March Issue, Volume 11 Focus On: Bonnie Stern
Q&A with a cookbook author by Donna Marrin
At what point in your life did you realize your passion for cooking? I started cooking when I was very young. My mom was very patient and always did the dishes! She didn’t love cooking, so she always let me cook and was my very patient sous chef.
You’re the author of eleven bestselling cookbooks. What prompted you to write your first book? I wrote my first cookbook when the food processor was introduced. I knew the distributor because I had my cooking school by then; he asked if I would write a Canadian cookbook to distribute with the machines. It was such an exciting new piece of equipment and I was pleased to do the recipes for it.
Along with writing a column for the National Post, you run a cooking school and a book/dinner club. Where do you find the time to write? If you love what you do, you find the time.
Once you have an idea for a book, what steps do you take to begin your writing process? I am lucky that I have had the same publisher for many years, so I’ll take an idea to them and see what they say. It is a process.
How long did it take you to write your book, from concept to finished manuscript? It takes about a year to find what you want to write about, about a year to write the book and then another year to promote it. So, generally, I produce a book every three or four years.
The most challenging part of the writing process is… I find it very hard to say it’s finished. I always want to update things or add more recipes. But really, the hardest part is selling it.
What do you love most about writing cookbooks? I love that my recipes become part of people’s lives and, hopefully, encourage them to cook for others. In a funny way, I feel like I become part of their family. It is very special.
Have you learned any lessons along the way? I always learn lessons but the problem is, the next time, the challenge comes back a little different and you have to learn another lesson!
Your all-time favourite cookbook is: I have lots of favourite cookbooks. Many of them are written by experts in their field and they make great reference books—Jacques Pepin, Marcella Hazan, Giuliano Bugialli, Madhur Jaffrey, Julia Child, Nina Simonds and many more.
Who do you admire, and why? Of course I admire a lot of people, but I think I admire my parents the most. They died thirteen years ago, but they were the most wonderful, kindest people and I miss them so much.
What would we find on your bookshelf right now? I actually have thousands of cookbooks, but I graduated from U of T in English literature and had planned to be a librarian, so I love to read. I run a very unique book club at my school that brings my love of food and literature together. The authors attend and we all have dinner together. I always read those books ahead and we plan a menu around the book (usually a novel or memoir). Anne Michaels is our guest for April, so I am currently reading The Winter Vault.
What advice would you give to a beginner interested in writing a cookbook? I would advise them to go to a cookbook store, look to see how many books are there and figure out how theirs would be different—then do it! Follow your passion.
Tell us about your upcoming book and any promo events you have planned… My last book, Friday Night Dinners, was launched about one-and-a-half years ago and this fall, the paperback is being released. So my promotions will start this fall
Where can I find more information about your cooking classes and book club? Just visit my website at www.bonniestern.com
BONNIE STERN is a graduate of both University of Toronto and George Brown College. She has studied cooking around the world and for more than 30 years has operated The Bonnie Stern School of Cooking in Toronto. She teaches cooking classes, conducts team-building culinary events and hosts a monthly book and dinner club. She is the author of twelve best-selling cookbooks, including the IACP award-winning Essentials of Home Cooking and most recently, The Best of HeartSmart Cooking, written in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Bonnie appears regularly on television and radio and writes a weekly column in the National Post, as well as a monthly column in Readers Digest. For more information, visit www.bonniestern.com.
February 2010 Focus On: Elizabeth Elwood
Q&A with a playwright & mystery author, by Donna Marrin
Along with studying and teaching English, you have an extensive background in nearly every area of the arts: years of voice training, operatic training, piano, drama… Were you extremely artistic as a child? I liked to draw and make up stories. At age three, I took the wheels off my doll pram, turned it on its side, hung a curtain in front, and cut the figures out of my mother’s magazine to make characters to set on my stage—so I must have found theatre fascinating right from my very first visit to the pantomime.
You’ve also performed with a variety of theatre groups and even won an award in 1970 for your acting skills. Next, you took on directing. Which end of the spectrum did you enjoy most? I enjoyed the years I spent performing, but I’ve always been interested in the overall aspects of a production, so directing and creating new works has been the most rewarding for me.
At what point did you decide to begin writing plays? I’d done a lot of script-writing for our marionette company, so when my husband suggested that I turn one of my short stories into a play it seemed like a natural progression.
How does playwriting differ from writing a short story or a novel? The obvious difference is that you’re simply writing dialogue, so there’s no room for description, narration or exposition unless you can slip it into a speech. The other difference is that you have to take a number of practical considerations into account. You have to consider how a set can be used to advance a plot and assist the action. You have to be aware of the time needed for costume or set changes. If it’s a mystery play, you don’t want corpses littering up the stage, so you need to put the murders just before a blackout. You should also be aware of the limitations of the group or performance space that you’re writing for. Set demands, cast size, costume requirements, etc. all affect budgets and can govern whether or not your play will get a production.
Where do you come up with ideas for your plays? My first play was an extension of my first short story. I was staying on the Sunshine Coast of B.C. when I started writing the play, which is why the setting was changed to an island off the coast. I decided that the story could be retold with additional characters and an And Then There Were None type atmosphere, which would be far more suspenseful than the original plot which was simply an after-the-event discussion in the actress’s apartment. My second play came very much from life. We renovated our house so that we could look after my mother once she was widowed and needed care due to her dementia, and although I added several ‘What ifs?’ to drive the plot, much of the domestic comedy came right out of our own home.
What would you say is your favourite genre? Mystery for novels and stories, and comedy for plays. Writing a good mystery play is actually very difficult because you are trying to deceive your audience, plus you have a challenge to explain everything fairly without getting bogged down in exposition. Comedy, on the other hand, is fun to write.
How active is the role of the playwright in the actual production of the play? I imagine it depends on the production and the director. I kept in touch with the director of my first play, but I didn’t go to the theatre unless I was invited because I didn’t want to be a back-seat director. He told me when things weren’t working and I did rewrites to deal with the problems. I directed my second play, so I was able to see for myself what worked and what didn’t. This was a lot easier when it came to addressing problems. I actually enjoyed having a hands-on role in the process, because I was able to craft everything the way I had envisioned it. I think too, because I was dealing with my own words, I was much more ruthless in editing and revising than I would have been if dealing with someone else’s script.
I’ve written my first play. What are my first steps in trying to market it? Make contact with the companies that perform plays of a similar type and present your script to their play-reading committees. Join a group that looks promising and start lobbying. If all else fails, do some fundraising, mount your own production and get people there who can give you positive endorsements.
What do you love most about writing for the theatre? Writing dialogue. The fun of all that repartee flying back and forth.
You’ve also written a series of successful mystery novels. What led you to write your first novel? I first started writing mystery stories when I was ill and the doctor ordered me off singing for some time. The two novels I wrote during that period haven’t been published. I sent the first one to Collins who expressed interest and sent it on to their paperback division, but then they decided against it. By that time I was singing again and producing marionette musicals, so I shelved it and didn’t bother to do anything else with it—although I’m now considering revising both manuscripts with a view to publishing them. However, the work on these drafts during my non-musical period made me realize how much I enjoyed the writing process, so between my other projects, I wrote “To Catch an Actress”. This was the story that Hugh suggested I turn into a play. After I saw how the audiences loved the character of Bertram Beary, I decided to give him a family and write several more stories about him. This is how the first book came about, and why the Beary mysteries became the focus of my narrative writing. The books are very enjoyable to write because they are collections of individual short stories that can be read as separate entities, yet the ongoing stories of the main characters continue throughout the series, so the books contain the elements of the novel too. There are two obvious precedents for this format: Rumpole of the Bailey and Sherlock Holmes, both of whom I enjoy a great deal.
How long did it take you to write your book, from concept to finished manuscript? The first Beary book was written over several years, since I was busy with family commitments and other projects. The subsequent books each required approximately a year to complete—three months to write, three months to revise and polish, and six months for the editing, proofing and publishing process. In any one of those years, however, I was producing and performing with our marionette company, so my time was still divided.
How long did it take you to get it published? I never sent the manuscripts to a publisher since I didn’t really take the stories that seriously and I was busy with my other projects. Once again, my husband played a part. He found the iUniverse site on the Internet and suggested we put the stories out ourselves and see what happened. We did, and to my delight, the book was designated Editor’s Choice and received a lot of very nice reviews. This encouraged me to write the second book, which was also well received, so I went on to the third. Our plan was to do three books ourselves, and then if successful, use the track record to try to get a publisher. However, I’m unsure now which route to go, because iUniverse has made the books returnable, and they’ve also presented the books to some of the major chains, so we seem to be getting more support than some of my friends who are with standard publishing houses. Also, my contract is completely open and I own my own copyrights, so where we’ll go from here is a big question mark.
The most challenging part of the writing process is: Final proofing and editing. It’s slow and tedious, but critically important.
Preference: novel writing or playwriting? Whichever I’m doing at the time.
Lessons you’ve learned along the way… Get several critiques and look for the common threads in all of them. Be true to yourself. Don’t try to please everyone or you’ll end up with something so bland it doesn’t interest anyone. Work hard and keep visible.
Who or what is your greatest inspiration? I am constantly inspired by what I see or read, by people around me, or by places I visit. So many engaging stories. So much talent. It would be impossible to single out any one person or thing.
What’s on your bookshelf right now? Classic writers like Austen, Thackeray, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, Trollope, The Brontes, etc. Mystery writers like P.D. James, Reginald Hill, Elizabeth George, Dorothy Sayers, Minette Waters, Robert Barnard, Laurie King, John Mortimer, Anne Perry, Barbara Cleverly, Ngaio Marsh, Agatha Christie, Martha Grimes, Conan Doyle, Peter Robinson, Charles Todd, Josephine Tey, William Deverell, Daniel Craig. Novelists like Robertson Davies, Margaret Atwood, Daphne du Maurier, John Fowles.
