AUTHORNOMICS Interview with Kobbie Alamo

The Whidbey Workshop MFA Alumni Association was founded in 2010 and is registered with the state of Washington as a not-for-profit association. Our Mission Statement is as follows:

To represent and promote alumni and interests of the Whidbey Writers’ Workshop MFA
Program (Whidbey MFA) by facilitating on-going relationships between Whidbey MFA
and its alumni and by fostering loyalty and support for Whidbey MFA.

The people behind the alumni association include our current Board of Directors. They are as follows:

President: Kobbie Alamo, graduated in 2010
Vice-President: Joe Ponepinto, graduated in 2009
Secretary: Ann Beman, graduated in 2009
Treasurer: Frances Wood, graduated in 2010
Membership: Lois Brandt, graduated in 2007
Member at Large: Claire Gebben, graduated in 2011

1. What is the Whidbey Alumni Association First Novel Contest? Who’s eligible to enter?

We decided to name it the “Emerging Writers Getaway Contest,” as a respectful nod toward the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts (NILA)* Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. The low-residency MFA (an offshoot of the renowned Whidbey Island Writers Association) offers degrees in Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children’s/Young-Adult, and Poetry. The first year’s contest is novel-length fiction for emerging writers – those who have not had a completed manuscript published. We hope to rotate the genres annually. All of the eligibility requirements can be found on our website.

2. What inspired you to start this contest, and what do you hope to accomplish by offering it to writers?

By offering this contest we hope to connect to, encourage, and reward aspiring writers.

As recent MFA graduates ourselves, we believe in contributing to the success of writers who are just emerging. A primary goal of the Alumni Association, in addition to helping NILA students and graduates become members of the writing community at large, is to raise scholarship money for aspiring writers. Therefore, proceeds of this contest will be put toward an MFA student scholarship fund and continuing education and networking for alumni.

3. Contestants are asked to submit the first twenty-five pages of their manuscript. What are the most important elements you look for in these first few pages?

We’re writers, and our second love is reading. Like all readers, we appreciate the basics of an engaging and polished story, with strong characters, absorbing dialogue, and a grabber of a hook.

We understand that “emerging” means unpublished; we’re looking forward to that unpublished diamond.

4. One of the materials required for a submission is a synopsis. Do you have any tips for writing a proper and engaging novel synopsis?

The best tip I have is to quote “Writer’s Digest” which states, “The synopsis supplies key information about your novel (plot, theme, characterization, setting), while also showing how these coalesce to form the big picture.”

As far as this contest is concerned, since we are only requiring the first 25-pages of the manuscript, we are looking to the synopsis for the overall story line; to provide the bigger picture. To help writers, we have provided a link on the contest page of our website that opens on an instruction guide from “Writer’s Digest” that details how to write a synopsis.

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

AUTHORNOMICS Interview with Jody Hedlund

Jody is giving away a copy of The Doctor's Lady! Comment on this interview at www.andreahurst.com/authornomics-interview-series to enter. Happy Valentine's Day!

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning historical romance novelist and author of the best-selling book, The Preacher's Bride. She received a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, both in Social Work. Currently she makes her home in Michigan with her husband and five busy children. Her second book, The Doctor’s Lady released in September 2011. Find her on Facebook, Twitter, or at her personal website:

Author Jody Hedlund

@JodyHedlund

jodyhedlund.com

1. You give a lot of information on the craft of writing on your blog and website. How did you first start learning to write? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I’m pretty sure I was born with a pen in one hand and a notebook in the other. Since my earliest days, I loved making up stories and writing them down. The passion followed me into adulthood. During my college and post-graduate years, I began to devour every book on writing that I could get my hands on. I filled note cards with all of the things I was learning and I wrote numerous practice books. After many twists and turns along the path, I’ve finally been able to channel my passion into a full time writing career.

2. You live a self-proclaimed chaotic life, with a house full of children and pets. How do you juggle the demands of your life as a wife and mother and still find time to prioritize writing?

It’s definitely not easy. I feel like I have two very full time jobs! But like any other writer trying to balance dual careers or multiple responsibilities, I’ve had to look for ways to make it work. I’ve scaled-back on outside commitments and simplified home life as much as possible. I also stick to a very strict writing schedule when I’m in first draft mode. I block out writing time and don’t let myself go to bed at night unless I get in my daily word count.

