What is your writing process?
I wish I could say that I put on my favorite hat, face the east and my muse sprinkles me with ideas for New York Times bestsellers. Although my writing process doesn't work that way, I do get visits from my zany muse in the middle of the night so that I'm leaping out of bed and racing into the office to jot down the bare bones of a story or to take dictation from a character who ate too much salsa, can't sleep and wants to talk. (Okay, that's a long sentence. Since I'm from Mississippi, I must be in my William Faulkner mode.)
When I first started writing--about the time of Noah's flood, I think--I wrote detailed synopses that usually ran fifteen or so pages. Nearly a hundred books later, I jot a few notes on characters, plot and setting (two or three paragraphs) then start writing.
Because I'm a musician, I hear the music and rhythm of words. I love going into my office every morning, opening the curtains so I can watch the birds outside my window then sitting down at my computer and letting the story flow. Each novel has it's own rhythm and each character has his own voice. When I tap into my subconscious mind, the story flows and the characters speak in a natural way.
I keep a writing routine, otherwise I'd procrastinate or race off to the movies or sit down at my piano and while away the hours playing rocking gospel or Broadway show tunes. I have breakfast, meditate, feed the birds and then go into my office to write.
In the beginning of my career, I didn't know how many pages I could produce in a day so I set aside a block of time dedicated exclusively to writing. It turns out I can write like the wind. Now I set a page quota for the week. I sometimes exceed the quota or fall a bit short. But having that page-count goal allows me to meet deadlines (In a thirty-four year career I've never missed a deadline.) Having that goal also gives me the flexibility to accept invitations from friends or race into my garden on a sunny day and plant a rose bush.
When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
I started dreaming of becoming a writer when I ten years old. My daddy's small farm in northeast Mississippi was a wonderland for a little kid who loved animals and nature and music and books. But best of all, our house was a stop for the Lee County Bookmobile. Miss Frankie, the bookmobile librarian, guided my reading choices. No child could have had a better mentor. She encouraged me to read mysteries, biographies and the classics. I could hardly wait for "bookmobile day." I still remember the smell of glue on the book bindings. I can still see the rows of books that would lead me into another world,
On summer days, I'd take my books into the hayloft where I could feel the sunshine on my face, smell the sweet clover hay and fall into a new story. BLACK BEAUTY, FLICKA COME HOME, NANCY DREW and HARDY BOY mysteries, biographies of Sacagawea, Daniel Boone and Poachontas and the classics of Louisa Mae Alcott fueled my dreams of becoming a writer. When I remember those childhood dreams, I still smell hay and feel the warmth of the sun.
Read more of this interview.