Ask the Author: Pamela Poole
Answered Questions (10)
Pamela Poole
The best thing about being a writer is using my imagination! The worst thing is asking for reviews.
Pamela Poole
I have never experienced writer's block. My struggle is having time to write the stories that are pouring out of me!
Pamela Poole
Write the book you want to read. Just do it. There's a wealth of knowledge, training, and tools online, so you should schedule at least 5-10 minutes every day or two just for equipping yourself on your weakest areas as a writer. If you aren't sure where to begin, look for lists of steps and resources for aspiring writers.
Once you've written your story, novel, or non-fiction help book, put it to the side as you build a toolbox of skills that will morph you into a better writer. Then, go back to your work, look at it through your new lenses, and edit it. If you have friends who will be honest in helping you understand if your work is something a public audience might appreciate, they are a great asset. You can also hire this process out through resources online. Once your story or book is something you're confident with, begin considering publishing options.
The most important thing I have to offer an aspiring writer of fiction is to do what I did: Write the book you want to read! You should grow by leaps and bounds as you bring fictional characters through challenges. I agree with author Pat Conroy when he said that he wrote to better understand what had happened to him.
Once you've written your story, novel, or non-fiction help book, put it to the side as you build a toolbox of skills that will morph you into a better writer. Then, go back to your work, look at it through your new lenses, and edit it. If you have friends who will be honest in helping you understand if your work is something a public audience might appreciate, they are a great asset. You can also hire this process out through resources online. Once your story or book is something you're confident with, begin considering publishing options.
The most important thing I have to offer an aspiring writer of fiction is to do what I did: Write the book you want to read! You should grow by leaps and bounds as you bring fictional characters through challenges. I agree with author Pat Conroy when he said that he wrote to better understand what had happened to him.
Pamela Poole
This summer, I'm reading The Tides of Truth series by Robert Whitlow, and I hope to read The Methuselah Project by Rick Berry. I'm going to be very busy for a few months with my re-releasing my fist two novels in the Painter Plae Saga independently, and do not expect to have much time for reading fiction.
Pamela Poole
I have a fascinating ancestor that lived in the early-mid 1800's who was brilliant and multi-talented, and kept a journal in code before Edgar Allen Poe wrote about such things. A historian in the mid 1900's picked up what remained of those journals when they were put out as trash, and it became his mission to deciper them and track down what he could about this man. He published a book about his findings, but it's no longer in print and I had to jot down notes when I had time to visit a library geneology room that is out of town. Perhaps someday I can get my hands on one and have a lot of story ideas!
Pamela Poole
Since there are no parameters on this question as to time period or media, I'm going to assume it's intended to be about a classic literary couple. People who read my novels might expect me to pipe up with my second favorite, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice." But my all-time favorite fictional couple is Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.
You're probably chuckling at the contrasts in my taste. Could any two choices for first and second place be more contradictory?
I've read scathing blogs about Scarlett and Rhett, written by opinionated people with no concept of the historic and cultural setting these two characters functioned in. Many human traits are timeless and universal, but to truly grasp why characters behave as they do in a situation, we have to remember the constraints of their society. Scarlett and Rhett are superstars for rising from the ashes of the historical stage their love story was enacted on. They are survivors.
Scarlett O'Hara is Exhibit 1 for the fact that charm and confidence will trump being pretty nearly every time. Yes, she was attractive, but the reason she owned every space she walked into was because of her presence, not her beauty. She played to win in the feminine games of her time. While she is highly intelligent, more so than many men around her, she pretended empty-headed helplessness because she'd identified what she wanted and worked toward it. Men of that day wanted to court and marry a dainty woman who needed protection.
Scarlett had flaws, but the most crippling was that she created an imaginary hero out of a man who wasn't one. She stubbornly made up her mind to love someone who didn't exist. Women don't always know what's best for them, but they won't listen to the wisdom of everyone who tries to point it out.
Scarlett's friendship with Rhett is liberating for her. I've read some silly blogs about how he demeaned her and insulted her, but in reality, he simply used humor and frank honesty to call attention to her issues. She was the one dishing out spite and manipulation. He valued her as an equal, looking past her immaturity to see the rare woman she'd someday become. As an older man, he'd been around long enough to know that life was sure to polish the diamond.
The admiration that Rhett has for women like Melanie Wilkes and Mammy speaks volumes about him. He valued honesty, respect, honor, and many other things that were burning away in the chaotic, war-torn times he found himself struggling in.
Rhett was captivated by Scarlett's vibrancy and sheer will to survive. She was a gamble, dangerous to love, and gave nothing until she had the security of a ring on her finger. She was the one woman he wanted that he coudn't buy or charm, and it made him desperate to have her. Scarlett created a sense of being a prize worth winning. Women today could learn a lot from her!
