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Interview with P. June Diehl,
author of The Magic and
the Mundane
Do you recall how your interest in writing began?
Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far.... No, really,
as a child I was forever reading, thanks to my parents.
My fifth-grade teacher had the class write stories based
on beginning sentences. My sixth-grade teacher was also
the school principal, so when he had to change hats,
he'd have the class write stories. I was hooked.
Tell us a little about The Magic & The Mundane: A
Guide For the Writer's Journey.
I wanted to present possibilities—each writer needs
to find his own path. How does one do this? Exposure to
what's possible and by experimentation. Many of the
writing exercises in the book are based on my teaching
and coaching experiences in working with writers over
the past several years. I wrote the book to fill in the
spaces between the other how-to books—from the ones that
say "do THIS and you can write a novel in
however-many-number-of-days" to books on how published
writers create their writing. While all of these books
can be helpful, I wanted to present multiple
possibilities.
The book is like many writing craft books in that it
covers the elements of writing (what I call the
mundane). I try to open up the possibilities of the art
(the magic) of writing.
Besides the writing exercises, I've also included a Book
of Days—prompts for a year of writing, as well as a
resource section.
I hope that writers take the following from the book:
Read, learn, write, and explore (to find their own
writing path). I have a difficult time with advice
telling us to "do this" or "follow these rules." Writers
shouldn't be in copy-mode, but in YOU-mode. That's when
the writing flows.
What was the idea that inspired you to write this
book?
I had started a series of how-to articles for writers
called Inside a Writer's Mind. When a couple of the
articles were accepted for publication, the editors
asked if I had a book in mind. That got my gyros
turning. Why not, I thought? So, I put a nonfiction book
proposal package together and emailed ePress-Online a
query letter. They asked me to send the nonfiction book
proposal and then asked to see the manuscript. I spent
the next two and a half months writing and revising the
book.
How can authors find their authentic voice?
By telling the voices in the mind to "take a hike."
From the inner editor to the critic. Rid yourself of all
voices not your own. Anyone that has been a positive or
negative influence on us can create another voice in the
mind—from a stranger who made some criticism to
parents/relatives and friends. These voices must be
silenced in order to find the voice needed to write
original and realistic work.
What do you recommend to aspiring authors for writing
practice?
Write as much as you are able. Would a musician give
a concert without practice? No! Why should we expect
anything less from a writer? Writers do not sit down and
create perfect writing. Practice! As often as you can.
If you are a good writer, strive to become great, and if
you are great, there's always something new to learn.
Practice!
What is the one message you want to give to aspiring
writers?
Most of all: WRITE! Followed by: learn, read, and
experiment.
What are some of your other current projects?
I am writing a nonfiction article called Writing Down
the Moon, and a nonfiction book called Of Fire, Air,
Earth, and Water: A Year of Writing. I am working on
three novels: Murder in D Minor,
In the Shadow of the Gods, and
The Apartment.
I am working on two fantasy series: Essence of Emily,
and Logan's Lament, as well as a SF series called Dark
Story and various short stories and poems.
I have two other projects:
a series called Twisted Tales: Retold Tales, Myths,
and Legends,
I Hook By Night—A Crochet Soap written in the fashion
of daytime soaps. Each episode depicts the lives of
several of the characters and includes lots of short
scenes, usually ending with cliffhangers.
Tell us more about I Hook By Night and Twisted Tales.
Both are series that I've been working on for several
years. Twisted Tales is my retelling of fairy tales,
myths, and legends. I love these kind of stories and
didn't want to give them up, so I had the idea to
rewrite some of these for adults. These retold stories
are definitely not meant for children. (Just ask my
uncle who tried to read my version of Red Riding Hood to
his grandson, and ended up editing the words I'd written
as he read.) Some of the Twisted Tales take place in
modern times, others are the story-behind-the story, or
what might have happened after the happy-ever-after
ending. I've also written some new tales, based on my
vision of life, creation, and what-ifs.
I Hook by Night is an alternative Earth
crochet-related mystery. There are two basic storylines:
one takes place in modern times and follows the
adventures of a group of crocheters as they search for
the reason that crochet is looked down upon. Lots of
mystery and discovery of the past is involved. The other
part of the story starts around 1550 and follows
Elizabeth, an avid crocheter who's falsely accused of
witchcraft, and her offspring who keep the art and craft
of crochet alive.
You seem to write both fiction and nonfiction. Do
you find one easier than the other?
Not easier—different. I approach each differently. I
research and write an informal outline for nonfiction. I
think about the subject, plan, and then write. Fiction
and poetry I freewrite the draft. Then I research. I
expand and deepen the story or poem during revisions.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging
in your writing?
