Interview with Melissa Donovan, creator of “Writing Forward”

Interview with Melissa Donovan, multi-talented writer and creating of ”Writing Forward,” an award-winning site for writers 

Melissa Donovan is a self-employed copywriter and web content specialist. She writes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Her blog, Writing Forward, which was recently named one of Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers,” offers creative writing tips and ideas.

 

1. How did you get started as a writer?

 

Like many writers, I started out as a reader – a voracious reader. I could read before I turned four years old and I have always devoured books. When I was about thirteen, I started journaling and writing poetry. I also enrolled in journalism class and worked on the school newspaper.

2. Favorite books (especially for writers)

Writers can learn a lot by reading well-written works by successful authors. If you want to improve your language, read Jazz by Toni Morrison. If you’re having trouble creating realistic or believable characters, read Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Read the classics and read extensively in whatever genre you want to write.

3. Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you

I’m a huge animal lover, and one of my goals is to write and work on behalf of the No Kill movement, which seeks to end the unethical and unnecessary killing of homeless animals in shelters. You can learn more by visiting the No Kill Advocacy Center.

Normally, I’m pretty shy and I don’t like speaking in public or being the center of attention. The only exception is when I’m dancing. I love to dance, and when I do, my inner exhibitionist comes out and my shyness disappears. I like to own the dance floor.

I started working as a freelance copywriter on a whim. I had been working for a company that went out of business, and six months later I was tired of the job search, tired of corporate life, and tired of playing it safe. So, I took a leap of faith and less than a month later, I was in business.

4. Best and worst part of being a writer

The best part of being a writer is telling a story that people care about. Also, the writing community is incredibly warm and supportive, so it’s an honor to be a part of that. It’s all about making that human connection.

Having said that, the worst part is the solitude. The only thing I miss about having an office job is meeting and working closely with other people. The Internet is helpful in maintaining a sense of community but it’s not quite the same.

5. Advice for other writers

Read and write. Those are the only two things every writer absolutely must do.

Where can people get writing tips and exercises?

My website features writing tips to help writers improve their craft, along with activities like poetry prompts and writing exercises. The poetry prompts are especially popular because the challenge is simple – write a poem that contains all of the words from a list.

One of my favorite fiction writing exercises asks writers to get into their characters by chatting with them, putting them in situations outside of the story, and writing a monologue from the characters’ perspective. It’s called “Getting Into Character.” 

Tell us a story about your writing experience. 

I took a fiction writing course in college, and I remember reading my story out loud to the class – not something I enjoyed much, but it was a class requirement. They laughed, and the best part was that they laughed where the story was supposed to be funny. I remember thinking that I can do this – if I can make people laugh with my writing, then I can be a writer.

10 QUESTIONS FOR…Brian Sandell, author of “The Wager” and “The Christmas Rose”

Author interview with Brian Sandell

My name is Brian Sandell. I am a twenty-two year old author of The Wager and The Christmas Rose, my latest book which came out in January of this year. I graduated college on May 16, 2009. I plan to attend Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in the fall. Some of the finest things I enjoy in life are the following: small dogs, Kraft macaroni and cheese, reading the Sunday comics, a good caramel macchiato, the smell after a fresh rain, any Will Ferrell movie, and writing of course.

1.    Tell us about your latest book.

The Christmas Rose is my latest book. It is a truly emotional, heartfelt journey that the reader takes with the protagonist, Jasmine Reese. The story focuses on the issue how do we deal with pain when it comes in our life. Jasmine Reese a very identifiable, ordinary woman, she does have two very big tragedies in her life, the divorce of her parents and the death of her husband. Jasmine sadly slips deep into depression and alcoholism, until one night her fate is about to change, and she is granted an opportunity to get the life back she always wanted. Jasmine’s journey is enchanting, her task is daunting, but her will is truly inspiring. This book will keep you turning the pages, and produce a tear in your eye when after you finish reading it.

