An Interview with author, Barbara Delinsky (part 1)

Girls at work (note cat)
Girls at work (note cat)

TS.  I have been reading Barbara Delinsky for decades!  Good, rich stories about believable and appealing people.  Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, what better time to promote her stellar book, UPLIFT!

Now for the Interview I have been waiting years for: 

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?  Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

A. I have an office over our garage, with windows front and back and four skylights. This makes it bright and sets it apart from the rest of the house.

Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

A. I have no rituals. My desk may or may not be neat, depending on where I am in my book, and I may have tea or a soda or water nearby, depending on my mood. I actually like to vary things when it comes to my writing space and habits. Keeps me fresh.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

A. Growing up, I was no reader. I much preferred playing outside to reading inside. Going through high school and college, I read few books that weren’t required for school. It was only when my children were young and I needed an escape from full-time motherhood that I began to really read.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

A. I am usually working at my computer by six in the morning, Monday through Friday. Creativity? Some days it’s there, some days not, but I work nonetheless. If what I produce one day is bad, I either edit it the next or ditch it. I do believe that inspiration is 90% perspiration.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

A. Limit your time at the computer. Two hours a day are better than none. Keep at those two hours, day after day, and you’ll eventually have something to show.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?Delinsky

A. No. I don’t ‘get lost.’ I cut my teeth as a writer when I had three young sons at home. I stole writing time when they were napping and, eventually, at school. Given that they were my first priority, ‘getting lost’ was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. Bloomingdale’s. I tell myself that if I produce something worthwhile at my computer in the morning, I can run to the mall that afternoon.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. I was thirty-four and starting to look for part-time work when I noticed a piece in the morning paper about women who wrote category novels. They made it sound easy and very do-able while raising a family, so I decided to give it a shot.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. I spent two months reading the kind of novel I wanted to write, wrote my own in three weeks, sent it to various publishing houses, and got a bid for it six weeks later. I was lucky. I happened to deliver the right manuscript to the right editor at the right time. If I were to do it over again, I might not be as lucky.

Don’t Miss it!  Part 2 of this fascinating writer’s life coming on October 9th.       BCpink

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

In addition to my twice weekly blog I also feature an interview with another author once a month. So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!    Barbara Delinsky and Elizabeth Hoyt will be my October authors.

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

Are You a Room Without a Roof?

I was watching an interview with Pharrell Williams (composer/rapper) and he said, “I’m a room without a roof.” That struck home with me.  Some of my detractors say that I can’t stay with one thing, in my writing.  That I jump around from prison stories to children’s books, to mysteries, and on to poetry.

Yes! ‘I’m a room without a roof.’  There is no ceiling (boundaries) I can fly!  I stay open to the universe and to ideas and inspiration.  Watching that interview, Pharrell inspired me to write about my room with no roof.

write1Don’t let anyone lock your creative self in a room and slam the ‘roof’ shut.  Family, friends, spouses, all want what they think is best for you.  They love you right?  If I had listened to one friend, I would never have stepped on a stage.  When I told one of my oldest friends that I was going to an acting conservatory,  she was frightened.  When we talked it out, she was actually afraid that she would lose me.  I went on to have a 30+ year career on stage, acting and directing.
Continue reading “Are You a Room Without a Roof?”

Attention! All Writers Out There!

There’s a BLOG out there that is dedicated to the art of writing and honing your craft. Yep!  I’m talking about mine and this is a shameless promo.  You won’t be disappointed.

For three years now I have published my posts twice a week and it’s always something about being a better writer.  Once a month I interview best selling authors such as Dean Koontz, Sue Grafton, Jeffery Deaver, Sherryl Woods, Anne Gracie, CW.CoverRaymond Benson, Lee Goldberg, Charles Bukowski and dozens more.   My goal is to inspire other writers to write more, tell their stories, try writing a play, or maybe some poetry.

