Anne Gracie

How did you become a writer?

I've been a voracious reader since childhood, and I've always had stories in my head, but somehow I never thought of becoming a writer. But some years ago I was backpacking solo around the world, often in countries where I didn't speak the language, and the writing bug bit me. I started writing by hand in exercise books. When I got home again I started writing seriously — submitting work to publishers and researching the market, and a few years later I sold my first book.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

All the authors of the books I devoured from when I was a child onward — the list is endless. I'm always discovering wonderful new writers and always learning from them. I love craft-of-writing books and here are some of my faves. Some of these are about writing novels, some from screenwriters because I think screenwriters concentrate more on storytelling, which is good for popular fiction.

         Dorothea Brande — Becoming a Writer. An oldie but still in print because it's good. My take on Dorothea is here: http://www.annegracie.com/writing/DorotheaBrande.html

         Linda Seger — Writing Unforgettable Characters. When I'm stuck, she always helps me go deeper into the characters.

         James N. Frey — How to Write Damn Good Fiction.

         Blake Snyder — Save The Cat  When I'm 3/4 of the way through a book and am convinced it's never going to work, I apply my story to his beat sheet and it usually calms me down when I find I'm more or less on track.

         Jerry Cleaver - Immediate Fiction.

I also have some articles on writing on my website, and on my "links" page I like to some writing sites I like.

When and where do you write?

I started off writing in notebooks anywhere — in my bed, in hotel rooms, cafes, train and bus stations etc., but once I got published I more or less only wrote at my desk. Then a few years ago I started writing by hand again — and again, that can happen anywhere. I'll explain more in my response to question 5. As to when, I write mostly in the morning and edit in the afternoon, but sometimes I'll write at night as well. Writing is like a muscle — the more you use it the stronger it gets and the easier it becomes.

What are you working on now?

I'm working on The Spring Bride — the third book in a series of four, called the Chance Sister's series, about four girls in Regency-era London who find themselves in dire straits and set about turning their lives around. It's my third series and my 17th book.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

I call it "writer's anxiety" rather than "block" but yes, I have battled with it on and off — I think most writers will experience it at some time in their career. It's slowed me down, but I can't let it stop me altogether — I have contracts and obligations, thank goodness, and they're very motivating. I believe the root cause of it lies in perfectionism -- the kind of perfectionism where you know the minute you try to put the vision in your head into words, you will ruin it.

I've learned a number of strategies for dealing with it, apart from "talking myself down" from the anxiety. As I said above, I now write the first draft of a scene by hand in notebooks. I deal with the anxiety/perfectionism by telling myself it's "just scribble." Then I type it up onto the computer, telling myself "it's just typing." By then it's a first draft, and I can work on that. I guess I play a few mind games with myself.

I also keep a writing journal in which I reflect on my progress (or whine about my lack of progress and give myself a good talking to.

It's really helpful because there comes a stage in any book where I'm certain I can't make the story work, and that this will be the worst book ever and everyone will hate it and my career will be over — and then I'll flip through previous journals and find very similar sentiments about previous books — books that won awards or made “best of” lists. So then I'm reassured that if I can just work out this problem in this book (because it's always a different problem) I can make this book work, too. I also write about what I like about this story, and characters, and I “talk through” story problems with myself. I love my journal.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Love the work. There will be days when that's very hard to do, but once you get past the difficulty, and the story is spinning in your brain and the words are flying and your world has sprung into being and your characters  have come to life and it feels like they're taking you on an adventure, there's no better feeling.

Also, when you're in the early stages of a story, try not to think about the market and what's hot and what people are buying at the moment. Go deep into your world and your characters and stay true to them. Yes, to have a career in writing you need to please the readers, but first you have to serve the characters and the story. Breakout books come from wonderful, fresh, original stories, not people second-guessing the market. So have faith in your own, unique vision.

Anne Gracie wrote her first novel while backpacking solo around the world, and while that novel never even got typed up, it was a start. Anne is published by Berkley USA (and Penguin Australia) and is a nationally bestselling author in the USA. A former president and honorary lifetime member of Romance Writers of Australia, she's a four time RITA finalist, has won a number of awards and has several times been featured on national "best of" lists in the USA. Her books have been translated into sixteen different languages, including Japanese manga editions.

