Tess Quinn

Today we have author Dawn Wilson joining us to talk about her writing life. Let’s see what she has to say about her work. Thank you for joining me today for Writers on Writing Dawn!



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



Brainstorming is hard to explain because it’s just so individualized. Sometimes a book starts with little more than a character and a concept (For example, hiding from your family in a town where no one knows you, as in my novel “Leaving the Comfort Cafe.”) Sometimes I come up with an idea, write down a few scenes, and then it has to stew a little bit…just like spaghetti sauce simmering on the back stove.
Personally, I find the best way is just to dive in and start writing the story, sometimes brainstorming along the way. It goes without saying that your first draft will really stink (hence why they call them first drafts).



Ironically, I usually don’t outline until I get well within my novel—my writing technique for a new book is kind of like a spontaneous road trip. On my first draft I try to have as little structure as possible—I rarely even write scenes in chronological order—and then on the second draft I try to gather the puzzle pieces together. I feel committing to the structure of the novel too soon can almost inhibit any little creative “side trips” that may result.
Always, throughout the book, I’ll pull out my notebook and do a ‘sidebar’ on the character. Characters always move the storyline forward. If you develop a character completely, they seem to take on a life of their own and pretty soon you’re just “watching” them and dictating.



But as I’ve said, it’s highly individualized—there’s no right or wrong way to do it. If it works for you, then that’s what you should do. This just happens to work for me.



Can you explain your typical work week day?



Well, since Oprah hasn’t called yet, I still have my day job—which is as a public relations writer for a health care facility, creating newsletters, press releases, and writing web content. I also teach professional communication part-time as an adjunct instructor at the local community college. I’m actually hoping to make the transition to instructing full-time, because (obviously) if you spend 40+ hours a week writing, it’s hard to settle down at home and write.
Weeks are extremely varied, mainly because I am one of the public information officers, and whenever a disaster happens (swine flu, etc.) I’m responsible for helping distribute information. Crisis communication is particularly fascinating to me, because there is a distinct methodology of what works and what doesn’t, and the point when communication ceases to be effective and becomes white noise.
My typical week is spend handing media inquiries, sending out press releases, taking photographs, proofreading, writing stories, and even a bit of graphic design.



Personally, I find that the best way for me to get my writing done is to leave my house and settle down at the local coffee shop, where I’m free from distractions. The owners are friends of mine, and don’t mind if I stay for 4 hours and order less than $7 of stuff. I typically dedicate my work week to work stuff, and then cram my writing into a 7+ hour stretch on the weekends. (However, I don’t recommend that. I think the best way to develop skills is to write every day, and while I do that, I’m writing work-related items instead of creative writing.)



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



I started very early—I wrote my first short story when I was 5 and had my first poem published when I was in 8th grade. Ever since I was 5-years-old, I knew I wanted to be a writer, and I can remember banging on an old manual typewriter throughout grammar school. There was never any question—the only question was what would be my “day job” until I could support myself by writing fiction. In 6th grade I hated math, so I wrote short stories during class and passed them around the room for others to read—behind the teacher’s back, of course. It was like one of those serial movies—classmates were like, “Dawn’s finished chapter three, pass it on.” I actually got into a bit of trouble for it. One teacher threatened to actually throw my book away if I didn’t pay attention in class (which of course, absolutely mortified me, and this seems strange in today’s world, where kids are bringing guns to school).



To be frank, I was borderline obsessed with writing. I started seriously sending things out for publication in high school (when I got an electric typewriter for Christmas) and after college, I worked as a reporter for 7 years before making the move to public relations.
By the way, if you want to read some of my short stories that have been published on-line, here are the links:
“Things I’ve Seen While Kayaking”
“Hats”
“This is Not Barcelona (Excerpt)”



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Write. A lot. It seems crazy, but many aspiring writers I know spend a lot of time talking about writing and very little time actually writing. Remember to get into the habit of writing every day—even if it’s junk—because every word you write (even junky words) takes you one step closer to learning the craft. Likewise, always FINISH what you start.



My blog offers a link to a free writer resource each week. Check it out at http://www.noveltrails.blogspot.com. I also have a lot of other helpful links for writers on my website under “dawnlinks”—just go to http://www.dawnwilson.net.



Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.



Two things–first is a tween adventure / fantasy book called (tentatively) “Aunt Amelia’s Island.” It’s about a boy who searches for his aunt who has been missing for 3 years. I’m also compiling a short story collection, and hopefully I’ll have the rewrites polished enough that I can start shopping that out early next year.



Thank you for all the great info and we look forward to your future projects! For those of you who would like to know more about Dawn and her work, check out the links above or click here for her website. Thanks for joining me, too and stay tuned for next week!

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.