What advice would you give to beginning writers? Read a lot. Make notes every time you see something interesting or get an idea for a story. Write about what you know.
Where can I purchase your books? Amazon, iUniverse, Barnes & Noble, or the standard Internet sites. The books are in the Chapters system, so even if the books aren’t in a particular store, they can be ordered through any of the stores. All my books are available as E-books as well.
What’s up next? I’m working on The Agatha Principle and Other Mystery Stories, which is the fourth Beary mystery book. However, I have a Christmas show to mount in 2010, plus a new play (Shadow of Murder) to direct in 2011, so the next book probably won’t be out until the fall of that year.
Where can I find out more information about your upcoming plays? On my website (www.elihuentertainment.com) or on the sites for the Scarborough Theatre Guild and the Huronia Players.
ELIZABETH ELWOOD: Born in England, Elizabeth emigrated to Canada in 1957. She graduated from West Van High and went on to get a degree in English at U.B.C., where she also trained in the Opera Workshop. After graduation, she worked as an English/Drama teacher, sang in the Vancouver Opera Chorus and performed roles with Lower Mainland musical and theatre groups. In 1992, with husband, Hugh, Elizabeth formed Elwoodettes Marionettes. Since then, she has created twenty marionette musicals for the company. Her first play for live actors, Casting for Murder, was produced in the year 2000, and will be going into its fifth production next season with the Scarborough Theatre Guild. Elizabeth’s comedy, Renovations, premiered at the Bernie Legge Theatre in August, 2004, and is also scheduled to have its Ontario premiere in 2010. She has published three books of mystery stories based on her varied experiences in theatre, travel, politics and education. A third play, Shadow of Murder, is scheduled to premiere in June, 2011.
December 2009/January 2010 Focus On: Barbara Kyle
Q&A with an author & writing instructor, by Donna Marrin
You studied classical theatre at the National Theatre School of Canada and enjoyed a long career on TV and stage. What made you decide to change hats to launch a writing career? Yes, I loved being an actor. But then I hit the age of forty. For female actors, that’s when the roles start to disappear. The roles are actually better – the characters are more complex– but there are far fewer of them. I’d seen this happen to women actor friends, seen their careers start to spiral downwards and knew it was just a matter of time for me, so I made a radical decision to simply start a different career. I started to write fiction. Trouble is, I didn’t have a clue of how to go about it. It’s true that I did have the advantage of twenty years of acting experience, of working with scripts and that had given mea sense of dramatic structure; in a way, that’s in my bones. But acting is an interpretive art, whereas writing is pure creation, and consequently I had no real idea of how to be in control of the elements of story structure. So I had to learn the hard way, as every new writer does, by trial and error. In other words: write, and rewrite, and rewrite and rewrite. There is no other way to master the craft.
Your first book was an historical romance called, A Dangerous Temptation. What prompted you to write it? Actually, it wasn’t a genre romance, although I understand how you would think so with the cover it was given by the publisher. It’s an historical adventure, almost more like a thriller, with a great love story too. The original title was Heresy; I wrote it in the early 1990s and what prompted me was the infamous case of the fatwa– the death sentence – that certain Islamic leaders demanded against author Salman Rushdie back then. The Western world was appalled at that reaction of religious extremism, but I couldn’t help think that a mere four hundred years ago, European Christians burned thousands of innocent victims at the stake in exactly the same rage of religious extremism. I set my novel at the court of Henry VIII and it features Honor Larke, a (fictional) ward of (the real) Sir Thomas More. More was a brilliant scholar and a loving father, but as chancellor of England, he banned books and burned men. The story turns on Honor’s conflict with her once-beloved guardian, Sir Thomas, as she works to save his victims from the stake. Penguin USA published the book in 1994 under their Onyx imprint, but not before insisting on a title change. “No one will know what ‘heresy’ means,” they said (which made me think that the dumbing-down of our culture had hit a knuckle-dragging low.) They published my big-themed historical epic as A Dangerous Temptation with a sweet, romance-type cover. They also bought the sequel, set during the brutal Wyatt rebellion against Queen Mary, and published it the following year as A Dangerous Devotion with equally sweet cover art. So those books never found their real audience. They pretty much died. But here’s the wonderful ending to that tale. Or perhaps I should say the beginning. Back in 1994, the editor at Penguin who’d bought that first book was Audrey LaFehr. A lovely and clever woman with a passion for books, Audrey told my agent that it was “the best historical novel she had ever read.” But in those days, she had little power in the company, so it was marketed incorrectly and died. Fast forward thirteen years to 2007, when I got an email out of the blue from Audrey who is now Editorial Director at Kensington Publishing, New York. She said that she’d just pulled the 1994 edition off her shelf, reread it and fell in love with the story all over again and wanted to publish it – “properly” this time. So Audrey bought the book again, and its sequel again, and published the first in 2008 as THE QUEEN’S LADY in a gorgeous trade edition with an eye-catching cover. The sequel, THE KING’S DAUGHTER, came out in March 2009 to great reviews. Both books have sold wonderfully well. I couldn’t be happier.
Would your books be referred to as historical novels? What types of resources do you use and how much research do you have to do before you actually sit down to begin writing? A writer friend of mine recently dubbed my books “historical suspense,” a designation that I quite like. As for research, I did a great deal of it for the first two books. I spent a month in England visiting all the necessary sites and just soaking up the history. I did just as much research for my contemporary thrillers too, because they dealt with issues I absolutely had to get right – from biotechnology, to space-based projects of the American Air Force, to European gypsies in World War II. I always find that immersing myself in the research yields great ideas for story and characters. I always write an extensive story outline, which I call a “storyline” – I spend several months on the storyline – and I do that concurrent with the research. The storyline sends me to the research to finds things out and the research then sparks ideas for the storyline, and thus I progress back and forth, step by step.
How long did it take you to write your first book, from concept to finished manuscript? About three years for the first book. Eighteen months for the sequel, because I was under contract to deliver the manuscript in that amount of time. Then, three years again for my first thriller, Beyond Recall, because the genre was utterly new to me. Then, one year each for the next two thrillers, again because I was under contract to deliver them. Now, with my Kensington contract, one year for each of two novels that follow The King’s Daughter. Since then, you’ve published three more historical suspense novels, A Dangerous Devotion,The Queen’s Lady and The King’s Daughter, which is in its 3rd printing. You’ve also published three thrillers under the pen-name, Stephen Kyle, Beyond Recall, After Shockand The Experiment. Why the switch in genres? When my first two books (A Dangerous Temptation and A Dangerous Devotion, which morphed thirteen years later into The Queen’s Lady and The King’s Daughter, as I explained above) didn’t sell well because the covers were pure “romance” and they were marketed incorrectly, I decided to write thrillers and to write them under a male pseudonym (Stephen Kyle). My thinking was that the publisher couldn’t put flowers on the cover! I wrote Beyond Recall, which was published in 2000 by Warner Books, who did a tremendous job of promoting it. They contracted me for two more thrillers, After Shock and The Experiment.
You’ve also written a screenplay. Tell us more about it. It’s called Saving Dinah. I was hired to write it for Keys Affinity Films. It’s about a family whose border collie, Dinah, is stolen, and their search for her takes them into the underground hell of puppy mills and research laboratories and eventually, a brutal dog fighting ring. The producer has found it a challenge to raise production financing in this economy, but a Hollywood director is attached to the project and we have hopes that the film will go into production.
Do you favour one genre over another? I’m under contract with my publisher to deliver two more novels in my Tudor series, so I right now I love historicals.
How do you come up with your ideas? For me, it always starts with an issue. In The Queen’s Lady it was religious extremism. In The King’s Daughter, divided loyalties in a rebellion. In Beyond Recall, our god-like powers with biotechnology. Once I’m bitten by the issue, then I can start to develop a situation and create characters who would have the most at stake in it.
Please tell us where we can find your books. My historical novels are pretty well everywhere right now. The mass market paperback edition of The Queen’s Lady just came out. In Canada, Indigo and Chapters are giving it a big push and in the U.S., it’s in all the big chain bookstores such as Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc. Most have also restocked The King’s Daughter. Best of all for sales, The Queen’s Lady is in Costco and Wal-Mart stores across the country, a stupendous thing since they are the biggest sellers of books and carry only a few titles per month. And, of course, one can also order the books from online sellers like amazon.com.
The most challenging part of the writing process is… Having faith that the story will all come together – that’s the hardest thing at the very outset, when I sit down to write the storyline. But really, for me, the most challenging thing is writing a book in just one year, which is what my publishing contract demands. To accomplish that I have to cut back on “having a life,” and even then, I always long for more time to do another rewrite.
What do you love most about being a writer? All of it. I get to spend my days with fascinating people – my characters. I get to create a story that excites and moves people about what I see as the joys and tragedies of the human condition. What’s not to like?
Lessons you’ve learned along the way… Lesson 1: Take the time to write an extensive, narrative storyline. I mean months. The storyline is where the heavy lifting of creation takes place. It’s where the writer makes the most important strategic decisions about characters and plot. Lesson 2: Every problem in one’s writing can be solved by going back to examine the characters. What would this character really do, given their goal and obstacles?
