Nathaniel Lande

How did you become a writer?

I became a writer at a very early age because of a speech handicap. I was a curious observer, and until I could express myself clearly, I used notes to communicate. Most first published novels are often biographical. Mine was—it was called Cricket, and thankfully received stunning reviews. That reinforcement really helped.

Later when I was head of TIME World News Service, I came to realize that every dispatch was a story unto its own. Composing and editing thousands of words each week provided an opportunity to appreciate the written word, and all that it carries. Later, I discovered writing fiction is a uniquely creative process, developing an engaging story and compelling characters, who you come to know and sometimes love.

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

Read the classics. Study authors you admire. As an exercise, copy the way they style sentences. Discover the way they put one word after another, just as an artist might copy other artists and learn the way they apply color and light to canvas.

My father was a friend and physician to Ernest Hemingway. As my father was a visiting professor to the University of Havana, I often traveled with him when I was a child. I had treasured opportunities becoming friends with ‘Papa’ at Finca Vigia, his home in San Francisco de Paula in Cuba. He took a liking to me. Spending afternoons together in his study and on in his boat the Pilar, left lasting impressions.

I’ve always appreciated Southern writers. The most influential writer was my friend and mentor, Bill Styron.

I’ve admired great story tellers; Walker Percy and Pat Conroy.

When and where do you write? 

In my library, surrounded by books on a desk that I find a perfect place.

What are you working on now?

I’m taking a bit of a break. My newest novel, WHILE THE MUSIC PLAYED, will be published May 12th. It was a long time in the making—eight years. But I’m always turning and churning ideas around in my head, sometimes months and years. If I talk too much about them, for me, it diminishes the process of committing to paper.

Have you ever suffered from writers block?

Of course.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Write. The craft of writing is re-writing. Get it down, then return, pace and polish once, twice, and then once again.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Always be mindful that the reader is your companion on a literary journey turning pages through themes and plots, conflict and resolution, life and death, twists and turns, in time and place.

I’ve met many people who are rightfully ‘subjective’ about one’s work. It’s a word that holds little respect for me, because it’s hollow. Let your vision take you as far as your imagination can take you. Be true to your story. And in time, work with an editor and agent who is supportive, one that you trust and appreciate, one who will help make you better than you are.

Nathaniel Lande is a journalist, author, and filmmaker with a career spanning several decades. He is the author of twelve books including Cricket and Dispatches from the Front: A History of the American War Correspondent, and was the creative force behind TIME Incorporated during his tenure. His documentary films have won over 20 International Gold Medals. The holder of two patents, he is credited for pioneering the digital book. Educated at Oxford University, he earned his doctorate at Trinity College Dublin where he was a Distinguished Scholar. As a professor, he has held appointments to the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He lives in Santa Barbara, California. For additional background and works, visit www.nathaniellande.com.

Mara Bergman

How did you become a writer? 

From an early age, I was fascinated by the written word. I remember being in awe of my parents reading the newspaper, then frustrated at not even being able to  read the short captions under the photographs. A boy in my kindergarten class could read and I was so envious!

We were always encouraged to write at school. My first-grade teacher had us choose a picture from a magazine and dictate a few lines to her. Mine were about a newborn chick – how proud I was! Reading and writing came together in a big way after that and I would write notes to my mother and hide them under her pillow. Later it was stories and skits. My best friend, Lori, wrote too, and when we were twelve we decided it was time to start writing poems, and we did. I wrote during my teenage years and at university took as many poetry workshops as I could, continuing afterwards when I returned to New York City, including a particularly memorable one with Sharon Olds. 

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

Teachers at school had a huge influence, from elementary school through to high school, and particularly my English teachers Mrs. Rosen and Mr. Russell. During my senior (final) year, we even had a poet visit our school, and it was then I attended my first writing workshop. At university, I took poetry workshops with English professors Don Petersen and Richard Frost, highly respected poets themselves, and made close friends with other poets, especially Suzanne Cleary, now an established voice in the U.S. I also worked on the literary magazine. The State University of New York at Oneonta in the 70s was a hugely creative and exciting place to be.

As a child I loved Pippi Longstocking and Dr. Doolittle. I’m convinced that without Dr. Suess I never would have learned to read. Later I learned to love the poems of Robert Frost and Emily Dickenson. At uni, Richard Frost’s course on the Romantic poets led to my coming to England to study at Goldsmiths on a junior year abroad program. Blake Morrison opened my eyes to contemporary British poetry, but I’ve always been especially drawn to American poets, among them Sharon Olds, Louise Glück, Carolyn Forché, Katha Pollitt, Susan Mitchell, Gerald Stern, Richard Wilbur. 

When and where do you write?

