WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START WRITING?
Thank You Letters; gratitude was something my mother believed was imperative. Really writing, writing? I was 18 – I got hired to transcribe and type the hand written essays of a classmate. His eloquence was so breathtaking and seductive it inspired me to find my own literary grace so that I too could weave a compelling story with the delicate fibers of language.
WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING A WRITER?
Lawrence Kasdan said, “Being a writer is like having homework for the rest of your life.” It’s solitary, arduous and introspective. And those are the upsides. It’s also endowing your writing implements with special powers: the right pen or pencil can invoke magic; it’s collecting notebooks and pads of paper hoping they secretly hold the key to productivity; it’s wondering if your maladaptive daydreaming disorder should be addressed in therapy. It’s pondering the mystery of dictionaries: how do you find out how to spell a word if you can’t spell it in the first place, who wrote the first one? *
WHAT IS WRITER’S BLOCK?
It’s when you are so afraid that what you are working on is so awful that you decide to organize your sock drawer, color-code your closet and hand dust the individual leaves of your houseplants. It’s not block – it’s fear. It’s not block – it’s, “Getting the words right.” (Ernest Hemingway)
WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE WRITERS?
This is my favorite question and the hardest to answer. Since my teens I have read 2 hours a day: magazines, newspapers, books and scripts – so a lot of authors. One of my earliest faves was Richard Corliss, Entertainment contributor for Time; his ability to condense a theatrical/film or TV production down to its core message with depth and insight was inspirational.
Additionally, I’m fortunate to have been given all the Oscar nominated writing scripts for the past two decades – so only the best of the best. Here’s my abridged list: Emma Thompson’s, Sense and Sensibility; Taylor Sheridan’s, Wind River; John Logan’s, Hugo; Wes Anderson’s, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Christopher Hampton’s, Atonement, and Dangerous Liaisons. These all highlight how different stories require different language and form. Peter Morton’s, The Queen vis a vis his, The Last King of Scotland do so as well.
When we get into novels – disclaimer – I’m a classic British Mystery fan: Agatha Christie, Elizabeth George, Anne Perry, PD James, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle books line my bookshelves. They’re on the repeat read list: as is Donna Tartt’s, The Secret History and Caleb Carr’s, The Alienist. Flaubert, Pat Conroy and William Styron evoke the deepest emotional responses from me: I cry. That’s what words can do. Two of my favorite poets and their poems are: Robert Frost’s, Iota Subscript and Lord Byron’s, Epitaph To a Dog. Both are an homage to loss: one a lover, the other a faithful canine companion. Speeches and essays are also an educational indulgence for me: Lincoln and Francis Bacon for example. **
WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART OF WRITING?
If the socks are matched, the closet looks good and the plants are happy, I’d say – deciding if this is a Diet Coke or Chardonnay accompanied writing session. Sitting down at my desk. Discipline.
HOW DO YOU WORK ON SO MANY DIFFERENT PROJECTS?
I’m a Gemini. I’m moody, curious and thrive on pondering disparate thoughts, ideas and subject matter. If my brain was a filing cabinet, all the drawers would always be open. (The math drawer would be empty.)
I consider my characters – ‘pretend friends’ – sometimes I want to play with them, then I don’t. I move on to my other ‘friends’ (insert lack of discipline here.) If I HAVE to work on something even though I’m not in the mood, I turn to music. No matter what emotional or thematic tone defines that project; some melody, lyric or sweeping symphonic movement will transport me instantly. I can confirm that for a writer, “Music is the shorthand of emotion.” (Leo Tolstoy)
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE NOT WRITING?
Read. Daydream. Observe. Draw and paint. Run. Take brain naps. Cross-word puzzles. Indulge in decades old friendships: the ones where their mere presence guarantees contentment.
HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH IDEAS TO WRITE ABOUT?
By accident, dreams, researching topics I’m curious about, asking people about themselves and their lives – I got the idea for a story after riding with a fascinating Lyft driver. Giving license to my imagination without judgment.
Conventional wisdom says, write about what you know, I eschew that wisdom and instead write what I want to know about. Caveat: I understand that my own life is a repository of experiences that are rare, odd and exceptional. It would be creatively negligent to mute the echo of my history and bereft of authenticity to deny there are things in my work that are semi-autobiographical … Which is the perfect segue to this next often asked question…
DO YOU EVER WRITE ABOUT YOUR OWN LIFE?
Short answer, No. Long answer, Yes. I’m not motivated to reiterate my own saga but some chapters are indeed, notably unique. I was adopted and my birth records were falsified, I grew up on a farm, my parents indulged my every creative whim and allowed me to be an autonomous wonderer at an early age. I got up at 5am every morning to figure skate in grade school, I rode my bike to an exclusive private school with so much homework I had to pack it in a suitcase, I went to college in another country, I volunteered at a Suicide Prevention Hot-line. My mother died when I was 18. I have one brother who is a genius, another brother diagnosed with paranoid-schizophrenia.
Our housekeeper in the 70’s was incarcerated for manslaughter: she killed her 10 year old son.
For twenty years I worked at a lucrative job that I despised: I was a waitress. I learned that the vagaries of human nature are dangerous, hard to predict, surprisingly magnanimous and often droll. Though I always felt like an impostor donning my apron and subservient poise; I realize now those years provided a valuable cache of characters and behaviors to draw upon as a writer.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MOVIES?
Oh no, not this one! Ok, stream of conscience off the top of my head (really, it’s 12:30): Some Like it Hot, The Sound of Music, Grease, Witness, Patriot Games, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Caddyshack, Predator, Indiana Jones, The Usual Suspects, Up, Jaws, Flashdance, Foul Play, Wonderwoman, Sophie’s Choice, The Edge of Night, Full Metal Jacket, The Rock, Mrs. Doubtfire, Shakespeare in Love, Dead Poet’s Society, The Sixth Sense, Elizabeth I, The Favourite. But really, how do you define ‘favorite?’ Is it films you watch often? Is it a story you can relate to? Is it a cathartic fantasy?
*The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester is an excellent read on this topic.
** Oops, I forgot Umberto Eco, and Mary Shelley.