I had four years of the tax office and another seven of public libraries. It wasn't until my second collection was published that I decided to try to write full-time. I was growing bored with irrelevancies; at least everything you do as a writer is relevant to the job - no cramming yourself for examinations (a pet hate of mine) with facts you will never use again, no dressing up and looking servile at interviews. The first couple of years were hard; if my wife hadn't been working, they would have been impossible. At least writing for a living persuaded me to make myself clearer, and so, I suppose, did reading my stories to audiences - for me, the most enjoyable part of my work.