2.    How did you get started as a writer?

The story I like to tell people is that I was never an athletic child, so instead of watching me strike out in baseball, and get tackled in football, my mom encouraged me to sit down with a pen and paper and start writing. However, I first began to realize my gift and talent for developing compelling stories, unforgettable characters, and surprise endings back in high school English class.

3.    What does a typical day look like for you?

Well, since I just graduated college, my typical day consists of lots of work! Sadly, I do not mean writing. There is this thing called money I need to make lots of if I want to go to seminary next year. But, I do most of my writing at night, watching television, movies, Seinfeld, The Office, or sometimes just listening to music. I think balance is the big key of what I want to accomplish in my life. I desire to spend a fair amount of time writing, publicizing my work, spending time with family and friends, working, and some just “Brian” time.

4.    Describe your desk/workspace.

Most of the time it is cluttered with opened mail, glasses/mugs, and various books which I have started reading. My computer sits on a TV table, right in front of the television. I actually am really lucky, because my family is so awesome they let me sit in the most comfortable chair downstairs, and I think that is what really inspires the creativity.

5.    Favorite books (especially for writers)

I love Quiet Strength and Uncommon by Tony Dungy. I love reading anything John Grisham. Showdown by Ted Dekker is a huge favorite of mine. I thought I would appeal to the classical fans, by saying I am also a huge fan of The Divine Comedy: by Dante.

6. Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you

1. I have tried to learn to play the piano four unsuccessful times.

2. I am dating a girl with the same name as the girl my twin brother is dating.

3. I am watching Ken Burns’ documentary “Civil War” as I am typing this.

7. Favorite quote

“Be the change you want to see in others.” Gandhi

8. Best and worst part of being a writer:

I love writing stories, I love developing characters, memorable situations, and surprising endings. One of the biggest joys in life is to have someone tell you they learned something from your story, they were inspired, or your story made them smile. The worst part is by far editing, all the rules, commas, grammar, it is overrated I think. But, I do not make up the rules, so sadly I cannot change them. One of these days, I may try and make grammatical rules more simple.

9. Advice for other writers:

I’ll make this nice and simple three things:

1.    Have other people read your work and critique it.

2.    Make sure you don’t put all your eggs in the writing basket, pursue other things as well.

3.    Write a story with an ending that people cannot guess.

10. Tell us a story about your writing experience. 

After my first work, The Wager, came out I did not make it really public that I had written a book. So, I kept it quiet for a few months from everyone at college, and shortly after a newspaper article came about my book in November that year, a huge rush of, “Oh, Brian, I didn’t know you wrote a book.” “Wow, you wrote a book!” “That is so awesome!” I got comments like that all the time, and it was cool and a little weird going from a normal guy to a minor celebrity who wrote a book.

Where can people buy your books?

My website is: www.christianthrillernovels.com

You can also buy it right here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=brian+d+sandell

 

10 QUESTIONS FOR…Cynthia Clampitt, author of “Waltzing Australia”

Author interview with Cynthia Clampitt

I am a freelance writer, culinary historian, and world traveler. I make my home in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, which keeps me near great theater, restaurants, museums—and O’Hare International Airport. My current life is anchored in the journey recounted in my book, Waltzing Australia, a journey that marked my departure from the corporate world. Since starting life over as a writer, I have written hundreds of articles for magazines and newsletters, including an award-winning food history column, and I’ve written history, geography, and language arts books and ancillaries for every major educational publisher in the U.S., including the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. I’ve also been able to indulge the love of adventure awakened on that trip to Australia and have explored countries on six continents, from Mongolia to Morocco, India to Iceland, Egypt to Ecuador.

1. Tell us about your latest book.

To say that Waltzing Australia is a travel narrative doesn’t really tell the whole story. It is a loving exploration of an astonishing country and a memoir of transformation and adventure. It is about giving up everything to pursue a dream. It is about change and discovery, but more than that, it is about Australia: the history, legends and art, both European and Aboriginal; the beauty and wonder; the challenges; the people; the land. I covered nearly 20,000 miles, from Sydney to Perth, Tasmania to Darwin, tropics to desert, city to wilderness. Reviewers have said that it is as if a friend were taking readers along on the trip. That is my hope: to introduce people to the wonder of Australia—and to reaffirm the idea that, if you pay the price, dreams can come true.