Who do you admire and why? Among the classic authors, Jane Austen, for her humanity and humour. I could reread Emma and Pride and Prejudice forever. Among contemporary authors: John LeCarré for his wisdom and astonishing craft. A.S. Byatt for her mesmerizing novel, Possession. Ian McEwan for his masterpiece, Atonement. Most of Joanna Trollope’s razor-sharp novels. And I admire many writers of narrative non-fiction – I believe they’re often way ahead of novelists in showing us what’s important about how to be human. Some of my favourites in this field are Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, Jamie Zeppa’s Beyond The Sky and the Earth, Dava Sobel’s Longitude, and Tania Aebi’s Maiden Voyage. And right now, I’m rereading James Clavell’s epic novel Shogun and marvelling all over again at its narrative drive and vitality and the thrilling scope of Clavell’s depiction of the live-or-die political and social currents in 16th century Japan.
What would we find on your bookshelf right now? I just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and loved it. As I mentioned above, I’m now rereading James Clavell’s Shogun. Lined up in a neat pile on my bedside table, waiting for me, are The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt, The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Street, and The Eleventh Man by Ivan Doig.
You also teach some spectacular writing workshops. Tell us what students can look forward to learning. I like your word “spectacular” – thanks. I’ve had tremendous response from the people who have attended my workshops and seminars and courses. I enjoy getting across to new writers the thrill of understanding story structure, of creating an empathetic protagonist, of writing dynamic dialogue, and mastering POV (point-of-view). That last one, POV, is tricky. I’ll be presenting a workshop on it at the Ontario Writers’ Conference in May.
What advice would you give to beginning writers? The same advice that I recall my agent once gave to beginning writers: “Be willing to work your ass off.”
What’s up next on your agenda? I’ve just sent my publisher the manuscript for book number three in my Tudor-era “Thornleigh” series, so it will be coming out in August 2010. It’s called The Queen’s Captive, and features the twenty-year-old Princess Elizabeth from the day she was imprisoned in the Tower of London by her half-sister, Queen Mary, to the day of her triumphant coronation five years later. Now, I’m writing the storyline for book four in this series. The working title is The King’s Gold. I have to complete it within the next ten months, so I’m pretty well chained to my desk. No complaints, though; being immersed in the struggles and hopes of my characters is where I like to be. However, I’ll be taking off a couple of weeks in May to accompany my husband on a business trip he’s making to Italy. Umbria in springtime – that will be a lovely break.
BARBARA KYLE is the author of the Tudor era novels The Queen’s Lady (2008) and The King’s Daughter (2009) which have sold internationally. Publishers Weekly praised the latter for its “complex, fast-paced plot mixing history with vibrant characters.” Her next novel in this series, The Queen’s Captive, will be published by Kensington Books in August 2010. Previously, Barbara won acclaim for her contemporary novels Beyond Recall (a Literary Guild Selection), After Shock and The Experiment under her pen name ‘Stephen Kyle’. Before becoming an author, Barbara enjoyed a twenty-year acting career on stage, TV and film in Canada and the U.S. She and her husband live for six months of every year aboard their sailboat, a 46-foot ketch, on Lake Ontario. Visit Barbara Kyle’s website at www.barbarakyle.com to learn more about Barbara, or www.learn.utoronto.ca for more information about her upcoming “Boot Camp for Writers.”
November 2009 Focus On: Allyson Latta
Q&A with a literary editor and memoir writing instructor, by Donna Marrin
You have edited an impressive list of acclaimed books. Can you name a few? It’s a great privilege – a joy, really – to feel I’ve made a contribution as a freelance editor to books that have topped the bestseller lists or garnered literary prizes. I’ve worked with some incredibly talented Canadian authors, and am pleased to have played a small editorial role in bringing to readers novels such as Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes, Austin Clarke’s The Polished Hoe, Richard B. Wright’s Clara Callan, and Lewis De Soto’s A Blade of Grass. I edited three of the last four winners of the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. And a book I copyedited by first-time novelist Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean, is currently shortlisted for all the top Canadian lit awards, so my fingers are crossed for her! I’ve worked with many wonderful authors over the past thirteen years – too many to name.
Can you pinpoint particular characteristics in the storytelling abilities of these authors that made their books so successful? An original and authentic and consistent authorial voice. Believable characters and motivations. Care and clarity in the writing. Sensory details. Compelling storytelling. Insights about life that resonate with the reader. A good writer draws the reader in from the crucial opening paragraphs and carries him or her on a journey to a worthwhile destination, with surprising, insightful or entertaining – preferably all three! – stops along the way.
What drew you to memoir writing over any other genre? I have edited a great deal of literary fiction and non-fiction, but my fascination with memoir – whether or not it’s for publication – grew out of a passion for genealogy that seized me about six years ago. That was followed quickly by a frustration with the lack of detail available about my ancestors’ lives. I found myself wishing that at least some of them had written about their experiences in journal or memoir form. And of course the logical next thought was, “Well, how much have I written down and what will people know about me in years to come?” Around the same time, I was also moved by the pleasure a friend’s father’s memoir gave his four adult children and his grandchildren, and thought to myself: “Everyone can, and should, do this.” My mother’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s brought home to me that memory is fleeting, and that the time to write things down is now.
Did you keep a diary as a child? Only sporadically, sad to say. My earliest began when I was thirteen and continued irregularly until I was about fifteen. I wrote some fiction back then, and poetry, and thought that much more fun than writing about my own little life. That period was, however, a difficult and pivotal time for my family, so I’m very glad to have that diary now, however spotty. I’ve also travelled quite a bit over the years, and usually keep detailed journals of those experiences. And I kept other sorts of records here and there. For example, through my late teens and early twenties I jotted down point-form notes on wall calendars, detailing my everyday activities. And during university I kept copies of all the long letters I wrote to family members. I did the same when I was living in Kumamoto, Japan, for three years: I was far more motivated to write for others than for myself, so I kept copies of my correspondence with family and friends back in Canada. Some of my experiences found their way into freelance pieces I wrote for Canadian newspapers. I’m always impressed by the one or two students in any given workshop who tell me they’ve kept a journal for decades. What an amazing resource for their writing. And that great thing is, it’s never too late to begin one.
Why do you think memoir writing is important? We’re all natural storytellers, and it makes me sad to think how many stories are lost because people don’t write them down. I believe memoirists should write first and foremost for themselves, to honour their own experiences and those of loved ones, to explore the patterns in their lives. Beyond that, for many, the goal is to leave a legacy for children or grandchildren, because they realize that no one else can tell their stories the way they can. Also, it can be therapeutic: studies have shown that writing about negative personal experiences can improve psychological and physical health (there’s an interview with Dr. James Pennebaker on my blog about this). It’s also a fabulous creative outlet, and it exercises the mind. And certainly as an armchair genealogist I can see the longer-term value in memoir writing. Best of all, you need very little equipment: just a pen and paper – or a tape recorder or video camera – and your memories.
One of the most challenging aspects of memoir writing is … An issue that concerns many of my students is whether to, or how to, include details that may upset others they are writing about. The fact is, every writer has to decide on this for him- or herself. Write your truth. Don’t ever write vindictively. When it comes time to edit, ultimately your decisions will be influenced by your purpose in writing, your intended audience, and also, of course, the nature of your relationship with the person written about. I recommend that writers try not to agonize over this too early, and that in early drafts they write honestly and fully about others (while keeping the content confidential). Changes or cuts can be made to later drafts.
We all know what happened to James Frey when people discovered that portions of his memoir were untrue. Is it considered unethical to embellish a memoir with fictionalized elements? How much is too much? There’s a marked difference between using fictional techniques, such as voice, characters, setting and dialogue, to tell a true story effectively, and actually writing fiction. Embellishment in memoir, whether obvious during reading or discovered later, ultimately destroys a writer’s credibility; and without credibility, a memoirist has nothing. Readers don’t like to be fibbed to. In memoir, you can only write what you remember (faulty though memories may be), and dialogue of course must be reconstructed. But aside from this, “emotional truth” – the truth as you felt it – should prevail. Just an aside, but a pet peeve of mine is authors condensing time so that events seem to have happened closer together than they did. This has become an accepted approach in memoir, but I feel it bends the truth.
How can I write honestly about my life without feeling as if I’m betraying the people involved? There’s no point in writing memoir unless you intend to write honestly, but by its nature the writing process is selective, and there are a number of ways to work around upsetting people. There’s plenty of time in later drafts – when you’re revising and cutting – to trim scenes, or to change names or details about individuals to protect them, or you. The emotional truth of your story is more important than these minor details. Another strategy is to focus in your writing more on your own feelings than on the behaviour of the other person. This in fact is the “truth” of your experience, how you felt, and no one can argue with that. Another is to be fair and generous enough to try to see and write about both sides of a relationship or situation (for example, what might have been troubling a sibling who treated you badly?). Your readers will relate to you better if you do.
Must I get permission from these people before I publish what I’ve written? This is a personal decision. Getting permission is not required, and in addition, it can be problematic. How, for example, are you going to respond if they say no? How much are you willing to change your story of your life to please, or to avoid offending, others? Before showing your work to anyone, decide how you will respond to their reaction, and how far you’re willing to go to keep that person happy. If you aren’t prepared to change anything you’ve written anyway, there isn’t much point in showing anyone in advance, unless it gives you peace of mind to do so. How you handle this will depend on the importance of the particular details to your story, and on your personality, and on your relationship with the person in question. You may not feel concerned about upsetting an old high school teacher, for example, but be loath to offend your granny – or vice versa! Keep in mind, too, that it’s almost impossible to predict reactions; some writers find that the scenes they expected to be controversial aren’t, and that ones they thought innocent rile some people up. In the end, you have to go with your gut.