Five days a week, I work at a full time job and am gone
from home approximately 12.5 hours a day. This makes it
difficult to find time and energy to work on writing
activities during the week. Over the course of a week, I
usually work 30 to 40 hours on writing-related
activities (research, teaching, coaching, developing
writing courses, and actually writing).
Who is your favorite author and what is it that
really strikes you about their work?
So many authors, so little time. (GRIN) Madeleine
L'Engle had me hooked with her SF/coming of age novel, A
Wrinkle in Time, which I read as a child. I totally
identified with Meg, the protagonist. I love stories
with well-developed characters. If the characters don't
seem real, why read the story?
Other influences are Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein,
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Melissa Scott, Orson Scott Card,
James Patterson, etc.
Where do you hope to take your writing in the future?
I want to keep improving my fiction techniques, and I'd
love to spend more time writing experimental fiction.
Learning about and writing more poetry is high on my
list. I have more ideas for nonfiction books geared for
writers. I'll also continue to teach writing
classes/workshops online and to work as a writing coach.
You seem to write a lot of "experimental fiction."
How would you describe that term?
I consider experimental fiction to be anything
outside the "norm" of what the traditional publishing
houses produce. This might be hypertext fiction or
multimedia fiction, or take some other form.
Using a pen name, I've written some hypertext
fiction. For example, I created a table with three
columns. One contained the name of the character, the
second the setting, and the third, an emotion. Just
reading through the rows of the tables creates a story.
I also used links for each character so the reader could
explore that character from his/her own POV. I did the
same with setting (to describe the scene taking place),
and the emotion (which described the mood of the
character and the effect of actions).
I've not tried to sell any experimental fiction (there
are ezines devoted to this) as I'm still experimenting.
Tell us a little about "coaching." Is that as in
"writing coach"? How does that work?
Yes, I work as a writing coach. My role is to provide
motivation and focus for the writer. I help the writer
define goals and learn how to achieve those goals. I
work with writers on a one-on-one basis, locally and
online, using email, chats, and phone calls. The amount
of time I spend with a writer varies, depending on his
or her needs. I've worked with a writer as short as a
month and for as long as a year.
Writers approach me for various reasons. For example,
One writer might need help in setting up realistic goals
and a schedule, another writer may want to work on
improving dialog, while another wants to focus on story
structure and find time during the week to work, around
the demands of a day job and a family.
I try to keep my focus on the writer's goals and away
from the teaching of the craft, but I do get involved in
that aspect at times. I work in much the same way that a
life coach works: focusing on goals, motivating and
supporting the writer, and helping to develop a plan for
how to accomplish those goals. I also help with plans
concerning the business/marketing side of writing.
Two things important to successful coaching are asking
questions and listening. I try to be a sounding board
and reflect back to the writer what I hear.
Sometimes a writer is looking for editing and critiques.
We talk and usually decide to focus on this aspect,
which I treat differently from my coaching. When I do
editing/critiquing for a writer, this is handled through
email, and is not as "involved" as the coaching.
One writer I worked with as a coach was trying to decide
whether to write her novel as a historical or as
fantasy. I asked her questions that helped her think
through the decision. Some of the questions were: What
have you written in the past? Why would you want to
write your novel as a historical? A fantasy? What do you
like to read?
When she replied that she didn't read historicals, I
asked if she wanted to commit to the time involved in
research. She said she didn't like to do a lot of
research and after additional thinking, decided to
loosely base her fantasy novel around historical facts.
In another case, a beginning writer's goal was to quit
explaining everything to the reader. Basically she was
telling the story to the reader using third-person
unlimited (omniscient) POV and wasn't happy with the
results, but didn't know what to do. She wanted the
reader to be more "in the head" of the protagonist. From
other comments she'd received, the story didn't sound
alive to the readers.
I asked her questions about the protagonist, and she
started to share the story from the protagonist's POV. I
asked her what would happen to the story if she used
first person. She wasn't sure, but went off to think
about it and to try to revise a section of the story.
During our next session, she was excited that this was
working for her. She also tried the same section in
third-person limited POV. Both rewrites actively
involved the reader in the inner life of the character.
I work as a coach through my writing business, I Write
For You, which is also on my license plate (IWRIT4U).
You can find me at:
www.iwriteforyou.org
or email me at
iwriteforyou@hotmail.com.
You can find the classes I teach online at
www.pearlsofwriting.com. (I do this with another
writer, Julie Jennings).
Write to June at
pjune@yahoo.com.
Find out more information at:
http://www.iwriteforyou.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TMandTM
Subscribe:
TMandTM-subscribe@yahoogroups.comups.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pjunediehl
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pjunediehl-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Contact
epress-online
for more information on The Magic and the Mundane.
The Magic and the Mundane
by P. June Diehl
$5.99
Instant Download
$14.99
176 pages, 8.5" x 11"
coil bound
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