3. Your work is very popular in the Christian marketplace. What tips do you have for writers trying to break into this genre?

Start reading inspirational fiction books especially in your genre. Study them to see what works and what doesn’t. Analyze how your stories and style can offer something unique and fresh from what’s already out there. Also begin to immerse yourself into the Christian publishing industry. A great place to start is by reading Christian agent blogs (including my agent, Rachelle Gardner). I have a short list of agent blogs in the sidebar on my blog.

4. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, let’s talk about romance. How do you find fresh romantic storylines for each book?

I find inspiration from real couples from history. When I read their diary entries or letters, I often glean ideas. Once an idea is sparked, my imagination takes over. My inquisitive mind starts asking, “Why did they do that?” or “What really happened?”

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

AUTHORNOMICS Interview with Larry Brooks

Larry Brooks is the author of “Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing,” published in 2011 by Writers Digest Books. He is also the creator of Storyfix.com, a major site for fiction writers, and has several craft ebooks available through that site. He is also the author of five psychological thrillers, including a USA Today bestseller and a novel named by Publishers Weekly to their “Best Books of 2004” list after a starred review. He teaches and keynotes and workshops frequently, and has less hair than the accompanying picture would have you believe.

1. Your blog and workshops teach writing on the developmental model. Can you explain what that is?

It’s hard to explain what it is, but it’s actually hard to explain what makes a story work without a development model. In other words, beginning writers often just grab an idea and take a swing at it, using their intuitive notion and subconscious story architect (usually gleaned over years as a reader, one who ‘feels’ what makes a story work). The trouble with that is, like anything else done at a professional level – and make no mistake, getting published, or self-publishing a story readers will be drawn to, is very much a professional-level of aspiration – this is like sitting in the stands at a game and using that audience-level experience to declare you’re ready for an NFL or a PGA tryout. It’s much harder, and much more complex, than it looks.

My site breaks the element of a story down in four basic groups, and then adds the two basic “execution” skills required to make those groups work together. When broken down, we see not only what these elements are, but also how they work together – as they must – to become a sum in excess of their parts. I leave the rhetoric behind and get very precise, assigned definitions, criteria and applications for each of the elements, and in context to each other. The fog lifts, and no longer are you alone with your idea; you now have a tool chest with which to carve greatness from it.

2. You separate issues with manuscripts into criteria-based issues, like concept, character, structure, and theme, and executional issues, which are scene writing and writing voice. Is either of these categories easier to correct?

Never been asked that. They’re all challenging, and it depends on what you mean by “correct.” Is elevating “good” to “great” a correction, or a value-add? Much of what we do intuitively is good, really not in need of correction as much as benefitting from an elevation, so to speak. That said, if a story is missing one of the four elements – concept, character, theme and proper structure – or even just weak in any one of them, it’s pretty hard to fix that after writing some great scenes with a killer writing voice. It’s like a car that’s “just not running quite right”: you need to put it on a diagnostic computer operated by a trained pro to really understand what’s working. If the writer has just winged it, chances are they’re not the person to see what could be better.

3. Can you give an example of a theme problem and how a writer could fix it?

Sure. Let’s say a writer has a strong concept for a mystery. A whodunit. So the story becomes a sequence of clues and close calls, and maybe behind the curtain we eventually see the bad guy out-smarting the detective and is about to get away with it all. Great fun. But… it needs to be more than “great fun.” Offering a puzzle to solve is entertaining, but they’re empty calories. What this story means, how it reflects real life and the interior landscape of characters is the place where theme kicks in. It’s what makes a reader relate and offer empathy; it’s what makes a story “feel” good rather than just taste good. Romances are always about theme, but is the theme original? This is a tough core competency, but it parallels character development and arc, which is nearly impossible to achieve without also infusing the story with them. In my view, if this is given solid thought beforehand, with a thematic intention and target, it informs the writing itself through the characters. It’s like a kid being raised in a religious home, versus a kid being raised in a morally bankrupt home: this background tapestry informs everything that the character brings to the table.

