They say authors have immensely fragile egos… How would you handle negative criticism or a negative review?
If SOMEBODY doesn’t hate what I do, not enough people are reading me…
As a writer, what scares you the most?
Oblivion.
When writing, what themes do you feel passionate about?
Honor, courage, making (the right) choices. All the sort of stuff we so badly need to have and understand in the real world…
Are you a disciplined writer?
I’ll take the Fifth on that…. Seriously, though, I’m a PROFESSIONAL writer. That means that I take deadlines seriously and will never miss one if I can help it. I do, however, have a medal in the time-honored writerly sport of procrastination – I can procrastinate at an Olympic level sometimes, particularly when I’m in the position of being stuck at that scene I mentioned earlier and waiting for the muse to deign to drop in again and give me a shove in the right direction. Funny, though. I never procrastinate when things are going really well…
When it comes to writing, are you an early bird, or a night owl?
Night owl. I’d rather stay up until four o’clock in the morning than get up at that time – I’m quite unable to function if I am made to wake up or get up too early in the day.
Do you have an agent? How was your experience in searching for one?
Yes, a wonderful one – and my experience of getting together with her was the one-of-a-kind “do as I say and not as I do” sort of thing. Still, it could only work ONCE, and I’m lucky that it did. I’m a writer, I can write a story – I’m awfully glad that she has taken on the burden of the commercial aspect of this…
Do you have any unusual writing quirks?
Not especially, not that I know of or that anyone’s pointed out to me. I HAVE been accused of swallowing a dictionary when I was a toddler, though, because I tend to use words – in conversation as well as in writing, though – that most people would swear don’t exist. I’m a mean devil at Scrabble.
What is your opinion about critique groups? What words of advice would you offer a novice writer who is joining one? Do you think the wrong critique group can ‘crush’ a fledgling writer?
In order – critique groups can be immensely valuable, and not just as you’re starting out. Exchanging opinions and ideas with other writers adds an extra dimension to your work which it is simply not possible to achieve in isolation. It can be hard for a novice writer joining a group, especially an established group, to keep hold of their own voice – but the rule of thumb is, if several people agree that there is an issue or a problem with your work – even if they don’t agree precisely on what it is – then you would be well advised to take another look at the passage in question. A single opinion you can take or leave, depending on how much you trust that particular person, or how much respect you have for their opinion – but remember that it is just that, a single opinion. You are welcome to accept it at face value, seek a corroborating or dissenting second opinion elsewhere before making up your mind, or set it aside altogether. Not everybody gets everything, after all. And be very aware of the sort of critique that sets out to change not your work but your writing voice – the people who don’t necessarily want you to write something different, but to write what you’ve already written in a way that they themselves might have written it. That can be immensely damaging to a fledgling writer still struggling to find their own feet. But I honestly think that a writer with a true vocation is crush-proof. You’ll dust yourself off and start again with grim determination. And the best advice is – if you have the faith, keep going. Sooner or later, if you lean against a brick wall long enough, it will fall down.
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