Readers frequently email me to ask about pretty much anything you can imagine – from my writing habits to my favorite kind of pie. So I’ve compiled a list of some of the questions I’ve been asked more than once in this handy FAQ section, which will undoubtedly bring countless hours of pleasure and intrigue to all who stumble upon it. Enjoy!
Yes. Absolutely. I can remember being about six or seven, and my dad gave me his old typewriter to keep in my room. I would sit up there for hours, writing little stories about whatever came to my mind. For a few weeks in college, I got scared that writing might not work out as a career, and I figured I should major in something more reliable as a backup. I switched my major to psychology, because my dad is a shrink, and he has a private practice that I could have walked into after I finished school. But when it came time to register for classes, I had no interest in taking any of the introductory psych courses; I only registered for things like creative writing, poetry, British lit, etc. My faculty advisor said, “you’re clearly an English major. Stop kidding yourself.” He was right; I would have made a terrible psychologist, and I would have spent the rest of my life wondering what might have happened if I’d tried to make it in the writing world.
Eh, I do stuff. Every morning I make a to-do list for the day, and it typically has two constants aside from writing: working out and cleaning. It’s pretty dull, actually. I try to go for at least a 5-mile run every day. And I have two kids and a husband, so the cleaning is a constant. I joke about my careless attitude when it comes to keeping my house in order, but the truth is I’m sort of a maniac about it. If my surroundings are a cluttered mess, I find that my mind tends to follow, and I have a hard time concentrating on anything important. My schedule is very tight right now because I only have from 9-3:30 every day to get any real work done; after that, my kids are home, and I’m lucky if I can get anything accomplished in between helping with homework, making dinner, blah blah blah.
One other interest that I do have, though, is a serious love for furry animals. We have two cats and a dog, and I’d love to have more. My husband isn’t having any of it. But he let me sign up to foster kittens for the humane society during ’kitten season,’ which runs from April-August. I’ll be caring for up to eight tiny kittens at a time in my home this spring, and you cannot imagine how excited I am. I try to work a box of kittens into every book that I write somewhere. Because here’s a fact of life: kittens are adorable. I have this dream of frolicking in a field somewhere with about a hundred tiny, fluffy kittens and a few full-grown Saint Bernards. To me, that sounds like a fabulous time. I hope that doesn’t sound too weird.
Growing up, I absolutely loved the work of JD Salinger, particularly “The Catcher in the Rye.” It’s one of those books that speaks directly to the teenage experience with a voice that’s so compelling, realistic, cringe-inducing, and compassionate all at once. I can’t think of any other book that even comes close to tapping into the range of emotions that teenagers feel as they’re making the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood.
My all-time favorite author, though, is David Foster Wallace. I’ve mentioned him in other posts on this site. He was a real genius. His books have given me a sort of anchor in life when it comes to my perception of how I fit into the world. “Infinite Jest” is probably his most famous novel, and it’s just astounding. Reading it was my first experience at being moved to tears, multiple times, at the pure beauty of his language. His work filled a void in my heart. Does that sound over the top? It probably does, but it’s not an exaggeration. Any time we’re in a social setting and somebody asks me about my favorite writer (or book), my husband sort of cringes and backs away, because he knows I’m going to launch into an impassioned monologue about DFW and the way he’s changed the face of American fiction. I tend to get all worked up about it: cheeks flushed, eyes glassy, etc. I’m not certain, but I think I’ve alienated a few acquaintances over the years because of my enthusiasm, which I suppose can come off as mild lunacy. I don’t care.
I recently read “I Will Save You” by Matt De La Pena while I was on an airplane. I usually can’t read on planes; I’m too nervous. I prefer to be on the ground. But I got so absorbed in reading this book that I didn’t even notice my surroundings until we’d landed. The story opens with a murder and just gets better from there. It’s fabulous stuff.
