Ask the Author: Sara Nović
Answered Questions (17)
Sara Nović
The line breaks are made in service of the indentations rather than having meaning themselves. My goal was to have everyone speak from an assigned specific place on the page, in the same way we'd use space in ASL, like visual dialogue tags. So the other formatting is supporting them each keeping their own space.
Sara Nović
I really like the Philly sign for "what kind" I think it's it's actuary useful to have a separate sign for the concept, especially when talking to little kids. Of course partial to our regional sign for Halloween. Also really enjoy the old school sign for Atlantic City that looks like a slot machine.
Sara Nović
For me, the best thing about being a writer is the moment when you've fleshed out a character so much that s/he actually feels real to you, like someone you've met on the street. And that feeling is doubly great when I get to talk to readers who also feel a real connection to a character I've created.
Sara Nović
I always wrote in journals since I was really young--my mom started me on it because I was so introverted, and she thought it would be a good way for me to express myself. As I got older, I moved on to writing (bad) poetry and short stories. That said, even though I've pretty much always loved writing, I didn't think of it as something I could do for a career; I was the first person to go to college in my family, and everyone in my life had "real jobs." I ended up studying writing and publishing as an undergrad, but I still assumed I would end up in the publishing side of things to pay the bills. I always kept writing, though, despite all my day jobs, and then when I enrolled in an MFA program, for me that was when I thought, "Okay, this *can* be a real job" if you work really hard...and get lucky.
Sara Nović
There is no one real person who correlates to Ana, though some of her personality traits and experiences are definitely borrowed from real people (as is often the case for fictional characters). That said, everything that happens to Ana is theoretically as accurate as I could make it from an historical perspective, within the context of the war.
Sara Nović
Thanks for reading! Yes, the book was based on a lot of research, both personal and "traditional"--reading etc, because it was important to me that the novel, though with fictional characters, fit into the real historical timeline of the war. I lived in Croatia for a while, and while there talked to many friends and family members who shared their experiences with me--I was very lucky to have their support while working on this book, too.
Sara Nović
Oh, really good question! Of course I can't think of any of my favorite romantic relationships now that I've come to answer it.
I just read The Animators and I really liked the dynamic between the two main characters. They're not technically a couple, but they're certainly a duo. Similarly, Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men had a big influence on me in terms of what an interdependent friendship might look like on the page.
I just read The Animators and I really liked the dynamic between the two main characters. They're not technically a couple, but they're certainly a duo. Similarly, Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men had a big influence on me in terms of what an interdependent friendship might look like on the page.
Sara Nović
Thanks for reading, Fahmi! Film is not really my field, but I certainly would love to see what an adaptation of Girl at War might look like! :)
Sara Nović
Thanks for reading, Amanda. I won't be writing a sequel--I've always imagined that Ana is on the right path to figuring things out so her life from here on out will probably be relatively uneventful :)
I think I'll always write about Croatia and the Balkans, but for my next book I'm excited to be working on something totally different.
I think I'll always write about Croatia and the Balkans, but for my next book I'm excited to be working on something totally different.
Sara Nović
Thanks for reading! I'd definitely recommend anything by Dubravka Ugresic and Alexander Hemon, particularly The Ministry of Pain by the former, and The Question of Bruno by the latter. There's also a nonfiction work of narrative journalism about the war in Bosnia called Love Thy Neighbor, by Peter Maass, that I think is a very good overview of the war in its later stages.
Sara Nović
Growing up I oscillated between wanting to be an artist, architect, and archaeologist (apparently I had a penchant for alliteration). However, I was always an avid reader, and kept a journal from a young age, so writing was also part of my life from the time I was small.
In a way, I think writing encompasses all three of my original "dream jobs"-- I get to research and piece together history, and build new settings and worlds--so I really lucked out!
In a way, I think writing encompasses all three of my original "dream jobs"-- I get to research and piece together history, and build new settings and worlds--so I really lucked out!
Sara Nović
My first published fiction was a short story in The Minnesota Review. The submission/publication process for it was not a very interesting story, really--I was in school and submitting to slush piles just like everybody else. Now, because of platforms like Submittable, it's getting easier to do simultaneous submissions and keep track of them, but then most literary magazines were still getting their act together for online submissions at that point, so I had made a spreadsheet listing where I'd sent my stories and when and whether I'd heard back. I submitted the story to a few places and got some rejections, and then, finally, the acceptance. I was, of course, really excited--even more so when the magazine finally showed up in my mailbox later!
Sara Nović
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Sara Nović
Write as much as you can. Revise constantly. Cut out extraneous words. Don't put too much stock in advice from other writers (you'll find what works best for you).
Sara Nović
I'm a big dog-lover, but am also fascinated by the way that scientists can communicate with several species of primates via sign language. I suppose I'm a bit of a language nerd :)
Sara Nović
Oh the Mets. They really know how to twist that knife! I'm taking comfort in the fact that it's easier to plug a leaky infield than fill a bullpen with star starters, so, here's to 2016 :)
Sara Nović
If I'm stuck on something, I try to talk it out with a few trusted "writing buddies"--sometimes just trying to explain what the problem helps me figure out how to fix it.
Reading a lot helps, too. I know some writers who feel they are too suggestible if they read a lot while they're writing, but that doesn't really happen to me--usually reading a good book makes me want to write again.
If none of that works, I get up and wash dishes or go for a walk. When it's in-season, I watch a lot of baseball; it keeps me entertained, but leaves some room for thinking, too.
Reading a lot helps, too. I know some writers who feel they are too suggestible if they read a lot while they're writing, but that doesn't really happen to me--usually reading a good book makes me want to write again.
If none of that works, I get up and wash dishes or go for a walk. When it's in-season, I watch a lot of baseball; it keeps me entertained, but leaves some room for thinking, too.
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