Guest Author
July-August 2004
author of Remember White Meidilands
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Lynn Kinnaman of the internet chapter interviews Shirley:
SinC-IC:
How did you start writing?
SHIRLEY:
Long before I was a published author, I was a published songwriter/recording artist raising two sons as a single mother before it was stylish. When my sons left home I got serious about writing “words without music” and went back to college because I didn’t want my name on bad writing. After over sixteen years of writing short stories, articles, columns and publishing three nonfiction books, I decided to write a novel.
SinC-IC:
Why did you choose to write mysteries?
SHIRLEY:
Actually, I didn’t set out to write mysteries. I just started writing and that’s what it turned out to be.
SinC-IC:
Briefly summarize the plot or the plot inspiration for your latest work:
SHIRLEY:
The idea for Remember White Meidilands came from someone else's dream, which has nothing to do with the actual plot and is no where in the story. Crazy, huh? I like to write about family, people helping each other - bring readers almost to tears, then make them laugh. The story centers around a woman who escapes an abusive situation in Chicago, flees to a close knit community in the Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains where she is abducted, dumped in the woods, develops amnesia, and takes up with a homeless woman who’s headed to Florida for the winter. The man who helped her is left with her four-year-old son, so he calls his P.I. friend and the whole community gets involved in this page turner filled with everything from inspiration, high morals, family values and local history, to a very touching and surprising ending. Readers say they laugh, then need a hanky. That’s basically what I was shooting for, because that’s the way life is - laugh, cry, love, hate, get over it, move on.
SinC-IC:
Any interesting or unusual thing happen during the development of this work?
SHIRLEY:
Two things come to mind. I learned that I love to write mysteries. And, by the time I had finished the book, I realized I had a series on my hands. The characters are simply too lovable, too real, too alive to let them die with one story.
SinC-IC:
What is your writing process (outline, research, index cards, software)?
SHIRLEY:
I’m a research fanatic. To make a story real, I analyze fiction settings, characters, killings, law, history, etc. I don’t outline a story before hand. I might as I go along so I can keep up with who did what to who and when, and in what chapter. Basically, I go with an idea and once I start writing the story comes from thin air and the characters drop in out of the blue. I keep a “players” file with a complete physical, mental, psychological description of my characters - age, height, gender, hair, eye color, thoughts, habits, what they did ten years ago, what kind of car they drive, etc. Would a female tote a Colt .45, or a Jennings .38 revolver? Could a compulsive personality have a certain habit? A controlled person probably wouldn’t have a messy house. That sort of thing. Research gets even deeper as the characters selected as locals bring history into the mix. Did it really happen that way? Was history wrong? Some resound with a big yes on that one. Their grandpa was there and he said it didn’t happen that way! Research turns up some very interesting stuff.
SinC-IC:
How do you discipline yourself and schedule your writing?
SHIRLEY:
That’s never been an issue. My problem is making myself do something else. Like, did I eat today?
SinC-IC:
How do you handle rejection?
SHIRLEY:
Rejection doesn’t bother me. It’s a learning tool and can mean several things. First, it’s merely someone’s opinion. Another person might love it. However, if a piece were to get several rejections, I’d analyze the writing until I was satisfied, make sure it was targeted to the right market, and send it out again.
SinC-IC:
What’s the one thing you couldn’t do without in order to write?
SHIRLEY:
My computer, which has WordPerfect with a good speller/thesaurus. And, my set of World Book Encyclopedias. Oops! You said ‘one thing.’ Anyway, it would be hard to go back to using a pencil and dictionary.
SinC-IC:
Do you have someone who critiques your work?
SHIRLEY:
No. I'm my worst critic. Acquisitions editors see my writing first. However, I orally run my stories by my sons, who are experts in law, guns, hunting, computers, etc. You name it, they've done it. If they don’t know about it, they know someone who does. They just love giving Mama advice! I'm a very lucky gal.
SinC-IC:
Do you have an agent? Any comments about that?
SHIRLEY:
No. At this point I can't see why I need one.
SinC-IC:
What was the best writing advice you’ve received?
SHIRLEY:
My mother framed a letter I wrote to her on Mother's Day when I was sixteen. Raised on a farm, we were poor, and a letter praising her enormous sacrifice for me was the only present I could afford that year. She said it was the most wonderful present she ever received. That's pretty darn good advice. And, two college professors: One said I had a natural writing talent and should never stop, no matter what. The other said my dialogue and humor was so good he wanted to join the conversation. "Write lots of dialogue and humor. I've never read better."
SinC-IC:
What’s the worst?
SHIRLEY:
A teacher who had never been south of the Mason Dixon was trying to tell me, a southern born and raised gal, who had never been north of the Dixon, how to write southern slang. I made her so mad I thought I’d flunk the class, or be dropped out altogether. Quite the contrary. I gained her respect, as well as that of the entire class, and wound up getting an A+ on the short story - which contained the southern slang the way I wrote it. Which brings up some advice: don’t compromise your writing when you know you’re right.
SinC-IC:
What’s the best book you’ve read about writing?
SHIRLEY:
For fiction writers, without a doubt: Guide to Fiction Writing, by Phyllis A. Whitney.
SinC-IC:
What advice do you have for beginning authors?
SHIRLEY:
If you don’t love to write, find another career because writing is not the glamourous life it’s made out to be. It’s hard work and finding a good publisher is harder. Even if you have natural writing talent, to be successful you must hone your craft, pay your dues, never stop learning. Instead of “wanting to be a writer,” you must “want to write.” I don’t mean to be negative, but beginners with stars in their eyes, who get in the business to become rich and famous usually fall by the wayside.
SinC-IC:
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
SHIRLEY:
Only that I hope something I’ve said has helped, or at least entertained other writers and readers. This has been a pleasure. It’s great to be a Sister in Crime and in the Internet Chapter.