What defines good memoir writing? Honesty and vulnerability in the narrator. As with fiction, an authentic voice. A story that is told in an original way. Strong writing full of sensory details. A tale that carries the reader along and allows him to feel part of the writer’s experiences, and also calls to mind resonating experiences in his own life.
Do you have an all-time favourite memoir? Oh, I couldn’t name just one! Only two common denominators tie memoirs together: they are true, and they are written in the first person. Aside from that, anything goes, which makes it difficult to compare one to another. How can one compare Marina Nemat’s Prisoner of Tehran, Blanche and Allison Howard’s A Memoir of Friendship, Catherine Gildiner’s After the Falls, William Leith’s Bits of Me Are Falling Apart, and Ian Brown’s The Boy in the Moon? I did editorial work on all of these very different books, each excellent in its own way. A few others I would recommend, however, include Joan Didion’s Year of Magical Thinking, Joyce Maynard’s At Home in the World, Anne Coleman’s I’ll Tell You a Secret, Nigel Slater’s Toast, Julian Barnes’s Nothing To Be Frightened Of, Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle … and any travel memoir at all by Pico Iyer! I’m still trying to decide what I think of Dave Eggers’ A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which was fascinating but occasionally too self-consciously experimental for its own good (though he is a talent, there’s no question).
Who do you admire, and why? My younger brother Blair, who passed away three and a half years ago. He was born with congenital kidney disease and spent much of his life in and out of hospital, undergoing two kidney transplants by age twenty, as well as other surgeries. He was smart and funny and insatiably curious – an intellectual sponge. He was also very, very brave. He died at forty, but not before completing an honours degree at Queen’s University (part-time, because of his disabilities, but graduating top of his class), creating an online magazine (with my brother Darren), and publishing one book, as well as writing and producing plays, and a couple of short films, and writing short fiction, poetry, essays, a screenplay, and, shortly before his death, a score for a rock opera. He wasn’t one to let a little thing like no formal musical training stand in his way. His zest for life and learning and writing, despite debilitating physical setbacks, were – and still are – an inspiration to me. Outside of my family, I admire my students who persevere in completing some form of life writing, whether they publish or self-publish a book, or get a short story accepted by a magazine, or start a blog – or even distribute their memoir to family members in a simple binder! It’s the fact that they achieved their goal that’s important. I’ve taught writers ranging in age from twenties to eighties, and one of my online participants published her first memoir at the age of 90!
What’s on your bookshelf right now? I have eight overflowing bookshelves in my home – just ask my husband, who is constantly begging me to prune them back. But on my to-read list is Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family, and Claire Holden Rothman’s The Heart Specialist. And I just treated myself to the purchase of a collection of Alice Munro’s best stories.
Can you recommend any books or other educational resources of interest to aspiring memoir writers? To my mind one of the best authors on writing is William Zinsser, who has also penned a couple of excellent books about memoir (and one audiobook, How to Write a Memoir). He wrote Writing About Your Life, which I assigned this fall in my University of Toronto online course, and also edited Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir, based on a series of lectures by memoirists on memoir. Judith Barrington is also well worth reading; her book is titled Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art. Another I always recommend is Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, which is part memoir, part “toolbox” of valuable writing tips. A great collection of short memoirs is The Vintage Book of Canadian Memoirs, edited by George Fetherling.
You are also a teacher. Tell me about your memoir writing workshops and what your students can look forward to learning. In 2004 I developed an online course in memoir writing for Ryerson University, and from there I branched out to lead workshops for libraries, writers’ groups and literary festivals. I currently teach an online course for University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies: “Memories into Story.” I’m also running an online workshop on dialogue writing, which has been lots of fun. Since my students range from those who are writing for themselves and/or family to those who hope to publish, I focus on elements common to both: I encourage them to share their stories, and suggest techniques they can use to trigger memories and organize their writing. I also provide tips on editing and finding markets for short memoirs. I want them to leave my workshops with some momentum – with a few vignettes/stories in a binder, lots of ideas, and the sense that “I can do this!”
Where can I find information about your upcoming workshops? At www.daysroadwriters.blogspot.com, click the link in the sidebar for “Upcoming Workshops.” I’m hoping to launch a proper website early in 2010, but meanwhile on this site there are my interviews with authors and others, and additional resources for memoir writers.
Any advice for aspiring memoir writers? Be confident that your stories have value and will interest others. If you aren’t confident that you have something to say, how can you expect to persuade readers to come along with you for the ride? Be flexible. There’s no right or wrong way to write memoir, and your writing may take you places you didn’t anticipate. Allow yourself to be surprised. And remember: you can write more than one memoir! Read a selection of memoirs, both short and long, and be analytical. What do you like? What do you not like? How did the author achieve the effects you liked? Emulate the style (though of course not the content!) of writers you admire, at least until you establish your own style. And freewrite regularly: set aside short, regular writing periods at least two or three times a week for writing practice; these sessions will help jog your memory too. Join a critique group, or start one of your own. Set yourself a goal: enter a writing contest, or submit a short memoir to The Globe and Mail’s “Facts and Arguments” section. There’s nothing like a deadline to get you motivated.
What’s up next on your agenda? I’m thrilled to have been asked to lead a two-week life-writing workshop in February 2010, at Los Parronales Writers’ Retreat in Santiago, Chile (http://daysroadwritersworkshops.googlepages.com/losparronalesflyer). And I’m hosting novelist/memoirist Beth Powning as a guest in the Fall and Winter sessions of my U of T online course. As far as editing goes, I’m not at liberty to reveal what I’m working on until the titles have been catalogued, but I can say that upcoming projects include a novel and a young-adult novel, both by award-winning authors, and a fascinating memoir by a first-time author.
ALLYSON LATTA is an independent literary editor who teaches memoir writing for the University of Toronto’s Creative Writing Program (School of Continuing Studies), as well as privately. With degrees in journalism and psychology, she has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance features writer, magazine editor (trade, literary, and business), film reviewer, and university media relations consultant. During three years in Japan, she taught college-level ESL and wrote about Japanese culture for Canadian newspapers. Among the books Allyson has edited are nominees for the Man Booker International Prize, and winners of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. She has worked with numerous acclaimed authors in Canada, as well as in the Caribbean through the University of the West Indies Press. Allyson developed and began teaching her first online course on memoir writing for Ryerson University in 2004, and from there moved on to offer workshops for libraries, writers’ organizations and literary festivals. In February 2010 she will be editor-in-residence for a two-week life writing workshop at Los Parronales Writers’ Retreat in Santiago, Chile. Visit her site, www.daysroadwriters.blogspot.com, for her series of interviews with authors and others in the realm of memoir writing.
October 2009 Focus On: Fran Santoro Hamilton
Q&A with a grammarian by Donna Marrin
At what point in your life did you know that you were destined to work with words? I think I was pretty much hooked in second grade when I wrote a story that earned an S+ from my teacher and enthusiastic praise from my parents and their friends. It was titled, “The Hen That Wanted a Chicken,” and I still think it’s a very good story. Early success has its price, however. In this case, that price was the pressure I put on myself to make the next story as good as this one. Many ideas were simply aborted, and those that were allowed to develop had a slow, painful birth. It was more than ten years before I wrote something that I felt was as outstanding as that early story. Given the degree of pain that writing inflicted on me over the years, it’s amazing that I chose to do so much of it.
Why did you do so much of it? I guess it’s a case of the agony and the ecstasy. I liked the payoff of finding a way to effectively express my thoughts and feelings and communicate them to someone else — and I even liked the praise. When you stop to think about writing, you have to marvel at what we can do with twenty-six letters and a few punctuation marks: communicate with people who may be separated from us by thousands of miles or hundreds of years — and perhaps even move those people to tears or laughter.
Describe a day in the life. One thing I especially like about my life these days is the opportunity to set my own schedule (quite different from the days when I was teaching school and raising children!). The days, therefore, have a lot of variety. I flit from working, to volunteering, to keeping up with friends. Lately, everything seems to involve writing, so I spend a lot of time at my computer, even though the writing is more mundane than creative. I may be writing promotional pieces, e-mails, articles, book reviews. And, since I have my own business (albeit a small and shrinking one), I do all of the jobs associated with that — filling orders, answering inquiries, filing tax forms, etc.
What do you love most about the mechanics of writing? When I hear “mechanics of writing,” I first think of “capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.” For me, these are the easy parts of writing. In most cases, there’s a clear right and wrong, so tending to the mechanics is simply a matter of objectively applying the rules. This can be a relief after the open-ended task of composing. “The mechanics of writing” could also mean the process, though. I love the challenge of finding the best words and fitting them together in order to express a thought or a feeling as effectively as possible. In the past few months, as I’ve edited some non-fiction books written by other people, I’ve taken new delight in this craft.
Who or what is your greatest inspiration? At least for Hands-On English (the English handbook I’ve written and published), my inspiration was the students I’ve taught. When I wrote the prototype of this book, back in 1988, I couldn’t find an English book that I wanted to use in my classroom of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders — so I created my own. I think the fact that I had also taught students at each level from middle school to adults helped to shape the content of this book — and I think my broad background is one reason that Hands-On English is used at all of these levels today.
What grammatical error makes you want to tear your hair out? I have a number of them. Using a subject pronoun in place of an object pronoun would be one (“a secret between you and I”). Another that grates like nails on a chalkboard is “have went,” which seems to be becoming more and more prevalent, even among educated people.
Do you have any suggestions for adults wishing to improve their skills without having to go back to school? I can’t tell you how many adults, many of them not native English speakers, have phoned to tell me that they found Hands-On English in the library and needed their own copy for this very purpose. Many of these people — as well as teachers — have told me that Hands-On English is the clearest English book they’ve found. Adults wishing to improve skills on their own might also want to get the Activity Book so that they would have exercises to help them master the concepts –and the answers in the back of the book would enable them to check their work.
