Q & A: the books and writing edition

Q: Why can't I find your first two books for older readers, CHEATING AT SOLITAIRE and LEARNING TO PLAY GIN in bookstores?

A: Sigh. Well, there's the short answer, the not-so-short answer, and the really, really long answer to that question. Let's split the difference.

Solitaire came out in December 2005. Gin came out a year later. That's a long time ago in publishing terms, and unless the books are selling really well stores aren't going to give them shelf space. And the books didn't sell well, so now they're pretty much history.

Solitaire is out-of-print (you may be able to find a copy online...or you may not.) Gin is technically still "in print" but you'll likely have to order a copy from a store or online to find one.



Q: Will you be writing a third book in that series to tell what happens after Gin?

A: Sadly, I probably won't. They just didn't do well enough. Sure, I have some ideas of what might happen to those characters next, but I think I ended it in a satisfactory place, so I'm not too heartbroken to walk away.



Q: Do you have a picture or something of the red dress Cammie wears in CMH?

A: No. I really don't. I just imagined a dress that would mortify Cammie beyond belief and I thought nothing would scare "the chameleon" more than a dress that was made to stand out.



Q: How long does it take to write a book?

A: Well, it REALLY varies. I've done it as quickly as a couple of months. I've also done it in as long as a year and a half.



Q: Do you ever get writers' block? How do you handle it if you do?

A: Are you kidding? I LIVE on writers' block! (It's right down the street from "I think my book is terrible" boulevard.)

The first thing people struggling with writers' block need to do, in my opinion, is figure out what kind of writers' block they have.

For me, there are two types:

Type 1 is the "I know I SHOULD be writing, but there's a Gilmore Girls marathon on, so I think I'll just lie here for the next hour...or two...or seven" block. This is the block of motivation. Maybe you're not excited about the book. Maybe you're bored. Maybe you're getting sick. Maybe you're book is boring to write (which is an almost certain sign it'll be boring to read.)

Whatever the case, the only way to get over Type 1 writers' block is to write THROUGH the block. Duct tape yourself to your chair if you must, but you have to plow through it.

Type 2, however, is trickier and, frankly, scarier.

It's the kind where you work ALL the time, but no matter what you do the characters seem false or the pacing feels flat or everything just feels...wrong.

I don't know how it is for other writers, but for me, anything that I have to make an EFFORT to write (in the first draft) is almost always terrible.

My favorite writing quote is by (I think) F. Scott Fitzgerald who said, "Great books write themselves, only bad books have to be written" (Or something like that.)

Again, I don't know about other writers, but for me that sums it up as well as anything possibly can.

Type 2 writers block isn't a matter or effort. Type 2 is the type you can't go through--you have to go AROUND.

Maybe you're forcing a character to do something she would never do.

Maybe your plot has a hole that you really can't (and shouldn't) ignore.

Maybe there just isn't enough conflict within the story.

Fix it. And that that will fix your block as well.




Q: Do you write on a computer or long-hand or what?

A: Some of everything. First drafts I usually do on an Alphasmart. Then I transfer everything to a desktop computer without internet access (that's KEY) and rewrite from there.

When I'm stuck--or when the language needs to be particularly good (like first and last chapters) I tend to do a lot long-hand.



Q: What are the best things kids who want to write can do to prepare?

A: Read everything--and I do mean EVERYTHING--you can. And write!

Don't worry about getting published--that's like an athlete worrying about where they'll hang their Olympic medal when they should be practicing their sport.

I've given those pieces of advice before, but I'll add something to the list:

Get in the habit of writing well. Respect and appreciate language, grammar, spelling--the works. I know you guys spend a lot of time instant messaging and stuff, but if you're hoping to make your living with words, I'd recommend you get in the habit of using them.




Q: What should my college major be if I want to be a writer?

A: I really don't think there's a right or wrong answer to this question.

I've had the privilege of meeting several very successful authors and in talking with them I've learned that we all come from a variety of majors.

I have a master's degree in economics.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes is getting her PhD in something relating to psychology.

I know authors who have day jobs as attorneys and doctors and accountants and everything in between.

Of course, I've also met a good many English or literature or fine arts majors, and that's great too.

I didn't major in English because I wanted to have a degree where I could make a good living whether or not I ever earned a dime writing. Economics allowed me to do that. And unlike the law or medicine or a number of other vocations, you don't have to have a specific degree to be a published author.

You just have to have a book worth publishing.

Some people will argue that majoring in literature will help with that, and I won't say otherwise. There are a lot of times when I'm with a bunch of writers and I feel like an IDIOT because I haven't read nearly as much as they have. While they were studying the classics I was diagramming the supply and demand of fertilizer.

But there are other times when I'm glad I don't have a full-blown literature background--when it's nice not to know what rules I might be breaking.

I'd say find a major that makes you excited to go to class every day.

And no matter what that is...keep writing.



--Ally