Ask Adria J. Cimino discussion
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Paris, Rue des Martyrs
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Apr 29, 2014 11:58PM
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Bonjour ! It's almost 9:00 am Paris time: What would Andre have for his breakfast at his favorite café?
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Exactly!On a more serious level, which character did you find the most difficult to write about in your novel?
Did you spend lots of hours thinking about them before you started to write about their life?
Your book is a fictional story about Paris, but your blog is about your real life in Paris. Which do you find easier to write - fact or fiction?
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On a more serious level, which character did you find the most difficult to write about in your novel?
Did you spend lots of hours thinking about them before you started to write about the..."
Mira was probably the most difficult to write about because her story was a bit less dramatic than the others. With my other characters, the dramatic nature of their stories swept me up, making it almost easy to write. Mira required some extra thinking! In any case, as part of my regular writing process, I spend days and weeks thinking about my characters before I start writing a novel. I feel as if, this way, I can really get to know them so that they truly will come alive on the page.
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Hi Vicki, Thanks for stopping by! I sometimes find it harder to write my blog than a novel. First of all, my characters' lives are much more interesting than mine! And that leads me to what I love about writing fiction and what makes it a little bit easier for me than the blog: the fact that there aren't any limits and my imagination can just take off. When I started my blog, I wasn't used to writing about myself, so at first, that was a challenge too. But I have gotten used to it and now feel that blog writing has become easier than it was the first few weeks. I have also written nonfiction in the form of news/features articles as a journalist. In that case, for me, it usually is easier than fiction writing because it doesn't require building an entire plot, characters etc.
Adria wrote: "Mira was probably the most difficult to write about because her story was a bit less dramatic than the others. With my other characters, the dramatic nature of their stories swept me up, making it almost easy to write. Mira required some extra thinking! In any case, as part of my regular writing process, I spend days and weeks thinking about my characters before I start writing a novel. I feel as if, this way, I can really get to know them so that they truly will come alive on the page ..."It shows in your book! I felt like the characters were really well developed and were "real" people.
Adria wrote: "I sometimes find it harder to write my blog than a novel. First of all, my characters' lives are much more interesting than mine! And that leads me to what I love about writing fiction..."Interesting! I find my blog the easiest because I love writing about me :) I think news/features as a journalist would be the next easiest for me, then fiction. I still think being a journalist would be hard - you have to do research and be unbiased. Writing about myself I'm allowed to be biased and I don't have to do research because I already know me!
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Thank you! Very rewarding to hear that!
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Ha, ha! That is definitely the advantage of writing about yourself... Sometimes when writing my blog, I say, "Oh, I need to present this and that fact" about a certain subject and then I say "Wait a minute... It's my blog. I guess I can write whatever I would like!"
Hi Adria! Where did you get the inspiration for your characters?
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Where did you get the inspiration for your characters?"
Hi Rowena, Thanks for joining the chat! Inspiration for Rafael came first, even before the idea for the full plot. My mother had read a magazine article about the Colombian emerald trade and the role of the brokers, and because she found it so interesting, she suggested I read it. She even said: I bet this could inspire you for your writing! She was right! I found the emerald broker story fascinating. As I thought about it, the character of Rafael started developing in my mind. So I tucked that away.
The idea for the plot actually came next, over the next several months. As I saw the same strangers often pass each other every day in our neighborhood, I wondered what would happen if they met and those meetings changed their lives... I find that often we're unaware of the extraordinary stories of those around us, the idea that there is a lot hidden behind the "ordinary" faces we see in our neighborhoods. I wanted to explore that.
Each character developed as almost a representation of the people I would see each day in the city. And Rafael seemed like a natural addition to the cast since he was in a moment of crisis and on a quest.
Thanks for answering, Adria! And you just answered my question about emeralds too(I was going to ask you that question today). It's so interesting how and where people's inspirations come from:)My next question, and I'll try phrasing it as coherently as possible, is because Paris is obviously a well-known city and even people like me have a pretty good (I think) image about Parisien life, did you ever worry about your book's surroundings being a bit cliche? Or, in contrast did you feel pressure not to include Parisien "stereotypes"? I hope that I've made sense!
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M..."
A great question, Rowena, thank you! Life in Paris has given me a view of the city that is different than the usual image that people have of it. That stereotypical Paris does exist, but it is such a small part of this multidimensional and diverse city. I wanted to present this less common view of the city to my readers -- so that after reading my novel, you almost would feel as if you have lived in Paris. I think it is interesting how the city affects different people in different ways (some might find it depressing, while others find it invigorating) and I wanted to show that in this novel. To me, that's the real Paris -- and I love it for all of its facets. In the end, I realized I didn't even mention the Eiffel Tower in my novel! :)
Ah, thank you!I cam imagine living somewhere you get to see a clearer perspective of the city. Have any other Paris dwellers read your book and what did they think of how you presented Paris?Also, did you ever get annoyed at any of your characters? lol!
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Also..."
Yes, I've had some feedback from current and past Paris dwellers and they enjoyed the fact that they could recognize their city and felt it was "real." The past Paris dwellers were happy to be transported back to a city that they liked so much!
For the second question... Yes I did get annoyed at some of my characters! I wanted to shake Cecile sometimes and say "Come on, take charge of your life!" or I would shake my head over Andre's attitude and past decisions. And when I did indeed feel that way, I knew I was on the right track with my characters. I knew that if they were perfect and made all of the right decisions, they wouldn't make the story very interesting... :)
That's great! Alice Munro wrote a short story set in Vancouver and I was excited by the fact that she depicted it so well, without talking about our landmarks (like Stanley Park, for example).And yes, Cecile was the one I wanted to shake a little bit too, lol!And poor Andre, I felt for him in the end.
My favourite character was probably Mira (I hope I got the name right!).I liked how she matured in the difficult circumstances she found herself in.
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I love hearing the feedback on the characters, thank you! Mira actually wasn't the easiest character to write because of the subtlety necessary as I built her story. And due to the style/novel structure I wanted to maintain, I couldn't "overdevelop" my characters. I had to keep it moving and snappy. It was fun and interesting to write!
Thanks so much for your great questions!
Hi Adria, would you ever consider writing non fiction? Perhaps about your life in Paris?
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Hi Raquel, Thanks for joining the chat! Maybe one day I would consider it... At the moment, I have so many ideas for novels and want to devote my time to that. What is great is the opportunity to write bits and pieces about my life in Paris in my blog. At first, that wasn't easy as I'm not used to writing about myself! But now that I've gotten used to it, I'm feeling more and more comfortable... Knowing that people enjoy reading my blog has also given me a boost of confidence. At first I kind of had the attitude of "Why would anyone want to read about my daily life??" Now, I realize that there can be some interesting things to say -- even if my life isn't as exciting as that of the characters in my novel!! :)
Adria, Do you think all of your novels will have a Parisian background? Or are you planning on venturing out to other locations?
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Do you think all of your novels will have a Parisian background? Or are you planning on venturing out to other locations?"
Hi Rebecca, Thanks for stopping by! The decision about location is very important for me because places inspire me almost as much as people! My next novel, set for release this fall, takes place in London and New York -- inspiration actually hit while I was in London a few years ago and I started scribbling notes right away. I will certainly return to Paris in one of my next novels, but I have a few other places to explore first! :)