Language evolves year after year, and many of the rules that were drilled into us by our high school teachers have changed. How does one keep on top of the changes? Language evolves — and language devolves. It’s important to distinguish between the two. I resist embracing changes that represent a deterioration of the language. An up-to-date handbook can be helpful in checking on the current rules. However, for issues that are truly in transition, such as the spelling of website, even well-respected authorities are likely to disagree. If that is the case, you may need to content yourself with consistency. Decide on the spelling you will use, and use it consistently throughout a piece of writing. It can also be helpful to understand trends. For example compound words often move from two distinct words, to a hyphenated word, to a solid word (without the hyphen). And the current trend in punctuation is toward “open punctuation” (using fewer, rather than more, punctuation marks).
You operate the website, www.grammarandmore.com. What will visitors find there? People will find a variety of resources to help them enjoy English and use it effectively: several articles to help parents and teachers nurture the language development of young people, dozens of recommended books and websites, several free resources, and information about the products I have created and offer for sale. The free resources include the archive and index of fifty-nine issues of LinguaPhile, an e-mail newsletter; a link to a free seven-lesson online writing class; and information about The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration, a writing contest that gives young people a chance to become published authors.
The most important lesson you ever learned. To narrow my choices, I’ll limit this to a lesson related to writing. It is contained in the quote from E. L. Doctorow: “Writing is like driving at night. You can see only as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” As a student, I tried to have a whole composition written in my mind before I set pencil to paper. That was extremely non-productive. Just getting started — writing any part I feel ready to write — is such a positive step. And it leads to another . . . and another. . . . Of course, the word processor makes this piecemeal composition — and revision as well — so much easier than it was twenty years ago.
What reference books would we find on your bookshelf right now? Since I’m in the middle of an editing project, some of the books are actually off the shelf and open on the table beside me: The Chicago Manual of Style and Words into Type (an old favorite from my copyediting days). Close at hand — and likely to be called into service at any moment — are Roget’s Thesaurus and Theodore M. Bernstein’s The Careful Writer. The Internet is a huge help in editing non-fiction — checking facts, confirming conventional spelling and capitalization of proper names, etc. What did we ever do without it?
Tell us about the books you’ve authored and where we can buy them. My first book was Hands-On English, an English handbook written with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in mind. In fact, I used a prototype of it in my classroom for ten years. In addition to being used in some elementary schools, Hands-On English is now used in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and adult education programs. It is also popular with English language learners (both young people and adults). Hands-On English is unique in that it uses functional symbols to represent parts of speech so that readers can see how sentences are put together. In addition to grammar, Hands-On English includes usage, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, reading, and writing. It’s an unusual compilation of material — but I included what I wanted my students to know. I have received many compliments on the book’s clear, concise text and unintimidating format. Some professional writers also choose Hands-On English as their handbook, because (even though it doesn’t include everything there is to know about English) it includes what people are most likely to need, and the information is easy to find and easy to understand. Hands-On English is an English handbook for the whole family. Once I had the handbook, people wanted practice pages, so, with a co-author, I wrote the Activity Book, which provides exercises to help people master the concepts presented in the handbook. It is available in workbook form or as blackline masters. I also created a card game that provides practice with parts of speech and sentence construction, and helps people internalize grammar concepts so that they don’t need to relearn them year after year. And I offer a set of visual aids, which includes the part-of-speech symbols in various sizes. While you are not likely to find Hands-On English on the shelf in a bookstore, it is available from a number of wholesalers, so bookstores could order it for you, or you could order it from Amazon.com. The companion products, however — the Activity Book, card game, and visual aids — are available only from Portico Books: www.GrammarAndMore.com or 1-888-641-5353. Substantial discounts are available on volume purchases.
Do you have any advice for writers? 1. Read all kinds of things. When you find something that seems especially well written, consider what makes it effective. When you find something that does not seem effective, consider how you could improve it. 2. Keep a journal in which you collect some of your favorite pieces of other people’s writing as well as your own observations and reactions to the world around you. 3. Write. It is easy to procrastinate — to let peripheral activities, such as researching or organizing or reading about writing, become a substitute for writing itself. Just write — write anything.
What’s up next? Four years ago I co-founded The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration, a writing contest for young people in U.S. grades 4-8 and homeschool and international students aged 9-14. The students interview someone from an older generation of their family, write something they learn about their family history, and submit their story to us for possible publication in an anthology. The stories are amazing, and we’ve received such positive feedback from families — as well as teachers — who have participated. We’ve already received stories from twenty-six states, and we’re working to expand The Grannie Annie so that even more people have the opportunity to become involved. I encourage you to take a look at our website (www.TheGrannieAnnie.org) and read some of the stories. We’d love to receive submissions from your family — or your students — or your friends’ families. Please help us spread the word! The next submission deadline is February 1, 2010. All of the details — plus the required entry form — are on the website. There is no cost to participate.
FRAN SANTORO HAMILTON’s thirty-five years as teacher, writer, and editor have enabled her to distill the English language to its essentials. Fran is the author of Hands-On English, an English handbook that makes grammar visual by using symbols to represent parts of speech, and she is co-founder of The Grannie Annie Family Story Celebration (www.TheGrannieAnnie.org). Fran provides many free resources, including a writing contest and an online writing course, at www.GrammarAndMore.com.
September 2009 Focus On: Barry Dempster
Q&A with an award-winning Canadian poet by Donna Marrin
Tell us about your latest book and how it came about. I’ve had two books released recently: Love Outlandish, published by Brick Books back in April and Ivan’s Birches, just released in September by Pedlar Press. A few years back, I got interested in taking the structures behind traditional love poetry and focusing them on love poems to the world. But the minute I started delving into ideas of love, I began getting hooked by those traditions and before I knew it Love Outlandish began taking form as a book about love and passion from those first chemical highs to the despair of heartbreak. With that out of the way, I was able to return to the idea of writing love poems to the world in Ivan’s Birches, directing my affinities for art and nature. I wanted to explore how passion for our surroundings leads us to compassion and commitment that is both emotional and spiritual.
Where do you write? Do you have any rituals or routines that you follow? If you’d asked me this a few years ago, I would have given you a list worthy of a true neurotic. But I’ve worked hard to whittle down my dependency on habit and ritual. I like to think now that I could write just about anywhere. What I do need is quiet in order to focus my full attentions on the language and the world unfolding in the poem. When I write, I often stretch out on my bed, books surrounding me. I usually begin by reading poetry, a mixture so as not to get one voice too locked into my head. I always write in longhand with a Pilot Ultrafine pen and when I’ve finished a first draft, take it immediately to the computer where the revision process begins.
What (or who) inspires you? I’m inspired by what goes on beneath the surface of seeing and feeling and wondering. Beauty inspires me as does horror and possibility. I’m also inspired by other poets, musicians, filmmakers, philosophers — the fruits of their creativity. I don’t think it’s the breadth of life that matters as much as the details and how deeply we are taken into experiences that remind us of the poet, Paul Eluard’s marvellous quote, “I must not mistake reality for being like myself.”
At what point in your life were you hit with the writing bolt? As an only child, I started writing very young as a way of validating my own experience and trying to communicate with others. But it wasn’t until my early twenties that I got hooked on language in a way that went beyond myself. I was a reader long before I was a writer and was constantly being struck by the richness of both pain and pleasure that could happen between the covers of a book.
Did you choose your genre or did it choose you? I chose to write fiction. That was a conscious choice, both my short stories and my novels. But I think poetry chose me long before I really understood what it took to write a good poem. The challenge has been both life-affirming and wildly difficult, but it really does feel like an old fashioned calling, something that I had to learn to surrender to.
If you could have a conversation with any poet, living or dead, who would it be and what would you want to ask them? My heart starts missing beats at the thought of a conversation with D.H. Lawrence or Rilke, but they both scare me just a little. My fierceness may not be up to theirs. I think I’d choose Pablo Neruda. Now there was a man who lived his poems, who was unafraid of either despair or joy, who could teach the essentials of living small as well as large. I’d most want to ask Neruda how he did it, how he managed to make the world a richer, more magnificent place.
The most challenging part of the writing process is…the intricacy of craft, of balancing music and meaning, of trying to bring something new and vital to life every time I pick up my pen. Craft is hard.
What do you love most about being a writer? Most of all, it’s the blank page, the possibility that this poem, this story will surpass me. I also really like the peripherals: the public readings, workshops, editing assignments, residencies, etcetera.
Important lessons you’ve learned along the way…That it’s the work that matters, not the ego trying to upstage the work. I’ve also learned a lot about patience and the dangers of expectations.
Considering the term: Good poetry is like mathematics — it makes you think; are there any specific messages that you want your poetry to convey to your readers? I don’t really think of poetry as a way of delivering messages. I’m interested in a more holistic approach, creating a poem that not only thinks but feels and goes beyond the explicable.
What would I find on your bookshelf right now? Al Moritz’s The Sentinel, Bob Hicok’s The Legend of Light and Dean Young’s Primitive Mentor. Also, A.S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book and a fascinating book about the dust bowl, Timothy Egan’s The Worst Hard Time.
Do you have any advice for all the writers out there with a dream? To read and write relentlessly — to love language. Pay attention to detail. Apprenticeship is a way of being in the world as much as it is developing a career.
What’s next up on your agenda? I’m going to be writer in residence at the Richmond Hill Public Library from October 1, 2009 to January 31, 2010. I’ll be reading at the International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront this October and I have another collection of poetry coming out in the spring of 2010. Amidst it all, writing as much as I can.
