” 

Keep reading to learn how else Connolly uses the subconscious to develop story, how she wrote “Lazy City,” and where she likes to run. 

Rachel Connolly. Courtesy of the author.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

What was the inspiration behind Lazy City? 

I just kind of had the idea in my head. I don't sit down to be like, ‘I'm going to tackle these themes’ or whatever. Instead, I get characters in my head and then I want to explore their lives. 

I think I had some scenes in the book in my head when I was probably like, 22 or 23. I was just looking for time to write it for a while, and I had that first line probably since I was like 23. 

What was your creative process like once you finally had time to sit down and write?

I would get up in the morning before doing other work, my essays and so on. And then I had another sort of data analysis job as well. I would get up at six. The book’s written in quite a distinctive style, so first I was practicing to get that style right. Then I would write from six till nine, then start on other work. I wrote the first draft and then I went back and edited it. 

I noticed the dialogue, in particular, felt so real. How did you come up with that distinct voice and cadence?

I wanted it to feel quite close to a person's thoughts. I read a lot of modernist literature. It's definitely not like an MFA (master of fine arts) style novel. And it's not like commercial airport fiction. It was quite important to me that it didn't feel artificial in that way. I tend not to use third person fiction. I tend to use first person. But yeah, the kind of interspace between a person's thoughts and their consciousness was the thing that was important to me to try and capture. And I think that style is a way of doing that which is still readable.

And basically with dialogue, I have an ear for dialogue, anyway. I send myself quirks of speech that people say. So if I’m out and about and I hear an interesting phrase, not full conversations, I’ll email it to myself and I have a document full of those types of phrases. I'll have phrases that people use and the kind of pattern of their speech, and then I have to rework it because if you transcribe it exactly. It just looks weird.

How has running affected your writing?

With writing, there's a lot of work. You have to read a lot and sit and try things out a lot. But I really believe in the subconscious, and I believe the subconscious has a huge role in any creative project. And I think that when I've been working all day and I'm stuck on something, if I go for a run, I often find the answer just like appears to me, because obviously your brain is kind of always working, even if you're not exactly thinking about or you don't consciously think that you're thinking about something. 

I find going on a run, especially in a nice environment, a park or something like that, I think just being in that kind of environment, it just smashes everything in your brain around and sort of strange things that you hadn't tried before come to you. I do think it's a really big part of my process, like I got the title for the book on a run. I’ve been working a lot on some essays, too, as well as fiction. If I go for a run, stuff just pops into my head that will be useful and I just email it to myself and then I use it when I come back. 

I do believe that you have to go and do other activities. You have to work and focus and then go do other activities and let your brain kind of do it.

What are you working on now?

I am working on another novel, kind of slowly, but I’ve got some short stories I’m working on, too. And I’m always working on essays. 

Rapid Fire Round:

In one word, what is “Lazy City” About?

Change

Favorite place to run in Belfast?

The Lagan Towpath and Botanic Gardens.

Favorite place to run outside of your city? 

I went to New York and I would run over the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm not sure I could do it every day, but it was amazing.

If you could go on a run with any of your characters, who would you choose?

I think Declan because he’s the most fun. 

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading the new Sally Rooney proof, “Intermezzo.” 

Writers Who Run is a monthly column by Seattle-based reader, runner, writer, and bookseller Malissa Rodenburg.