As well as writing, Anne has had a lifelong interest in promoting adult literacy — it started when she was at university — and until recently, she kept bees in her back yard. Her website is: www.annegracie.com. Writers might also be interested in Anne's writing articles: http://www.annegracie.com/writing/writing.htm.

Lisa See

How did you become a writer?

I didn’t want to be a writer. My mom’s a writer and my mother’s father was a writer. I wanted to do something different. But then I became a writer! I feel like I’ve been in a lifelong apprenticeship. I learned a lot about writing from my mother that most people take years and years to learn or may never learn. Writing was literally in my blood. I always say it was a good thing they weren’t plumbers. But after years of resistance, I woke up one day, and it was like a light bulb went off. I mean it was just like, “Oh, I could be a writer…” At the time, I was living in Greece, and I didn’t want to get married, and didn’t want to have children, and I only wanted to live out of a suitcase, and I thought, how can I do that? I’ll be a writer!” It really had to do with how can I have real freedom with my time? My goal was how can I have a life where my time is my own? Where I don’t have to be in an office, where I could travel, where I could choose my own hours? I was really trying to find what that could be because it was really important to me, and it still is. Especially when my sons were younger, I could work from home. When they had the Halloween special thing at school, I wouldn’t have to miss it. And that was just very important to me.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

I adored my paternal grandmother. She probably was the greatest influence on my life. She loved to travel. She wasn’t very conventional. (She married a Chinese man when it was still against the law.) My mom, Carolyn See, who is a writer, has been a huge influence on my life as a woman and a writer. I can honestly say I wouldn’t he the writer I am if not for her. Bob Dylan has also been an influence, not that I know him or anything. I love how he can tell an entire story in just a few minutes, and I love how he plays with words. Lastly, I’d have to say Wallace Stegner. I used a line from Angle of Repose as the epigraph for my first book, On Gold Mountain: “Fooling around in the papers my grandparents, especially my grandmother, left behind, I get glimpses of lives close to mine, related to mine in ways I recognize but don’t comprehend. I’d like to live in their clothes a while.” I didn’t realize when I used those lines that the sentiment would continue to influence me and my writing to this day.

When and where do you write?

I have an office in my house. When I’m writing, I work first thing in the morning. I write a thousand words a day. Sometimes I can do that in two hours. Sometimes it takes eight or ten hours. On those days, we have cheese and crackers for dinner.

What are you working on now?

I've just finished a new novel. It's called China Dolls, and it's about Chinese American performers in the 1930s and 1940s here in this country. These were people who billed themselves as the Chinese Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the Chinese Houdini, the Chinese Frank Sinatra. My story is about three young women who meet in San Francisco at the Forbidden City nightclub. High jinks ensue!

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

No, thank god!!! That doesn’t mean that some days I don’t feel like writing or that I don’t know that what I’m writing sucks and will eventually be cut. Even when it’s going badly, I feel it’s really important to just keep writing that 1,000 words a day.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Always look at writing as a job. That means, you get up and you go to work. I don’t wait for that moment of inspiration. By now, I do a lot of things—I write, I do a lot of speaking, and I do other fun—rather, what I consider to be fun—projects. But the most important thing is writing, so that always comes first. When I get up, the first thing I do is write. My rule is 1000 words a day—just four pages—that isn’t very much. Life is short, so be passionate about everything you do.

Lisa See is the New York Times bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love, Shanghai Girls, and Dreams of Joy. She has also written a mystery series that takes place in China, as well as On Gold Mountain, which is about her Chinese-American family. Her next novel, China Dolls, will be released by Random House in June 2014. Ms. See serves as a Los Angeles City Commissioner on the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Monument Authority. She was honored as National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001 and was the recipient of the Chinese American Museum’s History Makers Award in Fall 2003. To learn more, please visit her web site at www.LisaSee.com.

Lisa Kovanda

How did you become a writer?