2. How did you get started as a writer?

I have always loved writing, and there is a degree to which one might say I have been a writer since childhood. However, loving writing and becoming a professional writer are two different things, and it took a few years for me to awaken to the idea that one could possibly earn a living and do something one loved—it didn’t have to be either/or.

After college, I’d headed for the corporate world. I did very well, but even as I climbed the corporate ladder, there was always a desire for something else, something more creative, something that involved more writing—and not just business or technical writing. I started graduate school part time—English Lit—still holding down my full-time corporate job. I thought that perhaps in academe I’d find others who loved words, books, and ideas. It was at the end of my first year that a professor wrote on one of my papers that my writing was dazzling, but unfortunately, what makes a good writer does not always make a good scholar. Suddenly, everything was clear. I was supposed to be a writer. I began planning my “escape.” I would leave graduate school, but I would also leave the corporate world, and I would write. Clearly, just walking away didn’t make it happen, but it was the start. It took a lot of hard work, and a few lean years, but then I started selling articles. An educational publisher asked me to write the “Australia” section of a geography book. I was getting regular assignments from local papers. I was supporting myself with my writing.

3. What does a typical day look like for you?

Fortunately, my days have some variety, especially when I’m on the road. But when I’m home, days normally consist of a combination of working, marketing, and research.

When I’m home, I always spend about an hour of “marketing time” on the Internet: updating my blogs, checking in on my several online communities and profiles, adding information about speaking engagements or book signings, updating author listings with new reviews. I always try to spend some time doing research for the “next project,” whether that’s market research or reading up on a topic I want to write about. For at least five hours, I’m writing—or, to be more accurate, doing the necessary combination of research and writing. Sometimes, depending on the project, I work a lot more than five hours, but I try to make it at least five hours every day, even if I don’t have an official assignment (there’s always that next book!). And at least once a week, sometimes more often, I’m involved in some sort of networking function. I belong to three writers groups, two history groups, and three food-related groups, so there is always somewhere to be picking up information, making contacts, learning and connecting.

On the road, the writing doesn’t stop. I always carry a notebook, and I write about everything. Regardless of what I’m seeing, doing, or learning, part of every day still includes writing.

4. Describe your desk/workspace.

My desk is set at an angle, so I can look out the window at the trees and sky, even on days when I have too much work to actually get outside and enjoy them. The surface of the desk is covered with the papers and notebooks related to current projects, while the edges of my computer monitor is wreathed with sticky notes reminding of tasks, phone numbers, and the width of photos I’ll be posting to my blog. There are several dictionaries, for words, phrases, fables, and history. (One of my “five rules of nonfiction writing” that I present to writing groups is “Look up everything.” The media, in particular, regularly butchers language, and I warn writers to never use a word they’ve heard on the news or read in the paper until they’ve looked it up, because words get picked up and misused so often. For example, penultimate became popular for a while, used by news anchors to mean something higher than the top, when in fact it means next to last. The meaning of enormity, which refers to something hugely evil, has been all but lost. And nouns are being used as verbs with frightening frequency. So look up everything.)

5. Favorite books (especially for writers)

The books I always recommend to writers are William Zinsser’s On Writing Well, Dorothea Brande’s Becoming a Writer, and Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. These are outstanding guides that have become classics. Strunk and White is a slim volume of the rules that are immutable. Zinsser’s wonderful treatise on what makes great writing is, in itself, great writing, and is a delightful read, as well as invaluable instruction.

Unusual among the three is Brande’s work, which does not tell you how to improve your writing, but rather explains how to live as a writer, including how to make writing an almost Pavlovian response (no more writer’s block) and how to nurture a split personality, so the sensitive creative spirit is never exposed to the harsh reality of rejection slips.

There are other books one might want to have, particular to one’s genre or topics, but these three are valuable to any and all who write.