Sign up on my home page  and receive an email with each day’s post.  Delete it if it doesn’t interest you.  It’s that simple.  Recently I have developed a series of ‘creative writing’ journals with ‘How To’ tips and famous quotes to inspire my fellow writers.  https://www.writeratplay.com/category/a-writers-take/ Continue reading “Attention! All Writers Out There!”

Being a Serious Writer is Lonely Work!

writersIt struck me this morning (and other mornings) that writing is a lonely job.  There’s nobody patting you on the back after you’ve written an exceptional chapter or verse, or sentence.  You can’t count the people who love you because they love you and will always tell you, “It’s Great!”
If you look back to my interviews with other authors you’ll see that they too, no matter how famous, are sitting in their space trying to write the next brilliant thing….just them and their tablet or computer or notebook, their faithful dog or bird or cat at their side, ALONE!  It’s a daunting experience and hard work.  What if you’re not good enough?  What if no one wants to read your stuff?  What if someone laughs?
Continue reading “Being a Serious Writer is Lonely Work!”

The World Stood Still….Sheldon Kissed Amy

writing, blogs, blogger, comedy, Chuck Lorre, iconic television      A few nights ago Sheldon kissed (really kissed! There were four lips involved) Amy Farrah Fowler and the world stood still….at least ours did.  You could hear a universal gasp!

Have you ever paused your television in order to read Chuck Lorre’s vanity page?  (that’s what he calls it)  He is the head writer, creator and mastermind behind The Big Bang Theory.   I think his take on life and how we all muddle through it is dryer than my morning toast and I loves my humor dry.  Did I mention that he was ‘blogging’ before the word had been invented?

Now, I know that I will never write comedy and really don’t aspire to do so. It’s not my thing and if I’m funny when I write I assure you it’s an accident.  In my opinion,  the brilliance in the writing for The Big Bang Theory script is excelled by none in today’s culture.  Finally!  The geeks and ‘not-cool’ kids are fashionable and we cooler kids care about them.  (lol)  Continue reading “The World Stood Still….Sheldon Kissed Amy”

Famous Quotes….and What I Think!

Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas

“My education was the liberty I had to read indiscriminately and all the time, with my eyes hanging out.” – Dylan Thomas

“When I’m not writing, I am reading….and I think, along with many other authors, that it makes me a better writer.” Me

“I went to brush something off my cheek and it was the floor.”  Unknown.

“But it had to have been said by one of these famous drunks.  Hemingway? Tennessee Williams? James Joyce? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Bukowski?”  Me

Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway

 “There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  Hemingway

“Bleeding words…..things could be worse. I live for those days.”  Me

Continue reading “Famous Quotes….and What I Think!”

New Year’s Resolution for Writers!

authors, writing, writers, interviewsOkay…here’s some tough love!   Get your butt in that chair and write something………..or finish something !!!      You’ve read my interviews with famous, best selling authors for about a year now.  And the recurring theme is DISCIPLINE!!

Forget what others might think of your scribbles…they’re yours and they’re PERFECT!  And what if they aren’t perfect?  So What!!??  If I thought I was going to get perfection when I first began writing, I would never have written a word.  All I hoped for was to grow as a writer and keep growing with every new project.  Still not perfect………….

Write a short story.  Write a poem in prose. Write a play.  Finish your novel.  WRITE SOMETHING!!

Now, here’s the tough part.  You have to be selfish to be a writer.  You have to tell your spouse, or kids or friends that you aren’t going to be available for a couple of hours.  And mean it!!   Then go lock yourself in a room and WRITE!!   Then tomorrow (or this weekend) do it again. Continue reading “New Year’s Resolution for Writers!”

Cyber-Flashing…Writers should Always be on the Lookout!

I have a little section of my brain that resembles a hound dog.  Nose to the ground, tail at half mast, she is relentless seeking a hot trail.  Until she sniffs out an idea. Then the moon can hear her baying, the tail going like a pinwheel, the nose making a furrow in the soft dirt, it smells so good.