Some of my earliest childhood memories involve writing. My grandmother was a master storyteller. I remember sitting at her kitchen table and with her help, writing short stories complete with illustrations even before I could really write the words myself. Grandma covered cardboard with fabric scraps to make covers for them, and sewed the “books” together by hand. I had an entire bookshelf filled with my stories before I was out of grade school. I went into science and health care in college, but even then, I was a voracious reader, and loved to write. After my children were grown, I became interested in writing for publication.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

Obviously, my grandmother, Elsie Kovanda Baucke, was the largest influence in my writing life. She loved stories of the pioneers, so I cut my teeth on Laura Ingalls Wilder, Willa Cather, John Neihardt, and Mari Sandoz. In my adult life, I credit Dr. Dan Holtz, a college Nebraska Literature professor for encouraging me to pursue creative writing. I have also been blessed to have UCLA screenwriting professor emeritus, Lew Hunter as a mentor. My influences are broad. Having an insatiable reading appetite is essential to being a well-rounded writer.

When and where do you write?

I've always been a night-owl, and I find I do my best writing from about 8 pm until 3 am. But, since that doesn't always work with my day-job schedule, I have learned to write anywhere and anytime. Especially if there is a deadline looming. I prefer to write with my laptop in my cushy recliner, with the footrest up.

What are you working on now?

I have a total of nine active projects on my development board, but the project on the top is a combined movie script/novel that deals with the last execution in the state of Nebraska, from the perspective of a seminary student who was in love with one of the victims. It's called “Walk Me Home,” and I'm in the revision stage on both the script and novel. Russ Kildare, the main character, has a powerful story, and I'm excited to share it with the rest of the world.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

I've suffered from “procrastination syndrome,” but never writer's block. I have an idea book filled with future story ideas, and nine projects with either completed drafts or at least outlines on my production board. Having a solid outline and fully-developed character sketches before I start writing a story helps me answer the “now what?” question easily when I'm writing the first draft.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Write, write, write! Balance that with plenty of diverse reading, a healthy dose of television and movies, especially if you are writing for screen, and get involved in writing groups to give you feedback.

I'm the president of the Nebraska Writers Guild, and a member of a fantastic feedback group called the Local Muse. Giving and receiving feedback is an essential part of my growth as a writer. There's also a level of accountability when procrastination syndrome threatens to creep in and stall what I'm working on.

Lisa was adopted and raised by a family in Nebraska City, Nebraska. She is the 2011-2015 President of the Nebraska Writers Guild, Municipal Liaison for the Nebraska: Lincoln, and Nebraska: Elsewhere regions for National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, an active member of the Nebraska Writers Workshop, Local Muse, and a charter member of the Nebraska Film Association.

Education: Peru State College, Biology/Chemistry, Peru, NE, 1990; Southeast Community College, LPN, Lincoln, NE, 1982; College of Saint Mary, Registered Nursing, Omaha, NE, 1989.

Training: Lew Hunter's Screenwriting Colony, Superior, Nebraska, Screenwriting, 2011. A two-week intensive program, conducted by UCLA Screenwriting professor emeritus, Lew Hunter, based on the UCLA screenwriting curriculum.

Awards: Omaha Film Festival, Best Feature Screenplay (Nominated), 2013. “Til Death Do Us Part” Slamdance Screenwriting Awards, Best Feature Script (Nominated), 2012. Top 25 Feature Script for “Til Death Do Us Part”; Oregon Film Festival , Best Oregon Screenplay (Nominated), 2012. Bronze, for “Til Death Do Us Part”: Austin Film Festival, Best Feature Screenplay (Nominated), 2013. Second Round selection for “Modified Flight Plan” (with Brian Thomas); Bess Streeter Aldrich Short Fiction, Best Short Story (Won), 2010. Won for “Curls of Gold,” part of “Tales From Table Rock.”

Her published works include “Reckless Abandon,” “The Hunt,” and “Cedar in Seattle,” all novellas, and “Modified Flight Plan,” with Brian Thomas.

Produced screen projects include, “Remission,” a feature currently in post-production with Midnight Frights Films, and “Last Breath,” also in post-production, a short film that is part of the upcoming “Shivers Down Your Spine,” series with Dead Lantern Pictures.