Interview with Civil Rights Biographer Anita Hackley-Lambert - Page 2

How would you describe your creative process while writing this novel? Was it stream-of-consciousness writing, or did you first write an outline? How long did it take you to write it?

This is not easy for me to answer because of the magnitude of work involved. I am sure there were spurts of stream-of-consciousness writing but most writing stemmed from a chronological outline. The easiest part was doing the first rough draft, then dividing that into manageable chapters, which would change a number of times. Using the initial data (family history and family documents) I complete the first draft in two years. One huge challenge was to know when to stop the research, especially when I kept rediscovering or uncovering treasures of valuable information to add. Following that decision, I had the wonderful task of sorting through seven file cabinets, tons of boxes of papers, newspapers, and other documents to gather and separate the verifiable data to use.
I guess bringing it all together into a manageable compilation and writing the second draft, was quite an accomplishment. The only problem was going back over everything to get the validation, endnotes, and indexing completed. With that was done, for some reason, I remained in tailspin for some time. I simply could not move forward with my final rewrite. It remained that way until I got the Harpers Ferry invitation that gave me the final incentive I needed. With adrenalin rushing through my brain, a seemingly impossible task took on a supernatural outcome. Everything fell into place, the marketing and promotion, finding a professional editor, a printer, rewriting the manuscript in about 45 days and having it hot off the press in 65 days was as a miracle.

During the course of my research and discovery, I realized that there were few resources or writing groups available, in my area, to provide support that could have helped me with this project. This is why I founded Women Writers United plus other business enterprises to help women who write get their dreams of publishing realized.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? What seems to work for unleashing your creativity?

Yes and no. It seems that I can always write about something and I do. But there came the time that I mentioned earlier, I got stuck after with the second draft and could not move forward with the rewrite. I mean, I could write but not about my book. My mind kept drifting from one topic to another -- totally unrelated to my biography. Instead of stressing over it, I just wrote about whatever would come out at that time. By the time I got the final inspiration to complete my book, I must tell you, I was shocked at how much I had written. I ended up with enough material for my next 14 manuscripts. Its as if something came over me, swept me off my feet, carried me to a quite place so I could write to my hearts content. It was as if I was given back the years I had lost before reconnecting to myself.

Article Author: Mayra Calvani

Mayra Calvani is the National Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com.

Visit Mayra Calvani's author page — Mayra Calvani's Blog