6. Tell us 3 interesting/crazy things about you

I’ve drunk fermented mare’s milk with Mongolian nomad herders in the Gobi desert.

I’ve gone to cooking school or had cooking lessons in Mexico, Morocco, Thailand, India, Egypt, and Chicago.

I’ve ridden both Bactrian camels and dromedaries.

7. Favorite quote

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Teddy Roosevelt

8. Best and worst part of being a writer

The best thing about being a writer is writing. I love writing. When I’m working on a writing project that really delights me, I sometimes have to get up from the desk and run around or do a little happy dance, I’m so energized and excited by the act of writing.

The worst thing about being a writer is always having to market yourself. People don’t call and say, “I read your article. Will you come and write something for us?” Granted, if you have an editor or client who likes your work, you may work for them repeatedly. But I’ve never worked for a magazine where the editor stayed for more than two years, and then you have to start all over. And if the new editor has his or her own favorite writers, you may have to find a new market. With books, it’s the same thing. Just having a book out doesn’t get you anything. You have to talk on the radio, do book signings, give presentations—all of which you also have to arrange for yourself. (I actually love talking about my book and about writing, as well as about almost any other topic that interests me, and I love meeting readers, so it’s not the interviews and presentations that are an issue, it’s the having to arrange it all—calling, writing, or e-mailing until you find a book store, radio station, organization, or library that wants to hear your presentations.)  So, unlike getting hired for a job, where you sell yourself once and stay for a while, writing is a constant sales job—you have to sell yourself over and over.

So I love talking and teaching, and I love writing. I’m just frustrated by the amount of time needed for marketing. Fortunately, at least for me, the best part is good enough to make the worst part worth the effort.

9. Advice for other writers

Care deeply about your craft. You won’t always love the topic you’re writing about, but if you care deeply about your craft, you can still always have a great time, because you’re still always improving your skills. Caring about your audience is a good thing, too.

Look everything up. As noted above, you can’t believe how much of what you hear is inaccurate or used incorrectly. For example, almost no one uses disinterested and uninterested correctly anymore. (Disinterested means you don’t have a vested interest in the outcome. Uninterested means you don’t care. An umpire must be disinterested but cannot be uninterested.) And incorrect information may extend to stuff you learned in school. For years, students were taught that people in Columbus’s day thought the earth was flat. They didn’t. They knew it was round, and they knew how far around it was. It was far enough around that, with nowhere to get supplies, a ship couldn’t make it all the way to China. But Columbus had heard stories from Basque fishermen who had seen land while following schools of cod across the North Atlantic. This inclined him to believe the Arab astronomers who said the earth was smaller than it is. He died believing he had reached China.

And don’t plagiarize—copying and pasting is not writing. (I also work as an editor, and trust me, this is a major issue. Turning in someone else’s work as your own is not just a bad idea; it’s illegal.)

10. Tell us a story about your writing experience. 

When I was still pitching the manuscript for Waltzing Australia, I received a phone call from one of the publishers considering the project. The editor who called was effusive in her praise: she loved it, her staff loved it, everyone who read it loved it. My heart was soaring. Then she said “unfortunately…” My heart hesitated. “Unfortunately, we have just published three rather costly books, and we simply don’t have the money for another big book.” My heart sank. The editor then asked, “But we were wondering if we could hold on to the manuscript for a few more weeks, because there are still four people in the office who want to read it.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was my introduction to the reality that just writing a book people love isn’t enough to get it published. But at least they loved it.

Where can people buy your book?

You can get my book on Amazon.com (there’s a direct link from my blog, if you happen to visit my blog first).

My blog— http://waltzingaustralia.wordpress.com —is designed to support my book, with photos, recipes, and lots of extra information not in the book. So just in case you wanted more details on Captain Cook, cockatoos, or the local flora, you’ll find it on the blog. It’s probably worth it to visit the blog just to see what a crimson rosella looks like. And to get the recipe for Anzac Biscuits (one of the best cookies on the planet).