I was so glad for the satisfaction of the sequel to their love story when "Scarlett" came out in the early 90's. In it, readers get to savor what was bound to happen: Scarlett became a woman worthy of a spectacular love story.
But in the years after I read "Gone With the Wind" for the first time, not knowing there would be a sequel, I never doubted that's what would happen. Scarlett's life was one of determination and hope. "After all, tomorrow is another day."
You're probably chuckling at the contrasts in my taste. Could any two choices for first and second place be more contradictory?
I've read scathing blogs about Scarlett and Rhett, written by opinionated people with no concept of the historic and cultural setting these two characters functioned in. Many human traits are timeless and universal, but to truly grasp why characters behave as they do in a situation, we have to remember the constraints of their society. Scarlett and Rhett are superstars for rising from the ashes of the historical stage their love story was enacted on. They are survivors.
Scarlett O'Hara is Exhibit 1 for the fact that charm and confidence will trump being pretty nearly every time. Yes, she was attractive, but the reason she owned every space she walked into was because of her presence, not her beauty. She played to win in the feminine games of her time. While she is highly intelligent, more so than many men around her, she pretended empty-headed helplessness because she'd identified what she wanted and worked toward it. Men of that day wanted to court and marry a dainty woman who needed protection.
Scarlett had flaws, but the most crippling was that she created an imaginary hero out of a man who wasn't one. She stubbornly made up her mind to love someone who didn't exist. Women don't always know what's best for them, but they won't listen to the wisdom of everyone who tries to point it out.
Scarlett's friendship with Rhett is liberating for her. I've read some silly blogs about how he demeaned her and insulted her, but in reality, he simply used humor and frank honesty to call attention to her issues. She was the one dishing out spite and manipulation. He valued her as an equal, looking past her immaturity to see the rare woman she'd someday become. As an older man, he'd been around long enough to know that life was sure to polish the diamond.
The admiration that Rhett has for women like Melanie Wilkes and Mammy speaks volumes about him. He valued honesty, respect, honor, and many other things that were burning away in the chaotic, war-torn times he found himself struggling in.
Rhett was captivated by Scarlett's vibrancy and sheer will to survive. She was a gamble, dangerous to love, and gave nothing until she had the security of a ring on her finger. She was the one woman he wanted that he coudn't buy or charm, and it made him desperate to have her. Scarlett created a sense of being a prize worth winning. Women today could learn a lot from her!
I was so glad for the satisfaction of the sequel to their love story when "Scarlett" came out in the early 90's. In it, readers get to savor what was bound to happen: Scarlett became a woman worthy of a spectacular love story.
But in the years after I read "Gone With the Wind" for the first time, not knowing there would be a sequel, I never doubted that's what would happen. Scarlett's life was one of determination and hope. "After all, tomorrow is another day."
Pamela Poole
Thank you so much, Carl! It's important to me, too.
Pamela Poole
I'm currently involved in the third novel in the Painter Place series, "Jaguar." This will be the most intense novel in the series, though Hurricane Hugo made the second novel more intense than the series starter, Painter Place. "Jaguar" was set up in "Hugo," and I promise an emotional, thought-provoking experience for readers as they come to this book. Part One of the story is set in historic downtown Charleston, SC, on a street where I once set up my easel and painted a picture of one of the historic homes. The owners of the property came out to meet me, and they purchased the painting. Set in 1995, this book will delve into the realm of the drug lords that ruled South America.
Pamela Poole
Everything around me inspires me to write and paint! As an artist, I live like Leonardo da Vinci encouraged people to live--really stopping, observing, and thinking about something. In todays culture in America, we have lost the ability to really "see." The problem I have isn't inspiration, for I live in an almost overwhelmed state of fullness of inspiration. Carving out the time to write and paint is where I struggle. I have to take time for my priorities in life, and sometimes I admit that I become a bit dismayed at household chores or cooking dinner when a story is spilling out of me that I can't record, or an image I can't stop to paint. Yet those very things that fill up the time I could be creative in are also where my experiences for the endeavor spring from. It takes some attitude adjustment on my part sometimes to see the big picture and be patient.
Pamela Poole
My idea for Painter Place came from a dream I had a few years ago. I woke up and quickly jotted down notes, because dreams have a tendency to flutter on wings off into a netherworld of things forgotten. I decided at that moment that the notes were the seeds of a great story that I'd like to write someday. Seeing my frustration in finding clean books to read from contemporary authors, my son told me if I felt that way, I was not alone, and he encouraged me to write a book I would want to read. I pulled out my dream notes and set my artist imagination free, and the Painter Place series was born.
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