BARRY DEMPSTER is the author of the novel, The Ascension of Jesse Rapture, a children’s novel, two volumes of short stories and eleven collections of poetry. Two of Barry’s poetry collections were nominated for a Governor General’s Award, and won the Canadian Authors Association Chalmers Award for Poetry, the Confederation Poets prize, the Scarborough Bi-Centennial Award of Merit and the Petra Kenney Award in the U.K. Barry works as senior editor for Brick Books, and lives in Holland Landing, where he runs a film series and two book groups. Visit www.brickbooks.ca to find out more about Barry Dempster’s books.
August 2009 Focus On: Vali Stone
Q&A with the founder and president of the annual Words Alive Literary Festival in Sharon, Ontario by Donna Marrin
Tell us about your book, Cops Don’t Cry, and what inspired you to write about this topic. My research began a few years ago, after what started out as a regular get-together at a friend’s home. I overheard a conversation between a police officer and another guest. The guest was complaining about the time it took an officer to arrive at the scene of an accident he’d been involved in. His agitation increased as he spilled forth every negative police-related issue he could think of. The officer continued to smile and politely nod his head in understanding. That’s when I noticed a woman push past the officer and stand face to face with the guest. “They do the best they can; I’d like to se you try it for one day! Just one day,” she screamed in his face. “I can’t take this anymore,” she hissed and walked away. I knew exactly what she was feeling. The two of us discussed our fears and disappointments that evening, but it was her parting comment that sparked the beginning of Cops Don’t Cry: “I wish I had known what I was getting into before I married him.” During the course of my research, many police spouses reiterated that the profession had greatly affected their lives and the lives of their families. By means of interviews, surveys and over 30 years of personal experience, it became obvious to me that many of the same problems were evident in all police families. There was an urgent need to educate officers and their families about the joys and pitfalls of this kind of relationship.
Do you lean more toward a particular genre, and why? Interestingly enough, I have a mad love for fiction, but always seem to lean towards writing non-fiction. It must be that ‘teacher’ side of me that wants to research and impart information. I also adore poetry and have just finished reading Barry Dempster’s Love Outlandish, which is an absolutely incredible work of art.
At what point in your life were you hit with the ‘writing bolt?’ After many visits to the Bookmobile (really dating myself) at the impressionable age of ten, I knew I had to rewrite all the Nancy Drew Mysteries. To me, they were too predictable. When I rewrote the endings and shared them with teachers and friends, no one ‘got it’. Mystery is still not my most favourite genre. At the age of eleven, I won my first prize for a fictional short story about a peacock; I received a ruler with my name inscribed on it, which I promptly buried at the bottom of a box. I often wish I had it on my desk for inspiration.
What do you love most about being a writer? I have TMIS, To Many Ideas Syndrome. Ideas present themselves all day long, revealing vibrant characters, picturesque places and stimulating plots. Unfortunately though, a writer with too many ideas and no focus faces much the same crisis as having writer’s block. My husband once told me to stop my head or I would self-destruct. Just last week, I told him that I should write a story based on the letters people leave in coffins. He exploded in laughter. (I’m still thinking about it). I know I have a winning idea when I think about it more than two or three times, with more and more detail added each time. When I’m at the computer beginning the research ‘just out of curiosity’, then I’m sure. I do lose myself in details, which can become daunting. I find that I treat non-fiction books, articles and columns like essays. Give the reader the thesis and three strong points to convince them. Traveling and speaking has been really exciting for me over the last few years. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some truly amazing people and have been to many inspiring places throughout Canada and the U.S.
In 2003, you won the ‘In Celebration of Women’ Author’s Award. It must have been thrilling to have your achievements recognized and honored this way. Tell us all about it. I’ll share a little story with you about the awards day. I had my first pedicure about four hours before the celebration. A young lady used a callous shaver with a new blade. While she madly scraped, she excitedly relayed all the details of her date the night before. She accidentally cut my big toe almost to the bone. It was with white gauze and open sandals that I hobbled up to the stage. The Author Award for ‘In Celebration of Women’ is about the impact your achievements have made on the lives of others, and your commitment to community as well as your craft. I was so honoured to have been chosen for such a prestigious award.
As the founder and president of the annual Words Alive Literary Festival in Sharon, Ontario, what was your impetus for turning an ambitious dream into a successful and much-anticipated yearly event? As a creative writing teacher of adults, I understand the importance of literature and writing and fully appreciate the frustrations new writers face. My dream was to bring writers together with published authors, editors and book lovers to share their ideas and stories. Even in the very first year, it was evident that the combination of writers, novice writers, and book lovers at the beautiful Sharon Temple was absolutely magical.
What are some of the challenges of producing a Festival of this scale? And the rewards? Like so many other non-profit organizations there is really only one difficult challenge with Words Alive, and that is to find financial support. We were extremely lucky this year to be gifted money from The Ontario Arts Council, Cinemania, CUPE 4400 and The Town of Newmarket. The rewards are too many to mention, but the most exhilarating is watching the connections between all the guests, the pride they take in their craft and their sheer love of literature.
I am truly thankful for all the countless hours the Words Alive Committee has put into making this event so successful. Without them and our volunteers, Words Alive could not have flourished the way it has.
Describe some of the highlights visitors can look forward to enjoying on Festival day. If you are a reader, you will be enchanted by some of the most talented Canadian writers and their stories. If you are writer, you will be enthralled with the long list of authors who will be sharing their tricks of the trade, as well as many of the same challenges that you experience. You can enjoy workshops that will help enhance your skills, listen to melodic sounds, storytellers will carry you away to other lands, you can read your work at the open mic and enjoy a beautiful fall day on the tranquil grounds of the Sharon Temple.
You also teach Communications, English and Public Speaking at Georgian College. Are there any classes you would suggest for beginning writers who want to expand their writing skills? Georgian College is a fantastic college to learn skills in many professions. Often times, Georgian will offer evening courses in Creative Writing with teachers who have been published in many genres.
What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Write every day if you can, even if it’s dribble. Tom Clancy advises “The foundations of successful writing are within anyone’s grasp. The only way to do it is to do it.” Try not to edit as you write. I find that when I do (teacher’s and editor’s curse), I get carried away with technicalities and lose all my creativity. I always tell my students never to be arrogant enough to fall in love with their first draft. In their eyes, it looks perfect, when in fact it might need to be revised another ten times. In saying that, know when to quit editing or you’ll become the oldest author-to-be, sitting with a masterpiece that will never become published. Be passionate about your craft! Walk and talk to your characters, dream the impossible, write all your ideas down, cut out articles from papers and magazines that interest you, sit at a coffee shop and listen to those around you…be attentive to details. I remember being in a small family restaurant on Manitoulin Island with only six tables. The couple sitting next to me was celebrating their first anniversary. Little did they know that I was writing down most of their conversation and that one sentence was the inspiration for an article called, Sleeping In Separate Rooms After Forty Can Save Your Marriage.
What would we find on your bookshelf right now? A few favourites: A Portrait of The Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce; Complete Fairy Stories by Oscar Wilde; A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving; Extravagaria by Pablo Neruda; A Thousand Spendid Suns and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver; 1984 by George Orwell; Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling; Venetian Dreaming by Paula Weideger; The last two books read were: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink; The Shack by Wm. Paul Young. And I’m in the middle of The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon and How I became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely.
What’s next on your agenda? I have three wonderful books that I am in the process of writing: poetry, a children’s fable and another non-fiction. I am excited at the prospect of trying new genres which are a challenge, at best. Words Alive will be holding our first open mic at Books/Café and Things on Main Street in Newmarket on Thursday, August 20 at 7:00 PM. Our guest poet will be Barry Dempster, reading from his newest work, Love Outlandish.
I also have hundreds of other ideas that my children tell me need to be put to bed.
Cops Don’t Cry: A book of help and hope for police families, by Vali Stone
(ISBN 0-921165-62-5 Creative Bound Inc.), can be found at Amazon.ca, Chapters.Indigo.ca, Creativebound.com, and other major booksellers.
July 2009 Focus On: Rick Wilks
Q&A with the Director of Annick Press Ltd. by Donna Marrin
Tell me a bit about the history of Annick Press Ltd. Annick Press was founded in 1975 to bring Canadian voices to Canadian youth. Throughout our history, we have emphasized literary excellence and chosen to work with those writers who are committed to offering children and youth positive reading experiences that are self-affirming, educational and entertaining. In our early years, we published picture books, featuring such authors as Robert Munsch, Kathy Stinson, Hazel Hutchins and Ruth Ohi. Over time, we have added contemporary fiction and non-fiction to our publishing programme. Now the emphasis is on novels and innovative illustrated non-fiction. We publish approximately 30 books per annum. They are distributed throughout North America and rights are sold all over the world. We license adaptations for film, TV, stage and audio.
Your mission statement? Annick Press is committed to creating dynamic, groundbreaking books by Canadian and international authors. We constantly strive to offer children and teens positive and engaging reading experiences that speak to the issues that young people deal with every day: bullying, teen sexuality, advertising and alienation. Our commitment is to “Innovation and Excellence in Children’s Literature” and this applies to all aspects of book development, from editorial, through to design, production and marketing.
Did you choose your career in publishing or did it choose you? Back in the mid 1970s, we set out to publish a single book, perhaps two. But, contrary to everything we had been told about the difficulties of making a success in publishing, those early titles enjoyed an incredibly positive response. So we decided to publish another, then another, and then yet another…it’s now almost 35 years later. There was very little children’s publishing in Canada at the time. Clearly, there was an appetite for books that reflected Canadian attitudes and experiences. We remain mindful of the Canadian qualities that make our books successful and now share them with youth around the globe.