4. What about a writing voice problem? How can a writer fix their writing voice?

Years of practice, for one thing. Not imitating the style of another, even though another writer may lead you to your own voice. Comfort level. Study. Feedback. Openness to that feedback. Not over-writing. Discarding purple. Understanding that less is more. Infusing the writer with power and substance over style and adjectives. Developing an ear, along with finally knowing who you are as a writer, and who you aren’t.

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

AUTHORNOMICS Interview with Sharon Lippincott

Sharon is giving away a copy of her leader's manual for starting a Life Story group to everyone who comments on this interview in the next week! Go to www.andreahurst.com/authornomics-interview-series to enter.

Sharon Lippincott is a life writing teacher and coach and the author The Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing, The Albuquerque Years, Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts, and Donuts, and the popular Heart and Craft of Lifestory Writing blog and stories and essays in assorted publications. She serves on the Advisory Board of NAMW and teaches lifestory, memoir, and creative writing classes at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. She leads writing groups at Gilda’s Club and the Pittsburgh Psychoanalytic Center. She is currently collaborating with the Allegheny County Library Association to establish lifestory writing groups in county libraries.

1. On your blog, you talk a lot about Life Writing. What is Life Writing?

That’s a big question. Life Writing is a multi-faceted category including any form of written self-expression on some aspect of your life, whether experiences, reflections, or perceptions. It includes spontaneous writing (i.e., journal entries, personal letters, emails, and simple free-writing), short, free-standing pieces (stories and essays) and the complex umbrella category of memoir, which synthesizes aspects of all the above. In its broadest definition, it can also include writing true accounts of the lives of others.

2. You started writing to share your memories with your grandchildren. Do you find writing more difficult than telling stories orally?

In one way, yes. It’s easy to spin a yarn on the spur of the moment. But crafting a fine oral story for formal presentation takes at least as much time and effort as polishing a written one, plus the time to practice enough to ensure a flawless delivery. The two use overlapping skill sets, but story telling involves as much performance skill as verbal.

3. What was your process for learning the craft of writing?

The most powerful learning experience I had was writing my first published book, Meetings: Do’s, Don’ts and Donuts. Up until then, all my writing had been intuitive. The content of that book was solid enough to sell it, but two editors emptied at least a barrel of red ink each, and fewer than a dozen sentences survived intact as I wrote them. They were compassionate about it, and that was a learning experience! Since I began writing life stories in 1998, I have voraciously read books about writing as well as fiction and memoir, and a few years ago I began publishing reviews of most books I read. Studying a book deeply enough to review it is quite an education. I’ve belonged to many writing groups, attended classes workshops and conferences, and listened to dozens of hours of audio downloads from organizations like National Association of Memoir Writers and International Association for Journal Writing. I also learn more than any of the students when I teach. But I’ve learned most of all by writing, revising, and revising some more.

4. You teach several classes, including one on Writing for the Health of It. How does writing help a person heal?

That is another huge topic. Well over 200 studies based on the initial work of James Pennebaker on expressive writing have demonstrated that simple expressive writing is good for both physical and emotional health. Journal therapists incorporate journal writing into various psychotherapy modalities, and Linda Joy Myers’ book, The Power of Memoir, explains how writing memoir can heal. Each of these modalities involves a change of perspective — seeing things from someone else’s point of view — or considering other ways of explaining and understanding things. Beyond that, writing brings focus and closure to memories, cutting through rumination cycles and clearing the mind. There are many scientific ways of explaining it, but legions of us write simply because it makes us feel good.

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

AUTHORNOMICS Best-of with Jennie Shortridge

Jennie will be giving away a signed book to a random reader of this blog! Comment at http://www.andreahurst.com/?p=1141 within the week to enter.

Seattle author Jennie Shortridge has published four bestselling novels: When She Flew, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe, Eating Heaven, and Riding with the Queen. When not writing, teaching writers workshops, or volunteering with kids at 826 Seattle, Jennie stays busy as a founding member ofSeattle7Writers.org, a collective of Northwest authors devoted both to raising funds for community literacy projects and to raising awareness of Northwest literature. In her previous lives she has been a magazine freelancer, a traditional businesswoman, a plumber, a cook, and a working musician. For her personal website, go to http://jennieshortridge.com; for more information about the Seattle7, go to http://seattle7writers.org/.

1. Many authors say the sophomore book is the hardest to write. You’ve now written four books; which was the most difficult for you and why?

