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Q and A with Arleen Williams
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Jack
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Apr 29, 2012 10:12AM
My apologies. Misunderstood the intention of the post.
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This isn't a question. It's just an observation. I just did an arts/crafts/whatever show in Cape May,NJ this weekend and found that just about everyone who talked with me (and t..."
I'm sure you didn't mean any harm, Alice, but going off-topic like that in a discussion like this is generally considered bad social networking etiquette.
Hi All,I'm back from writing practiced and ready for more questions!
To Alice, I would really like to know more about the arts/craft fair and the idea of local writers having a book booth...was that what you did? Has anyone ever seen that type of booth and if so has it been successful, fun, well-received? I've been to a lot of neighborhood street fairs here in Seattle and have never seen anything of that sort. The idea intrigues me as a grassroots way of meeting and talking with readers. In this world of e-communications, finding ways to connect locally and face-to-face has a certain appeal to me.
Hi NYKen,Your questions make me laugh and for that, thank you!
A.F. wrote something about extending this conversation until tomorrow due to the late start on Friday, so if there are more questions out there, send them on in and I'll get to them after work tomorrow!
As to your questions, I'm not sure that they have much to do with writing or reading at all but, oh well, here goes...
1. Favorite meal to prepare... anything in a soup pot or slow cooker in the winter and anything on the outside grill in the summer (because my husband does it).
2. Favorite drink? Water. Or a gin gimlet after a long hot bike ride. And then there's a Mac and Jack's after my weekly beach walk with a friend. It's all in the timing.
3. I'd never get up in the morning without coffee... strong and black. French or Italian roast made in a Cuisinart at home. Usually get Starbuck's beans at Costco and grind at home. If I'm go to a coffee shop, I head for the indies whenever possible. In Seattle there's so much good coffee that we have loads of choices. I usually order a 1% latte. I don't do the long fancy order thing that Seattlites are teased about...but only because it's not what I prefer.
4. 5 favorite movies of all time? I really can't answer that. My favorite movie or book tends to be one of the most recent that I've seen or read. Last night we watched a claymation movie on Netflix called Mary and Max (or was it Max and Mary?). Absolutely loved it! I just finished rereading Jeannette Walls's The Glass Castle and enjoyed it even more the second time than the first. So there you have it...no favorites here.
NYKen thanks for your wonderful, funny questions these past few days. It's been a pleasure "meeting" you!
Arleen
Thanks for this first-class discussion. This is my first visit to the format and it is impressive.
Janet wrote: "Thanks for this first-class discussion. This is my first visit to the format and it is impressive."Welcome, Janet! Thanks for joining the discussion. Feel free to send along a comment or question.
NYKen wrote: "Thanks Arleen. I haven't seen this usual question that everyone seem to ask authors. To me, it's like a cliche, but different authors answer differently, and I just wanted to ask you.1] What is y..."
Thanks for asking, NYKen. Cliche or not, I figure any question is a good question as long as the questioner is interested in the response!
Advice to an aspiring writer? I suppose I'd say the same thing I tell myself. Don't give up. Do it for yourself, not for anyone else. Turn off the internal editor that keeps telling you you're writing crap. And just keep writing. As much as you can, as often as you can.
I'd also suggest looking for other writers, particularly timed-writing groups. As I mentioned before, I'm not a fan of critique groups. But writing alone, always alone, is a lonely business. For me it's good to write and read with others at least once or twice a week. If you haven't read Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones, it's worth a peek. If there's no timed writing practice in your neighborhood, why not start one?
At writing practice one day, a more experienced writer once suggested writing the dialogue without the he said/she said, without any narrative at all. Just the conversation. Then you can add in the other stuff later. I don't always use that technique, but if I'm working on a long section of dialogue, I always go back to it. And yes, reading it aloud, or reading it and recording it, or asking a couple of friends to read it, are all ways to hear what it sounds like, to hear if it sounds real.
Another tip on dialogue is to listen a lot. And even take notes if you can do it without being too obvious! I find this really helpful when I'm working on speech patterns that are not my own: second language speakers, teenagers, men, etc. I find that really listening, paying attention, is a big plus.
In NYC you have a wealth of possibilities, NYKen! A few days on the subway with a very small notepad or a phone (texting yourself)... imagine what you'd have! As a side note, eavesdropping is also a great way to come up with new story ideas!
Starbuck's, Tully's and Seattle's Best all started in Seattle. I suppose we need that heavy dark roast and the cozy coffee shops to get through our long wet winters. Seattlites sit for hours in coffee shops with their books and laptops. I suspect more homework is done in coffee shops than in libraries! And a whole lot of books are written there as well!
Feel free to ask whatever you want, NYKen. I appreciate your interest and enthusiasm.
