I was sent this list of questions by my fellow writer Mari. Now that I’ve completed them, my assignment is to pass the torch to two writers with blogs. Answering these four questions was illuminating, to say the least. If you are up for the challenge, please let me know! XOXO!
What am I working on?
Currently, I’m editing The Flood Girls, to be published by Gallery/Simon & Schuster in 2015. Editing requires a different gear for me—I’m an idea guy, and need the fresh eyes of others to reel me in. It is very difficult to have perspective on something you are so close to—that is why early readers and editors are extremely necessary. Even taking a break from the material does not provide enough distance for me—although I’m so completely Type A/Virgo that taking a break is never an option! I need others to point out lags in pacing, or exposition that comes too fast and furious. Being an idea guy, I sometimes fall victim to my own wit—it is heartbreaking when a reader thinks something is not funny! Now I know why comedians are usually sad bastards in real life. So, I’m working on sticking the landing, honoring the original intent of the novel, and incorporating architectural suggestions given to me by the fabulous Alison Callahan Kilkelly, my editor at Gallery. Editing is the hardest part of creative expression—I love to try on clothes until I have the perfect outfit, but I have those days where I am not satisfied, and go buy something new!
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
My genre is literary fiction, and there are no rules or tropes. I consider myself fortunate! The literary fiction genre is all about voice. I assigned my students at the Zootown Arts Community Center a flash fiction exercise: take a cliché and explode it. The cliché I chose for my class is a common one: girl falls in love with her best friend’s boyfriend. But all of my students succeeded, because they utilized their particular voices and personal experiences to transcend the cliché. Voice is everything for my own writing—I fail when I try to write like someone else. Every story has already been told, but becomes unique with each new storyteller. My novel has been described as elevated Chick Lit, and perfect for book clubs, but I love women, and refuse to marginalize their reading habits. The Flood Girls, and nearly everything I write, exists in a universe of women. I rarely write male characters, and if I do, they are gay, or they serve only to be objectified. I used to claim I was a Post-Feminist, and I truly believe that women are not just equal to men, but better! I guess this makes me a reverse sexist. My world has been shaped by the Riot-Grrl movement of the 1990s, and the DIY mentality of Sassy magazine and Ani Difranco. However, I devour Chick Lit, and believe that the renaissance of book clubs among women in America is a revolutionary act. I love the fact that women from different backgrounds are coming together to talk about books! I swoon at the idea, but would never join a book club, because I would be the mean girl. Women (and gay men) are capable of appreciating both Donna Tartt and V.C. Andrews, without guilt. I did not come up with the pitch for my novel—but “A League Of Their Own” meets “Fried Green Tomatoes” is apt, only because the women in my novel are gritty and complex and flawed. And fabulous!
Why do I write what I write?
John Irving, in The World According To Garp, describes a novelist as a doctor who specializes in terminal cases. Characters have to be compelling, must be intriguing. They have to bloom on the page, must be dynamic and captivating, because they only get one shot. Unless they are part of a series, they must swing at every pitch. I write because I can reveal pieces of myself through my characters, and the therapy is free. I write what I write because I am a control freak, and lose myself in putting everything in its right place. It is deeply satisfying to have complete control over people’s actions—something I’ve learned is not acceptable in real life. Thanks, AA! I get to manipulate and steer my characters into situations of my own creation—it is like playing with Barbie Dolls, but on a grander scale. I write because I get frustrated by the world, and want to change it. In fiction, things work out just the way I want, good, bad, and ugly. If I don’t want to live in the world I’ve created on the page, I know that I am failing as a writer. I take enormous pleasure in decorating and gardening each and every page. How does my writing process work? Diet Coke and cigarettes. Isolation, at times. For all of my adult life, I’ve always had a full-time job. I grew used to binge writing on weekends and holidays, taking my vacation time and going into the woods and writing long hand. The very first draft of The Flood Girls was written in a week, sitting at a kitchen table and filling pages with a ball-point pen. When I write long hand, I cannot edit myself. Now, I’m the type of writer who sits down in the chair, and stays there. I wake up, and drink coffee, say my morning prayers and write in my journal. After that, I’m ready. It is such a luxury, a dream, to be able to write for a living. I cannot complain. I am an artsy person, and I plot out my novels with markers and gold stars and stickers and ripped out pieces of magazines. Even if I eventually veer away from the original design, it still helps to crystallize my intentions, and is essential to crafting the look and tones of the piece. I don’t know why the writing life chose me, but I try not to examine it too closely. For me, it’s all about faith.