My second book was quick and easy to write, because it was the first novel I’d ever written (although not very well the first time around). My third book was much harder because I didn’t have a ready-made idea to run with, and I discovered that story as I wrote it. I learned my lesson about going into the writing process better prepared (especially once deadlines enter the picture!), I’ve studied structure more and more with each book, and like the idea of having this road map to refer to, even though I may take side-trips or change course all together. It has made subsequent books more satisfying to write.

2. In all of your books, one of the things that stands out is your expert use of voice. In Eating Heaven your characters come across as real and relatable. Can you give us some insights on how you get your characters to jump off the page?

Well, thank you! That is the highest compliment for me, because it’s what I truly strive to do when writing. It’s also the most fun part of the process for me. Before I begin a novel, I write pages and pages about the characters—their histories, backgrounds, peculiarities, strengths, traits. I want to know what makes them tick. I want to know what drives them and what scares them most. I want to know how they’ve been hurt, and by whom. Then, when I’m ready to write the story, I employ a really closely held viewpoint, whether in first or third person. I like to be right inside each character as I write, and see, hear, feel, touch, taste, and smell what they do, both physically and emotionally.

3. Many writers have trouble getting an outstanding first page and hooking the reader early. Your books accomplish this with ease. Is there any advice you can share with writers on how to capture the audience’s attention from the very beginning?

Again, thank you for the vote of confidence! The “ease” comes with rewriting those openings over and over and over, constantly distilling it down and down, and pulling the ending of the book back to the beginning, and vice versa, to create the sense of a full circle. What is promised in the opening sentence must be delivered by the end, so I want to make sure it all correlates. But more than that, that beginning has to compel the reader on, to create a mystery right out of the starting gate. “Why?” I want the reader to ask, and then feed her just enough of the answer to pull her into another why, and then another. As most writers will say, the beginning pages take the most work of the entire book.

4. You’ve had plenty of day jobs, but right now you’re a full-time writer. What do recommend for someone planning their career knowing they want to be a novelist?

Win the lottery. Marry someone who loves his or her job. Have a sizable trust fund. Truly, it’s impossible to say with any certainty whether you will make enough to live on as a novelist, especially in the beginning. And these days, even if you’ve published successfully but have sales slip on one title, you may go backward in pay, or lose the ability to get published all together. It’s a tough damn world. I am very lucky to have the emotional and financial support of a patron, my husband, who feels that the work I do is important in the world. Some years I do okay. Other years are lean because I won’t be getting an advance for a while, and teaching doesn’t pay very well. I don’t believe anyone should venture into it without some other means of financial support.

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

AUTHORNOMICS Interview with Susanna Margolis
originally posted: January 16, 2012

Susanna Margolis has ghostwritten more than 25 nonfiction books—and countless articles and speeches—on a range of subjects. She is the author of the adventure travel guides Walking Europe From Top to Bottom and Adventuring in the Pacific, and she is a contributor to The Sierra Club Guides to the National Parks: California, Hawaii, and American Samoa. She is co-author, with Judith Dunford, of the novel Cashing In under the joint pen name Antonia Gowar. She lives in New York City. Find out more at www.susannamargolis.com.

1. Can you tell us about your process of becoming a professional ghostwriter?

The word “process” suggests a level of deliberate planning that I really cannot claim. In my case, I’m not sure whether I fell, jumped, or was pushed into ghostwriting; I think it was part accident, part natural progression. As a freelance, you’re always poised to change direction and/or jump into the next opportunity. And as someone who had done a lot of speechwriting, in which you really have to get inside somebody else’s voice, I suppose writing books was the next logical step—an extended stay inside another person’s voice. In any event, when the opportunity presented itself, I took it.

2. Is it a difficult field for a writer to break into? For those who are interested in becoming a ghostwriter, what steps would you suggest?

What is distinctive about ghostwriting is that you are writing for someone else: you have a client. So it is useful to seek out projects in which you interact directly with the person you’re working for. You need to learn how to hear what he or she is saying—and not saying—and you will have to adapt to different personalities and different levels of articulateness. You may also need to learn a subject matter that is totally unfamiliar to you, so knowing how to do basic research in any field is essential.

