FAQ
1. Where do you get your ideas?
2. How did you come up with the concept for your detective, Nan Vining?
4. How did you come up with the name Nan Vining?
5. What is your writing schedule?
6. When you keep such a disciplined writing schedule, how do you force yourself to be creative?
8. You seem like such a nice person. How can you write these scary, gruesome things?
9. Do you have any tips for new writers?
10. What do you like to do when you’re not writing
1. Where do you get your ideas?
Every fiction writer gets asked this a lot. It’s a tough question to answer because one is being asked to explain the creative process. Frankly, I don’t have a good answer for why I write what I write.
The best answer I heard on this subject came from the great singer/songwriter Willie Nelson. When asked where he got the ideas for his songs, he said (and I paraphrase): “The air. The air is full of music.”
The air is not full of music for me, but it is full of characters, story threads, dialogue, and dilemmas. I always have a small pad and pen handy to jot down ideas. I love to eavesdrop and people watch. I read the newspapers with a pair of scissors. Somehow, it gets stirred around and comes out the ends of my fingers onto the computer keyboard.
2. How did you come up with the concept for your detective, Nan Vining?
In the 1990s, I'd published a series about an amateur sleuth named Iris Thorne who was a thirty-something investment counselor in L.A. There were five books in that series and it was published under the name Dianne Pugh. I loved those books, but felt stifled by the amateur sleuth format. I had to contrive situations for my protagonist to keep falling over dead bodies and insert herself into police investigations.
I began thinking about writing a new series. I wasn't sure who my protagonist would be, but I wanted the books to be realistic, gritty, and dark, yet with touches of romance and humor.
At the same time, my husband and I enrolled in the Citizen’s Police Academy offered by the Pasadena Police Department. This thirteen week course covered every aspect of the PPD. We went to the gun range, where among other weapons, we fired sniper rifles. We did the crime simulator. Talk about nerve-wracking… Shoot the bank robber. Oh no, I hit the old lady putting groceries into her car. And we did ride alongs.
I found it fascinating to an extent that surprised me. I’d never had any inside exposure to police life. I’d been a fan of police T.V. shows and movies, but this course was a revelation for me. Police work presents special challenges for women. I wondered, could I write convincingly about a female police detective?
I also wanted my cop to be different from the stereotypical "damaged loner." So I gave Nan Vining a teenage daughter and a family network. A dysfunctional family, but not much more than most peoples'. I knew I was going to take Nan to dark places. I wanted her daughter to be the tether that would keep Nan from going over the edge.
I began developing a network of contacts in law enforcement and criminal law. I'm grateful to these professionals for taking time to answer my harebrained procedural questions! But I was determined to make Nan Vining and her colleagues as realistic as possible. My emails from law enforcement professionals indicate that I have. The Pasadena, CA police chief is a fan!
3. Vining has uncanny things happen to her in the "Cut" trilogy. Have you had any paranormal experiences yourself?
I’ve had curious experiences that some might view as supernatural but skeptics would describe as products of my fevered imagination. Bumps in the night. Ghostly footsteps and whispering in our old house. Doors found open that my husband and I had made sure were closed. I've had odd experiences like that most of my life. A skeptic would attribute an "earthly" explanation to these events, but I'm convinced they were supernatural in origin.
I gave that duality to Nan Vining's experiences. She tends not to believe that the paranormal is involved... at first.
4. How did you come up with the name Nan Vining?
I spend a lot of time thinking about character names. The more critical the character, the more important it is for me to feel the name is just right. I'll sometimes change a character’s name several times while I’m writing a book. So the name of my series protagonist was an important decision.
There’s a small town in the eastern Sierras of California, near Yosemite National Park, called Lee Vining. I don’t know the origin of the town’s name, but it struck me as the perfect surname for my new protagonist. Nan Vining is tenacious, like a vine, sending out tendrils that can eventually force through a wall. She’s also a thread that links the past and present, this life and beyond.
Vining’s surname provides the genesis for one of the two monikers, or nicknames, she has at the station: Poison Ivy. Her other nickname, Quick Draw, was well-earned and very apt.
For her first name, I wanted something old fashioned and uncommon. Nanette is also her grandmother’s name. Family is important to Vining and carrying her grandmother’s name reinforces that. Her nickname, Nan, seems no-nonsense to me.
5. What is your writing schedule?
I write in the mornings, the earlier the better. I love sitting at my computer before dawn and watching the sun rise through my office windows. It’s so quiet. I write until I’m done for the day. What that means depends on the phase of the book. When I’m first starting a book, it’s a struggle to eek out two hours. When I’m revising a completed manuscript, I can work twelve hours a day. After that, my mind is toast!
Most days, I work until noon, take a lunch break, work until 3:00, then head to the gym. I work on administrative tasks after the writing is done. I avoid working on Sundays. I don’t turn on the computer if I can help it. I avoid working on vacation. I avoid checking emails frequently while I’m working.
6. When you keep such a disciplined writing schedule, how do you force yourself to be creative?
Jack London said, “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Sometimes I sit down to work feeling uninspired. Usually once I get started, I get wrapped up into the story and away I go. If the writing is truly not working that day, I’ll make a deal with myself to write just a bit and then I’ll do something else. Take a break and come back stronger.
I outline in a fashion. I craft a general idea of what happens when and who does what, ending up with a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of about 100 double-spaced pages. If dialogue or descriptions occur to me, I’ll put it in. I hone the synopsis until I feel it’s right. This can take a couple of months. Once I begin writing in earnest, the story and characters continue to evolve as the book finds its path.
I still rewrite, no getting around that, but my first draft is more on target because of the early work I’ve invested. The synopsis also helps me focus any research I need to do. I don’t waste time tracking down details that won’t end up in the book. It also alerts me to items I need to research before I can move forward.
8. You seem like such a nice person. How can you write these scary, gruesome things?
I can just about guarantee that male writers are rarely asked this question. I’ve always loved suspense, mystery, and horror more than any other genres. I don’t have a better explanation than that. It’s just what comes out. You are not alone with your query. My friends and family often look at me askance.
9. Do you have any tips for new writers?
Write consistently. Writing a novel is like embarking upon a diet, an academic degree, or an athletic endeavor. Success is measured in increments. The day-to-day dogged effort, even if small, is what shows results in the end. Embrace that it’s not about the writing, it’s about the rewriting. Heed William Faulkner’s words: “Kill your darlings.”
10. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I like to garden, cook, go to the movies, and watch movies at home with my husband. I love to read but I have to confess that after a full day of writing, the last thing I feel like doing is curling up with a good book. I read books between drafts and when I'm on vacation.
Write a book based on an idea I have? Read and comment on my manuscript/query letter/outline? Kill off a character based on my Ex in one of your books?
I'm just too busy these days to look at anyone's work other than my own, but I'm glad you think my opinion is worthwhile!