I always have a notebook to hand and jot down thoughts, bits of conversation and observations all the time. Maybe not actual writing, but the seeds of it. And while it’s a bit of a cliché, I really do like writing on trains and now, during lockdown, I’m missing my commute to London. But the real writing takes place at home, in my study or at the kitchen table, overlooking the garden. Or in cafes –  I’m really missing that too right now – or when I manage to get away on a writing retreat. 

What are you working on now? 

I’m shaping my next poetry collection and I have a couple of picture book ideas on the go, as well as a young novel in verse. I’ve just agreed to write a couple of young picture book readers, which are always fun and challenging,  

Have you ever suffered from writers block? 

There have been times I haven’t been able to write, for example, when my children were very young, and now, during lockdown, though I am taking lots of notes. I find it a bit numbing not being able to go where I want to go and meet up with people I want to be with. But by now I’ve learned that even when I’m not writing, I will write at some point, and that’s comforting. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? 

This has to be from the poet Philip Gross, who, when we were talking about how to decide between writing for children (in his case young adults) and poetry and how to know which genre would work for a given idea, said, Go where the energy is.

What’s your advice to young writers?

Write from the heart. Find like-minded writers you trust to give you feedback. Don’t let anyone undermine you. Be patient, it sometimes takes a long time to get where you want to go. Believe in yourself and your work. Don’t give up. 

Mara Bergman is a poet, picture book writer and children’s book editor. The Tailor’s Three Sons and Other New York Poems won the Mslexia Poetry Pamphlet Competition and her first full collection, The Disappearing Room, was published in 2018 by Arc. Among her numerous picture books are Oliver Who Would Not Sleep, illustrated by Nick Maland, which won the Booktrust Early Years Award and Snip Snap!, (also illustrated by Nick), which won the Stockport Children’s Book Prize and awards in the US. Born in NYC, Mara grew up on Long Island and makes her home in Kent.

Nora Raleigh Baskin

How did you become a writer?

I suppose that is a two-part question. I wanted to be a writer since I was twelve years old. At that point in my life I had moved eleven times and gone to five different schools, had been abandoned by my mother, my father, and then most recently my step-mother. On July 25, 1974, I wrote in my diary, “It was just today I realized what a nobody I am. I can write but after all I am just one of, perhaps a thousand who dream of a career.” What I didn’t know then was that as soon as you decide to write, and then you write, you are a writer. Becoming an author, however, and getting published didn’t happen for another 27 years. It took just under a decade of rejections, until I found my voice and my true heart and I had accumulated enough skill to put it all together. 

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

If it were not for my language Arts teacher, Mr. Thompson encouraging me to express myself creatively, instead of acting out and getting in trouble (I was suspended from school in 6th grade)I would not be where I am today. Writing, and Mr. Thompson saved my life. As far as writers and books, every single book I read influences me. I’ve just discovered the beauty of rereading a novel. I used to think it was a waste of time when there are so many great books to be read, but I see now that the first time can be for STORY, and the second time I can slow down and pay more attention to the LANGUAGE. Presently, I am rereading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. Her sentences and word choice are blowing me away. Even more. 

When and where do you write?

I write at home, always. To be near my kitchen, and my dog and my cat. I need to be where I feel safe, and comfortable enough to let myself be carried away. When? I write whenever. If I am deeply engaged in something, as I am now, I will write from 6 am to bedtime, taking time to eat, yoga, walk in the woods, but getting right back to it. Other times, I can go months without actually writing. Living and thinking, reading and learning are all parts of the process. I hope I never stop doing that. 

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block

I am going to say no, because as I wrote above, a part of writing is sometimes just being. Experiencing. Certainly, reading. That is NOT to say that every time I sit down to write, I write anything good or worthwhile. But that is another question and answer altogether. 

What are you working on now? 

I am about 100 pages into what will be an adult psychological thriller-type literary novel. At least that’s my goal. Wish me luck. 

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Every time you write a sentence, ask yourself: Is it true? Is it true? Is it true?

What’s your advice to new writers?

Everyone is so different with different approaches and different styles. Some people revise every chapter before moving on (not me!) others want to get the whole thing out before they even know what they are writing about. I’d be very hesitant to give any advice. If I had to say one thing though, I’d say write what you are passionate about, write what truly and deeply interests you, because you are going to be living with it for a long, long time. Write on!

Nora Raleigh Baskin (norabaskin.com) is the author of fourteen novels for young adults and a contributor to several short story collections. Her personal narrative essays have appeared in Writer Magazine, Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and NCTE Voices From the Middle. Her books have won several awards, including the 2010 American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award for Anything But Typical (S&S), and in 2016, an International Literacy Association Notable Books for a Global Society for Ruby on the Outside (S&S). Ms. Baskin has taught creative writing classes for both adults and young adults for over twenty years in such places as Gotham Writers Workshop, Fairfield Co. Writers Studio, Manhattanville College MFA, and S.U.N.Y Purchase. Her newest middle-grade novel Seven Clues to Home, a collaborative two-voice project will be published Spring, 2020 (Knopf).