Describe a day in the life… There really is no typical day. Work can encompass everything from meeting with authors, working with a designer to develop the look of a book, editorial meetings, working with the Marketing Manager to create new promotion and publicity strategies, discussing electronic and on-line activities, working with the Rights Manager on foreign licenses, phone calls with film and theatre companies, production meetings, conversations with sales reps, etc., etc. The business is changing dramatically and so must our approach to developing and selling books. I’ve been saying “we’re in a busy period” for the past 34 years.
What do you enjoy most about publishing? Acquisitions. Determining the issues and topics that will capture a reader’s imagination and then seeking out the very best person to bring that vision to life. It’s always a stimulating day when we meet with highly talented writers to discuss how they might contribute to our publishing programme.
Describe a recent success and what makes a book take off in the marketplace. “The Bite of the Mango.” This is a stunning memoir about a young girl in Sierra Leone who was kidnapped by child soldiers. First and foremost, it is a gripping and highly compelling story so not surprisingly, it has generated a very strong word of mouth: you can’t read this book and not talk about it. Second, it opens up the eyes of youth in North America to the lives of their peers in another continent. The authors live here so they are able to address various audiences, all of which serves to further spread the word. The reality is that for a children’s book to truly achieve success, it must receive stellar reviews, especially in library journals. “The Bite of the Mango” has achieved this, garnering starred reviews in major media throughout North America. We have also sold licenses for foreign editions in seven countries (and counting) including Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom.
How many books does Annick Press publish in a year? Approximately 30. We publish a only a few picture books each year (by established authors) but emphasize illustrated non-fiction and novels.
What makes a manuscript grab an editor’s attention? First and foremost it has to be original. We pride ourselves on an innovative publishing programme, so if the subject has been covered, we’re not interested. It’s very important to find a new way into a subject and we always favour a story-telling approach. So we emphasize a high degree of originality and the depiction of strong and distinctive contemporary voices. There should be creativity in the use of language – language that is lively, dramatic and vivid. The story must involve and stimulate the reader. It is essential that it have authentic dialogue and richly visualized settings. The reader must see an authentic experience reflected through the story line. We encourage the use of appropriate and well-timed humour. Also, it’s important to remember that if the topic is covered on the Web, it becomes a more unlikely candidate for book publication.
I’ve written my first book. What steps do I take to get my manuscript in the door? Make certain you have identified an appropriate publisher. The work should fit their philosophy and publishing program. Then submit a short covering letter as well as an outline and sample chapter with a SASE.
As electronic publishing evolves, what does the future hold for books in print? I believe there will always be room for books in print, especially for younger children (picture books). However, there is no question that it’s a diminishing market and that new reading platforms are gaining favour. The expertise that publishers have to offer – editorial, design, marketing – will always be necessary though the format that stories are read in is evolving to include both hardcopy books and new technologies.
Do publishing houses pay attention to self-published books? Blogs? Historically we have not found self-published books that are compatible with our programme, though we do regularly visit blogs to see what people are writing about and to search for interesting writers. We recently signed up a book set in Canada’s north that we learned about from a blogger.
You’ve accepted my book for publication. What happens next? We hold a meeting to discuss the editorial process. Books require a long lead time, both for editorial reasons and to allow us to take advantage of publicity and marketing opportunities.
How much does a publishing house do to promote a new book, and what can an author do to help generate more publicity? There is a long list of standard things we do to promote a book, some of which include sending out review copies across North America, contacting media that will have an interest in the subject matter, perhaps developing a pod cast with the author, producing a trailer that can be posted on-line, conducting an email or direct mail campaign, space advertising. Every book presents its own opportunities. We develop a marketing plan for each title and invite the author to contribute in whatever ways he/she can. If the author is able to speak at conferences and visit schools this is of great help.
What’s on your own bookshelf right now? Today I’ve been reading “Slam” by Nick Hornby (YA) and “The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett
Who do you admire, and why? There are any number of names I might put forward but I’ll cite our author, Loris Lesynski, for whom I have tremendous respect. Loris is an ideal author; she is deeply thoughtful and able to bring her extensive knowledge of literature, language and poetic structure to her work. Loris is intellectually never still. She is always striving to learn, to dig more deeply into what is possible with her work. She understands that one of the greatest challenges is to delve so deeply into a subject that you’re able to express it in simple and elegant terms. None of this would bring the level of success Loris has enjoyed were she not very much in touch with her audience. Loris has a great connection with kids; she understands and has an innate sympathy with their struggles and worldview. She knows the archetypes that shape their emotional lives. She always has something of significance to say – to youth and adults – and how to express it in terms that resonate and challenge. She is pretty darn funny too.
Do you have any advice for all the writers out there with a dream? Keep working and be patient (very patient). Develop and be true to your own voice; the best writers probe deeply into themselves and are motivated by a desire to tell a story. If you find your writing is market driven you’ll likely fail. Most of all read, read and read some more. Apply the same rigor to your writing. To become good at anything requires endless practice; certainly writing is no exception.
June 2009 Focus On: Brenda Chapman
Q&A with the author of a popular mystery series for adolescents and teens by Donna Marrin
Tell us about yourself. I grew up in Terrace Bay, Ontario, a pulp mill town of 2,000 people on the North Shore of Lake Superior. When I turned eighteen, I set off to university in Thunder Bay and earned a degree in English literature from Lakehead University, then moved to Kingston and completed a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s. I moved to Ottawa for a summer, or at least, that was my plan, but life threw me a curve ball – I met my husband playing baseball, and never did leave town. We raised two daughters while I worked part time as a special education teacher, and when the girls were old enough, I started full time with the federal government where I’ve held various positions related to writing. Currently, I’m a senior communications advisor working in the Aboriginal portfolio. Coinciding with government employment, I began writing books and had my first novel for young adults published in 2004. Between novel manuscripts, I’ve written short stories for the adult audience that have also found their way into print.
Tell us about your books, and where we can buy them. I’ve published a series of four mysteries for ten to fourteen year olds that feature Jennifer Bannon, who ages from thirteen to fifteen over the four books. I set Jennifer and her family in the fictional town of Springhills, outside of Toronto. The books trace the evolution of Jennifer’s family, beginning with her parents’ separation in Running Scared. They also trace Jennifer’s difficulties in school and her best friend and boyfriend troubles – I wanted to deal with real issues that teenagers face today as well as create a mystery and suspense in each book. Two themes that run through the books are keeping secrets and how they can lead to trouble, and judging people without really knowing who they are. The books are available at major bookstores, such as Chapters and McNally Robinson, as well as through independent bookstores. They are carried by major online booksellers, such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
Where do you find your ideas? I’ve read widely since I was a child and continue to do so – novels, the newspaper, overheard conversations on the bus – all are fodder for writing ideas. I’ve always had a vivid imagination, and ideas simmer for a long time that come out in my writing. For instance, in Hiding in Hawk’s Creek, Jennifer meets an Aboriginal girl who is accused of stealing. The germ of that story came from an incident that happened when I was in grade school back in Terrace Bay. Many experiences, feelings, unresolved issues and observations seep into my fiction, although laced with a good deal of fantasy. My daughter recently said that she sees bits of herself and my husband in my characters. Nobody is entirely safe when they live with a writer!
Did you choose your genre or did it choose you? I’ve studied a lot of poetry and the classics in university, but in my spare time, I’ve always enjoyed reading mysteries. When it came time to write a manuscript, I naturally gravitated towards mysteries because they are what I prefer to read. I’ve also written an adult book entitled In Winter’s Grip that will be published in 2010 by RendezVous Crime; this time, I started out not writing a murder mystery, but by the third chapter, a body had appeared and I couldn’t resist. . . .
At what point in your life were you hit with the “writing bolt?” My favorite subject in school was always creative writing. I remember my grade seven teacher had a box of pictures from magazines and he would let us pick one and write a story on Friday afternoons – I waited for that all week. I also kept a diary and wrote poetry in my bedroom off and on throughout high school. In university, I studied creative writing in third year and loved that class more than any other. That should have been a big clue, but I really never considered writing seriously until my thirties when I realized nothing gave me greater pleasure than creating a story and seeing it in print. The writing bolt began with having some stories published in an Ottawa magazine (for no money) about life as a stay-at-home mom, and really took hold when Canadian Living accepted a story I submitted about watching my daughters grow up in the city as opposed to a small town and wondering if they would have the same sense of awe about the natural world. The editor even called me to say it was her favourite story in the three years of doing the column. I don’t know if she realized how much that meant to me, but her words were just the encouragement I needed.
What prompted you to write your first book? I had just finished my first writing/editing job for the federal government, writing about pesticides and regulations in very precise and colourless language. I craved a more creative outlet and so began writing Running Scared for my daughters. Every few days, my twelve year old daughter would come home from school and read the next chapter. Her interest lasted the entire time. My younger daughter read the finished product and said, “Mom, you write just like a real author.”
How long did it take you to get it published? Longer than I would have liked – about six years. I sent out the query letter with the first three chapters and three different publishers at three different times asked to see the entire manuscript. Each one considered the manuscript for about a year before turning it down. Two sent me written feedback with what needed improvement so each time I revised based on their comments. Napoleon Publishing sent me an e-mail accepting the manuscript two weeks after I submitted the story, but it took two years before they had an opening in their publishing schedule.
Rejection letters: trash ‘em or stash ‘em? Rejection letters are akin to battle scars, but you can’t let them fester. I stash mine only because I’m a bit of a paper packrat.