3. What are some of the advantages of using a ghostwriter? What are some of the challenges?

The authors I work with are typically people who have something interesting and important to say but simply have no idea how to go about saying it. Nor do they have the time, in most cases, for the sustained work of writing a book. So they turn to a professional writer. The challenge for said professional writer is to capture what the author has to say and relay it to a wide audience clearly and compellingly. Both sides of that equation—capturing and relaying—can be thorny. Sometimes it is difficult even to understand clearly what the author wants to say, so you must somehow get it out of the person. And then you must organize and write the material in a way that both gets the message across and keeps readers’ interest. But the point is that you, the ghostwriter, are not in charge of the message; you cannot control the content of what the author wants to say. Yet you have the responsibility to transmit it with clarity and cogency. That can be a challenge.

4. As a ghostwriter, how directly do you work with the author and how do you maintain their voice and their vision?

I work directly with the author from start to finish, and I find that one of the best ways to maintain the author’s voice and vision is to quote him or her directly. With permission, if we’re face to face, I will tape a conversation and take notes. If I’m interviewing by phone, which I prefer, I can take down what is being said virtually verbatim. It is not atypical for authors to fail to connect the dots when they talk about a subject they know so well, and that is what I have to be sure to get from them by probing, cajoling, encouraging—whatever it takes. But once they get going, most speak powerfully and passionately about the subject, and that’s what I want to get down in their own words.

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

AUTHORNOMICS Interview with Rhys Bowen
originally posted: January 9, 2012

Rhys Bowen is the author of two historical mystery series: the Molly Murphy Mysteries set in 1900s New York City and the lighter bestselling Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s England. Her books have been nominated for every major mystery award and she has won 11 to date, including Agatha, Anthony and MacAvity. Rhys is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona.

1. You have many successful series, including mysteries under the name Rhys Bowen and children’s books under Janet Quin-Harkin name. What are some of the difficulties you’ve had in maintaining different pseudonyms? What are the advantages?

I had to adopt a pseudonym when I started writing mysteries as my editor and agent felt I would pre-judged as a children’s author. The disadvantage was that I had built a reputation as a YA author and had to start from square one again. The advantage is that Rhys Bowen is a cool name and I love being Rhys. People ask me how to pronounce it and it’s a great ice breaker.

2. Many historical novels take years of research before they are written. Your historical mysteries come out quickly. How much research do you do before launching a series? How much research do you do between each book?

When I wrote Murphy’s Law I just knew I wanted to set a book on Ellis Island, so I did a lot of research on that and on the Transatlantic crossing. Then of course Molly steps ashore in Manhattan and I realized how little I knew about New York in 1901. It’s been ongoing research ever since. I do a lot of advance reading before I start each book and of course I’m often in New York, just prowling around Molly’s haunts.

For the Lady Georgie books it was easier in many ways because I married into an upper class British family and am at home with the manners and speech that Georgie uses. Of course I research everything to do with the royal family and real people like Coco Chanel so that everything they say is authentic.

3. You are writing several series at the same time. Do you have a system for keeping track of what is going on in each one? How do you decide which one to write when you sit down?

That’s easy. I write two books a year—one Molly and one Georgie. I have contracts to turn the books in at a set time so I write to deliver on time. It’s three months of intense work to get a first draft done and I am so focused that I never even think about the other series while I’m writing. As for keeping track—you remember what each of your family members has been doing, don’t you? It’s pretty much the same for my heroines.

4. How do you get inspiration for each book?

I decide where I’d like to set a story—which kind of environment in New York, for example, then I research it and start writing. I knew very little when I start and wait for things to happen.

For more of this interview and others, visit www.andreahurst.com.

Andrea Hurst, President, has over 25 years experience as a published author, developmental editor for publishers, and skilled literary agent. In addition to our work with high-profile authors and mainstream publishers, our team of industry professionals now offers assistance to writers we do not represent, but who are in need of expert literary guidance in their quest for publication. Whether you need help polishing a query letter or evaluating your manuscript, are curious about custom publishing or on the hunt for a top ghostwriter, we provide the tools and the expertise to succeed in today’s marketplace.

AUTHORNOMICS Interview Series Schedule

October 24th Bill Kenower, Author and Editor of Author Magazine
October 31st Tex, Editor of Under the Juniper Tree
November 7th Regina Brooks, Agent
November 14th Pam Allyn, Author