I love pretty much every aspect of my job, but I’d say that my favorite part is definitely writing the first draft of a novel. It’s so exhilarating to watch my characters come to life, to know that I’m creating a story that (hopefully) thousands of people, or more, will end up reading. It might surprise people to learn that I also really enjoy the editing process, too. Because a first draft is almost just a sketch of what’s to come; it’s the fun part. The editing is where the hard work starts, but it can also be where the story finds its legs and really takes off. I have a fabulous editor, and she has this way of tapping into elements of the story that I would have otherwise overlooked and giving me ideas for entirely new layers of content. So I’m fortunate in that way, because I think together we’re able to approach revision in a way that makes it an exciting part of the creative process, when it could easily end up being drudgery with the wrong mindset.
Self-promotion is difficult for me. I have a lot of trouble “putting myself out there,” because I don’t want people to feel like I’m bugging them to buy or read my books. I’m getting better at it, though; I’ve been updating my website regularly, I’m on Twitter and Facebook, and I’ve found that, with practice, the job of promoting my books has become much less mortifying than it was when I tried to do it as little as possible.
I try to write every day. It doesn’t always happen. I almost never get to write on the weekends, because I’m so busy trying to catch up on all the day-to-day errands that usually get neglected during the week. Every now and then I’ll find myself under a deadline – usually for revision – and I’ll have to work through the weekend. I actually LOVE when this happens, because it forces me to lock myself in my home office for hours on end and completely immerse myself in work, while my husband takes over all the household duties. When I’m working on a first draft of a manuscript, I try to stick to a goal of 5,000 new words per week. I don’t always hit it, but keeping it in mind forces me to carve out time to sit down and write every weekday. If I’m not feeling that into it on a particular day, I’ll tell myself, “just write for an hour and see how you feel after that.” Way more often than not, I’ll end up working for much longer, sometimes up to 4-5 hours at a stretch.
As far as my routine goes, I need total silence in order to write. No distractions whatsoever; I don’t even answer my phone. I don’t listen to music. It’s pretty boring, actually. And I don’t do a lot of pre-writing or storyboarding or anything like that; I try to sit down and pound out the first draft, and then I go back and revise once I’m completely finished. The only other thing that I do is keep a notebook. I have several for every novel that I’ve written. I used to be way more disorganized, and I’d constantly write myself little notes on scraps of paper, which would end up getting scattered all over the house, and then they wouldn’t be of any use to me – because I couldn’t find them! But now it’s a more efficient process. I have the notebook open beside my laptop. I jot things down when they come to my mind. I look over the previous day’s notes before I start the next day’s work. I’ve found that organization and plain old hard work – simply sitting down to write every day, even if I don’t feel all that creative – are crucial for maintaining a career. After all, it’s my job. I’ve gotta show up and make that effort every day if I want good things to happen.
I’m writing the first draft of my fourth novel, which will be out sometime in the fall of 2012. I can’t say too much about it yet, but I can reveal that it’s about identical twin sisters who share a unique bond. It’s a thriller with paranormal elements. I’m having a blast writing it!
Pecan. That’s a no-brainer. Thank goodness it’s only sold around the holidays. Because when I’m in proximity to a pecan pie, watch out. I will destroy that thing in a matter of minutes. Bring it on.
I want people to know that I am a master painter of walls. I’ve painted every room in my current house. Right now I’m painting the foyer. And someone ought to give me an award for what I’m doing; I’m not even kidding. My skill astounds me on a daily basis. I can’t paint artistically to save my life, but give me an angled brush and a gallon of semi-gloss and I’m unstoppable. Dropcloths, painter’s tape… those things are for amateurs. I can do edging like nobody’s business. I find it soothing, almost like meditation. Plus there’s the fact that, when I’m using a color that’s different from what’s already on the wall, I get an immediate sense of accomplishment with every brushstroke; I can literally see my progress from minute-to-minute. If I hadn’t become a writer, I should have joined a painter’s union. I’m not kidding. I have a gift.