The idea you’ve been nurturing is ready to go. Describe your writing process. The great author debate is whether to do an outline or make up the story as you go. I tend to fall into the latter camp, letting the story unfold as I write. I usually know the ending of my book before I start writing, but not how I’m going to get there. I spend a lot of time thinking about the story and plotting in my head. I also edit as I go so I might write for a morning and spend the next day rewriting. I’m often asked where I find the time to write because I work full time. I usually turn on my computer first thing Saturday morning and write on and off all weekend. I try to get in an hour or so in the evenings after supper. Holidays are when I’m most productive.
How much research is usually involved before you begin to write? The amount of research depends on the project. Jennifer Bannon goes to summer camp near Georgian Bay in Where Trouble Leads and I had never been to camp or spent any time in that area. I picked this setting because we’d sent my daughter Julia to a Y camp there for a few summers. I ended up picking her brain about camp life and used the Internet to find pictures of the topography. In Winter’s Grip is set partially in Minnesota, so I used the Internet quite a bit to research the towns and geography. I’ve also been working on a story set in the ‘70s and that involved historical research on the Internet.
The most challenging part of the writing process is… Working through that period in the middle when you think your story is terrible, and just what were you thinking anyway, writing such crap that nobody will ever want to read?! From listening to other authors speak at conferences, I understand that this is a normal part of the process and one you have to work through.
What do you love most about being a writer? I love when a project starts to take shape and all the pieces start fitting into place with the characters taking on a life of their own. I also enjoy when readers talk about my characters like they are real people.
How long did it take you to write your book, from concept to finished manuscript? Normally, I take about a year to draft a manuscript. The polishing can take a few months.
Your manuscript is complete. Now what? Once a manuscript is complete, I submit it to my publisher to see if it will work with their list. Luckily, they’ve liked my latest projects and I have two lined up for publication.
Lessons you’ve learned along the way… I’ve learned not to get discouraged by how difficult this industry is, both in getting published and in building an audience. I’ve also learned to enjoy the journey, at whatever stage in my career and just to keep working on my craft.
Who or what is your greatest inspiration? Ottawa has a tight crime-writing community and I’ve been fortunate to benefit from their support. I joined Capital Crime Writers early on and have been motivated and inspired by the friends I’ve made as they share their experience and offer words of advice about writing and the business.
Who do you admire, and why? I admire authors who create characters like Scout and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird or Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye – authors with the ability to move me with their words and the power of their stories. I aspire to write with similar skill.
What’s on your bookshelf right now? I just finished reading The Weight of Stones by C.M. Forrest and enjoyed it. Authors I’ve been reading recently and would recommend include John Harvey, Stuart Pawson and Denise Mina. It seems I’m on a bit of a British Isles’ streak lately.
What advice would you give to beginning writers? You have to keep the reader’s interest through the characters you create, your choice of language and the flow of your story. Hook your readers in the opening paragraphs with either a character or something in the plotline. Pacing is key to maintaining interest. The best stories are ones that make the reader feel for your characters and experience what they are going through. Read books critically and think about what makes them work – plotline, character development, setting, sentence structure – but find your own unique voice.
What’s next? I’m currently working on an adult police procedural, playing around with third person and shifting point of view. I like experimenting with style and subject matter, not content to fit into one niche or writing style. I still get excited just thinking about all the story-telling possibilities.
May 2009 Focus On: Paul Lima
Q&A with the author of How to Write a Non-fiction Book in 60 Days by Luigi Benetton
Freelance writer Luigi Benetton sat down with Paul Lima, author of How to Write a Non-fiction Book in 60 Days, to ask what it takes to actually write a book in 60 days, and who might best follow the 60-day process.
Luigi Benetton: When it comes to writing a book in 60 days, what task takes up the lion’s share of the 60 days?
Paul Lima: Many people are surprised that they don’t actually start “writing” their book until 30 days into the process. That’s because the book is divided into two main sections: exercises to help you create a detailed, chapter-by-chapter outline of your book and a method to help you write from outline point to outline point until you complete a solid first draft of your book. Of course, there are other goodies in the book – such as how to focus on what your reader needs, and for neophyte writers there is a chapter on constructing sentences and paragraphs.
LB: How much time do writers actually spend writing?
PL: That’s an interesting question. You see, I believe writing is a process and that planning and outlining is an integral part of the process, so technically, they spend the 60 days engaged in the writing process. However, the last 30 days are spent in what we might call conventional writing – constructing sentences and paragraphs. But trying to do that without planning and outlining is very difficult.
LB: What hurdles do writers commonly face when starting a book?
PL: Writers do not spend enough time thinking about and organizing what they want to write, which is part of the writing process. Instead, they start with a blank page and start writing madly. It’s like they try to sprint a marathon instead of training to run one in a well-paced manner. The 60 Days book is a combination of training and pacing that helps writers address this hurdle, chiefly by dividing the writing process into creating a detailed outline and writing from outline point to outline point until a solid first draft results.
LB: Does this process work for full-time writers or could people with other jobs also complete a book in 60 days?
PL: Anyone can write a solid first draft in 60 days following the writing process, which is described in detail in the book. A professional writer might have to spend less time on a final edit or proof of the book; however, anyone can complete a well-organized, solid first draft in 60 days.
LB: How do you know if you have something worth writing a book about?
PL: Early on in the book, I ask this question: What does it take to write a book in 60 days? The answer, in part, is: it takes an idea and it takes purpose. Writers need to bring their ideas and the reasons for their ideas to the process. Ultimately, readers will decide if the idea was worth writing about. That’s why I also pose a number of questions in the book to help writers look at ideas from the perspective of potential readers.
LB: Speaking of the reader, who is your book aimed at?
PL: Consultants, public speakers and workshop and seminar leaders are buying it because they want to turn their knowledge into books and generate a second stream of income or build credibility by publishing to help them sell their services. University professors who need to publish have found the book useful too. In addition, many people with knowledge of specific topics related to health, business, technology, environment, politics and other matters are finding 60 Days helpful.
LB: What are the top five tools or abilities writers need before they start this 60-day process?
PL: Again, writers need ideas and purpose. They need knowledge of the readers. And they need to make or take time-about 2 to 4 hours a day for 60 days. Finally, if they want to write efficiently and effectively, they need a book-writing process. I believe that following a proven process enables authors to write both more efficiently and more effectively.
LB: What costs do writers incur when writing books?
PL: It costs writers nothing but time to write books. Writers can, of course, spend money on research if they don’t possess the knowledge they need.
LB: How good a writer must one be to write an entire book?
PL: I strongly believe that every writer needs an editor. No matter how good a writer you are, you can get so close to your work that you don’t see the little mistakes. I include a chapter on constructing sentences and paragraphs to help neophyte and less experienced writers. At the same time, if you follow the process and create a detailed outline of each chapter – 60 Days shows you how to do this – your writing will automatically be better than if you tried to fill a blank page off the top of your head.
LB: Do you recommend collaborating with others, such as editors, graphic designers, researchers and publishers?
PL: An editor can be an important part of the process. If you tackle a huge idea that needs extensive research, you might have to bring in research assistance. However, most of the people buying 60 Days are subject matter experts. If you self-publish or work with a print on demand company – there is a chapter in the book on this – you are responsible for the look of your book so it doesn’t hurt to have a graphic designer format the interior of your book and create your cover. Publishers, on the other hand, tend to do the final design.
LB: Can you apply the principles in your book to things like articles, film documentary scripts and other long-form non-fiction?
PL: While 60 Days focuses on writing books, it spells out a process that can be applied to articles, scripts and other long-form non-fiction such as research-intensive reports.
LB: How does writing a non-fiction book differ from writing fiction?
PL: It does not differ greatly from writing genre-specific fiction. However, when writing fiction you have to think about more elements such as setting and characters. But once you are ready to write, there are many similarities between fiction and non-fiction.
LB: How much must you know about the subject before starting the 60-day process?
PL: I am up front about that in the book: the 60 days does not include research. For instance, if you want to write a book about rocket science and you are not a rocket scientist, you will have to do a lot of research before you start the 60-day process.
LB: How long a book could a writer reasonably expect to complete in 60 days?
PL: I’ve based the 60 days on writing a book of about 30 chapters or about 50,000 words. It might take you more or less than 60 days to write your book based on the number of chapters and number of words you are going to produce. However, all writers need sexy titles for their books – even me. Somehow, How to Write a Non-fiction Book in About 60 Working Days, More or Less, Depending on How Many Chapters and Words You Produce just didn’t cut it.
LB: Once you’ve written the book, what do you do with it?
PL: That is up to the writer. Some writers look for agents or publishers. But these days, more and more writers use print on demand to self-publish their books, which they then sell online or at seminars or events. That’s why I include a chapter on self-publishing in 60 Days. Print on demand is radically changing the face of publishing, allowing more authors to address broad topics from a new perspective or niche topics that, in the past, could not find a broad enough audience to make traditional book publishing worthwhile. But that’s a topic for another interview.
LB: How can one find out more about you and your books?
PL: The book is available in both print and eBook formats through all major online retailers. You can find links to retailers and more information my books online at www.paullima.com/books.
How to Write a Non-fiction Book in 60 Days, ISBN: 978-0-9739278-4-9, Trade Paperback 6 x 9; 128 pages, $US14.95 (paperback); $US9.95 (e-book), Author: Paul Lima, Publisher: Five Rivers Chapmanry
Luigi Benetton is a Toronto-based freelance technology writer with his own book proposal in the works. He primarily serves information technology companies and has recently written the special report Top Ten Myths That Sink Case Studies – And How To Avoid Them. You can contact Luigi via www.LuigiBenetton.com.