A friend shared a post with me on Google+ and it inspired me to write.  teens, Internet, caution, inspiration
Inspiration:  As some of you may know I have written 28 short plays for teenagers in the classroom.
Subjects that challenge them every day: bullying, cyber-bullying, cutting, drug use, texting and driving, date violence, breaking up, running away, etc.  But I haven’t written one about the  damage that an indiscriminate photo or posting can do…..forever!  

When I first saw this photo, I chuckled and wondered if the teacher realized that there was a fire extinguisher behind her.  Photos and gossip spreads like ‘wild fire’ on the Internet because of one supposedly innocent posting.  And no fire extinguisher, fire hose, or fire truck would be big enough to put it out once it’s  out there.  Do our young people realize that a posting on a social network could follow them forever? College applications, job interviews, credit reports.

teens flashing, Internet,
Stop!! Don’t Do It !! This photo will follow YOU forever!

Young people don’t think much of sending each other (sometimes) inappropriate photos.  Or they say things about others (often not true) and think it’s funny, not to be taken seriously.  A prank in the moment.  They don’t realize that they may be harming themselves (or others) for a long time to come.  THINK!  Before you Post!

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!   “The Writer’s Corner”

 

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!    

To receive my posts sign up for my blog on the home page. Enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

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Inspiration…Take It Wherever, whenever You Can (part 7)

lying.trees      I find inspiration for my writing, be it stories, plays, or poetry in sometimes the most unlikely places.  But, I never say ‘no’.  Free your brain and spirit and let it GOOOO!

While driving today, out of the corner of my eye I saw a yellow blur on the other side of the freeway. It was just an instant impression and then I was on down the road.   A big Caterpillar loader lying peacefully under some trees, and if I squinted my eyes almost closed, it might have been a large animal lying there asleep in the shade.  With its legs tucked under its body, its neck stretched out long, its head resting in the loam below.  It looked so alive, there by itself, content to rest in the shade of the trees until someone came.  And this is what popped into my head.  It’s called ‘free association’…..what can I say?!

a well deserved rest  ©

driving down the road
i spied a huge loader, sleeping
tucked under several  trees Continue reading “Inspiration…Take It Wherever, whenever You Can (part 7)”

If You are Very Lucky…Your Education Never Ends!

knowledge, wisdom, writing, growing, education            ‘Education’ is rooted in the word educare–or ex ducare— and the most important aspect of the definition is that it has two meanings.  One being to acquire knowledge, from books and study.

The second is to explore and understand that which is within us all.  A search, a journey leading to the places where wisdom lies and is crucial to who we might become.

I am a mishmash of both…formal education mixed in with a continuing search for myself, my goals and the wisdom that life wants to give me, if only I’d listen.   In the past decade I have pursued the second part:  to explore and understand what I’m all about.  It is indeed a journey and has led finally to some wisdom, which IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO WHO WE MIGHT BECOME.knowledge, wisdom, writing, growing, education

So why am I even talking about this?  Well, let’s see….knowledge leads to awareness and awareness leads to being a better writer. Wisdom, if you are so lucky to find some, leads to you writing richer characters because you now have the empathy that comes with wisdom.  The ‘journey’ in the second part of your education makes YOU a richer character and that leads to your story being fully developed, abounding with interesting characters, fascinating places and good plots.

knowledge, wisdom, writing, growing, education, famous quotesAnd if you try hard enough and have a little luck you never stop learning.  Even if the only thing that happens in your education today is that you read a new, sometimes obscure, word and have to go and look it up…you are continuing to learn.  My favorite thing!!knowledge, wisdom, writing, growing, education, famous quotes

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!       “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNealMark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Heidi Jon Schmidt,  Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create!   Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb.  and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is October’s author and  slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author.
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To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  on the home page; On the right side enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!