NYKen wrote: "Thanks Arleen. Writing just has this hold on me, but I write stories with myself as the audience. I just find it easier to write down what's on my mind without the thought of having it published. A..."Hi NYKen,
I absolutely agree with your description of the importance of setting whether in fiction or nonfiction. Characters are shaped by the world they live in, what they see, hear, smell, feel when they wake up in the morning and go about their day.
1. All the memoir and fiction I've written to date has been set very close to home. I love where I live and I've used it as the setting for my first novel. I know it like the back of my hand, so little world-building has been needed other than the precise world of the characters' personal homes. I don't do any world-building before I start a piece. It seems to grow from the personality of the character. I tend to be very precise in my settings. Maybe it's the memoirist in me, but if a story is set in a real place, I want it to be accurate. I want the street names and directions and distances to be accurate. I want the sun to rise over the Cascades and set over the Space Needle if the setting is West Seattle, as it is in Running Secrets.
That said, I've never written anything beyond my immediate and personal knowledge or experience. My second novel might require some research and if there are scenes in places/countries unfamiliar to me, I would want to travel there, walk the streets, eat the foods, smell the air. I don't write fantasy, so I don't know anything about that kind of world building. I imagine it might be both liberating and fun, but also requiring a tremendous amount of attention to detail.
2. Maybe I've already answered this. Setting is essential. I think it helps shape who we are and by extension who our characters are. If Chris woke up each morning in Manhattan, her life experiences would be very different than waking up in a beachfront condo in West Seattle. And I wouldn't be able to write that story without spending a chunk of time in Manhattan.
My husband is waiting to go for a walk. I'll be back to answer your third question in a bit.
I agree with Arleen 100% on the importance of doing the timed writing, preferably with others. We can surprise ourselves by what comes out of that, especially when implemented as a regular committed practice. I can't imagine my writing life without it. It's the birthplace of everything.
Arleen wrote: "NYKen wrote: "Thanks Arleen. Writing just has this hold on me, but I write stories with myself as the audience. I just find it easier to write down what's on my mind without the thought of having i..."Back from my walk and ready to try to tackle NYKen's third question... are people born good writers?
I guess I'd say that people are born with the propensity to be good writers... Some people are natural outsiders. They observe. They listen. They have the perseverance to put in the seat time and work and rework a piece until it shines. There's an art to writing that I can't seem to put my finger on at the moment. Artistic creativity? Whatever it is, I'm not sure it be taught.
Craft can be taught. And I think for most of us, it must be studied. Sentence structure, scene structure, story structure. Those elements of craft can be learned.
I hope I'm making sense, NYKen. I'll take another peek at this tomorrow and see if other ideas surface. In the meantime, maybe others can offer their thoughts on whether some people are born good writers.
Janet wrote: "I agree with Arleen 100% on the importance of doing the timed writing, preferably with others. We can surprise ourselves by what comes out of that, especially when implemented as a regular committe..."Well put, Janet. Thank you.
It's getting late and I teach an early morning class. Seems we'll be doing a bit more tomorrow due to the late start on Friday, so if you still have questions or comments, please send them along. I'll be back at around noon Seattle time on Monday.
Arleen wrote: "Hi All,I'm back from writing practiced and ready for more questions!
To Alice, I would really like to know more about the arts/craft fair and the idea of local writers having a book booth...was t..." Hi, and sorry about my response yesterday. I was exhausted from the Street Fair and my brains weren't working with my typing hands. Cape May is a really charming part of New Jersey and is filled with old Victorian seaside homes in good condtion. They have had a street fair at the Emlen Physick house(old restored museum) for years and it is attended by hundreds of delightful, intelligent people and sometimes very wealthy Philadelphia residents who have longed used Cape May as a summer getaway. What horrified me was to have one well-bred and educated person after another tell me how they'd been in a postion like the character in my book! :-) Alice
Alice wrote: "Arleen wrote: "Hi All,I'm back from writing practiced and ready for more questions!
To Alice, I would really like to know more about the arts/craft fair and the idea of local writers having a ..."
Hi Alice,
Cape May sounds like a lovely place...with lots of tragic secrets. Isn't it amazing how readers open up and share their own stories with authors? I'm still pushing for an answer about your participation in the fair...was it a book booth of some sort that you were at? Were you alone promoting your work, was it a publisher's booth, or was it a group of writers? Or nothing of the sort? Just curious. As I mentioned in a prior message, I'm intrigued by the idea of doing a local authors book booth at a street fair...thanks for the idea!
Now off to work for me. I'll be back around noon!
Arleen
Hi, Arleen,What fiction writers do you love most--for setting, story, style?
Arleen wrote: "Alice wrote: "Arleen wrote: "Hi All,I'm back from writing practiced and ready for more questions!
