Ask the Author: Jo Barney
Answered Questions (8)
Jo Barney
Kent Haruf's lovely older couple in Our Souls at Night, Addie Moore and Louis Waters. Tender, loving, but delicate relationship, and also, sad. Felt so real. As an older woman, I can relate to Addie's knocking on Louis's door and what followed. Wonder if I will ever have the courage.
Jo Barney
Leslie, have you found a way to download the book? If not, let me know and I'll try to get a copy to you. Webpage: www.jobarneywrites.com
Jo Barney
I am an older woman, have a husband, a dog, sons, daughters-in-laws, grand children, and am looking rather anxiously ahead into that uncharted territory we call old age. How could I now write this book? And, I hope, the next one.
Jo Barney
The old rule works for me in a slightly different way. I write about what I (almost) know, using my imagination to answer the question, "What if. . .?"
The question in this latest book is "What would do if I woke up on Christmas morning to find my husband lying dead beside me?" I create Edith's persona, (a little like mine), her disappointing life, (not like mine but perhaps somewhat my mother's story) spend time thinking about various older men I've known, choose one or two, create other secondary characters also similar to people around me, and in this case, a wonderful dog. Slowly, the story unfolds, retracts, recovers, becomes, I hope, true to life--at least, Edith's life.
The question in this latest book is "What would do if I woke up on Christmas morning to find my husband lying dead beside me?" I create Edith's persona, (a little like mine), her disappointing life, (not like mine but perhaps somewhat my mother's story) spend time thinking about various older men I've known, choose one or two, create other secondary characters also similar to people around me, and in this case, a wonderful dog. Slowly, the story unfolds, retracts, recovers, becomes, I hope, true to life--at least, Edith's life.
Jo Barney
I'm about to publish yet another novel about an older woman, as cranky as the last two, but this time she's looking through her dead husband's pockets to find the answers to the secret life he has been living. It's a mystery, I think, but also a story about marriage, loss of hope, and the redemptive powers of love. I'm dubbing my three books HENLIT because no one my age is interested in chicklit (if she ever was).
Jo Barney
In this day and age, don't write expecting fame and fortune. Don't even expect to find an agent or a publisher. Don't necessarily follow the current trends in fiction unless you write romance and can write really fast. Just write what you want to write, as well as you can. Try to remember that a good book is the final effort of several people: the writer, the first readers, the editors and proofreaders, the designers. All will have comments and offer suggestions to change your perfect creation. Listen, reflect, reject, and then, if you decide to go it alone, self-publish and get ready for the second phase of publishing: marketing. In fact, even if you find a publisher, marketing, a lot of it, will become your next job. You can't get around it if you want to sell your book.
Jo Barney
I'm in control of my mind, my project, and my day. And when I finish a project, I have a product that makes the effort worthwhile and often is a source of fulfillment. Sometimes not. Doesn't matter too much. I can hold the book in my hand and know I created something new.
Jo Barney
Sometimes I get a piece of chocolate and chew slowly. Doesn't help the block, and the only thing that does is to stop chewing and put fingers to the keys. Even if what I write is useless, the chocolate and the fingers get the words flowing in the right direction. Some times when I cannot sleep I work on developing the character of whatever story I'm workimg: looks, age, clothes, disposition, faults, etc. Sometimes that character changes drastically and I wake up and take notes so I don't forget the details.
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