To Alice, I would really like to know more about the arts/craft fair and the idea of local writer..."
Hi, Arleen,
The Emlem Physick Fair was Arts/Crafts/Food and me who sold antiques and my books.People walked through the fair and stopped to talk with me and opened up about their lives. I am a member of NJAuthor Network and Liberty States Fiction Writers, but I was the only author at this fair.There are Book Fairs in New Jersey and some writers conferences, but this was just a street fair. We went as we love Cape May. It's a unique seaside town.
Pamela wrote: "Hi, Arleen,What fiction writers do you love most--for setting, story, style?"
Hi Pamela,
Thanks for a return question! As I mentioned in an earlier a question about movies, I find forming favorites tough. My favorite is usually what I'm into at the moment!
That said, I love both Isabelle Allende and Ann Patchett. They both take me to worlds that I can see, smell, feel and taste. Jeannette Walls took me to a part of this country I've never visited in Half Broke Horses and Dave Eggers helped me understand the world of some of my students in What is the What.
So many wonderful books!
Alice wrote: "Arleen wrote: "Alice wrote: "Arleen wrote: "Hi All,I'm back from writing practiced and ready for more questions!
To Alice, I would really like to know more about the arts/craft fair and the id..."
Alice wrote: "Arleen wrote: "Alice wrote: "Arleen wrote: "Hi All,
I'm back from writing practiced and ready for more questions!
To Alice, I would really like to know more about the arts/craft fair and the id..."
Hi Alice,
It sounds like a wonderful way to spend a weekend. Thanks for telling me about it. I may have to talk this idea around a bit and see if others in my Seattle writing community might want to try a fair or two!
Hi NYKen,Just looking in my recipe book for something interesting to do with some pork chops...ideas?
The information I found on suicide stunned me. Because you've been so fun to chat with these past few days, I think I'll just post a page from my DRAFT manuscript here. There's still some editing needed, but the "variables" that I found interesting, I tried to work into the dialogue. Let me know if you think it works or if it sounds too preachy, okay? Both characters are in their mid 20s.
Chris started to speak, but he stopped her. “Wait, there’s more. I need to tell you the whole story.” He paused again as though he were trying to sort out his thoughts. The waitress returned with a couple of beers, and then left them alone. He took a deep drink and began speaking again. “You remember, I told you about my aunt Maggie, right?”
“Yes, I remember,” Chris said. “Aunt Maggie. Your mother’s sister who helped raise you after your Mom died, right?
“Okay, well the thing is, my mother killed herself when I was ten years old.”
“Oh my god,” Chris gasped. Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was just a kid, you know? My dad was real messed up for awhile, and that’s when Aunt Maggie stepped in to fill the void. Man, can that woman cook. She was always fixing up something special for me. It’s a miracle I didn’t turn into a butterball.”
Chris laughed softly trying to imagine this lean, handsome man in front of her as a chubby preteen. “I wish I’d known you then,” she said.
“Oh, I don’t think so. Anyway, when I was old enough to start asking questions, nobody wanted to remember the past. Finally, I suppose my aunt just got sick of all my questions and told me that my mom had killed herself, but that was it. I had no idea why or how. For a long time I thought it was my fault. I suppose that’s what most kids think when something bad happens. When Aunt Maggie finally realized what was going on, she told me that my mother suffered from depression. So I started reading everything I could about depression and suicide. I can still rattle off the facts. Over 32,000 suicides a year in America. More deaths from suicide than homicide. Over 800,000 attempts with a twenty percent repetition rate within the first three months,” he said, counting the statistics off on his fingers as he spoke. Then, with a school-boy smile, he said, “Anyway, I guess when I understood that your accident was a suicide, I wanted to save you.”
NYKen wrote: "That's a good dialogue between the two friends. The information added wasn't forced, it just came out naturally. It works for me.Ah suicide, such a taboo subject. But in a fiction story it can be..."
NYKen,
Thank you for the questions, comments, and great conversation, and also for the yummy sounding recipe!
All the best to you in your writing, reading, cooking and eating adventures,
Arleen
To all who participated in this author Q&A, thank you! Your questions have been stimulating and insightful. You've challenged me to think about my work in new and different ways in order to come up with meaningful responses. I invite you to follow me at http://www.arleenwilliams.com if you are so inclined. And thank you to A.F. and and all the great folks at Goodreads for this experience!
Arleen, Regarding your question about booths. From what I've seen it's easier to have your books at some other vendor's booth (and do signing there)than have a booth of your own. Staffing is a problem. I am also looking at different venues for promotion. My next novel Tulip Season: A Mitra Basu Mystery is now out in Kindle and Nook, with the trade paperback due out soon.
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