Heidi Durrow and William Todd Schultz

Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky and William Todd Schultz, author of An Emergency in Slow Motion: The Inner Life of Diane Arbus.


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(Broadcast date: Oct. 26, 2011)

"Despair" by Glen David Gold in The Santa Monica Review

The Santa Monica Review has been arriving in the mail for years since, or just before, its editor Andrew Tonkovich came on the show. In it I've read stories and essays by colleagues, friends, and at least one student. I've always liked the journal. It's literary without being pretentious.

But today, just now, in fact, I was knocked over by a piece in the Fall 2011 issue by Glen David Gold called "Despair." It was originally a talk he gave at Squaw Valley Writers Conference. I've liked Gold's writing since I read another essay by him in an anthology edited by Kevin Smokler that I wish I could remember the name of now. Bookends, maybe?

I want to tell all of the writers I know to read this essay. It's the last piece in the book. Gold talks about how the writing is the thing. The process is the most sacred part of anything we do. You've heard this before, but the sum of all parts of Gold's piece is nepenthean.

I'll back up. I've been writing a chapter on forgiveness for my memoir, Blue Corvair. The forgiveness chapters are short and are sprinkled throughout the memoir. For the current chapter, I started with a quote from a Melissa Bank story. One character tells another that to forgive, all you have to do is decide that's what you're going to do. No reason. You just forgive because you want to move on. I Googled forgiveness with the idea that the first entry that appeared would be the one I'd follow.

It was Wikipedia. Great. What's true, what's made up... I started reading. Forgiveness is good for the health and it's the most elevated was to be, from all religions' point of view. I felt dizzy, and lay down with the journal to finish reading "Despair."

Thank you, Andrew Tonkovich, for publishing Gold's talk, and thank you, Glen David Gold, for your defiantly great prose.

Podcast of Denise Hamilton on the show

Mystery author Denise Hamilton, who wrote Damage Control was on at the end of September. You can listen to the podcast of our conversation by clicking below.

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(Broadcast date: September 28, 2011)

tomorrow's show: Todd Schultz & Heidi Durrow

I'm excited to tell you about tomorrow's show. Todd Schultz, author of the Bloomsbury release, AN EMERGENCY IN SLOW MOTION: The Interior Life of Diane Arbus, and Heidi Durrow, THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY, published by Algonquin, will be my guests (Weds. 26 October, at 9 a.m. PT).

Tune in at 88.9 KUCI FM if you're in Orange Co, CA, or listen online at iTunes/college radio or kuci.org.

Thanks for listening!

Barbara

p.s. Tickets have started to go fast for the Pen on Fire Writers Salon with Karen Karbo and Merrill Markoe on Nov 15. Visit penonfire.com/speakerseries. Be safe, not sorry (now, where did that expression come from??)!

tomorrow's show: Todd Schultz & Heidi Durrow

I'm excited to tell you about tomorrow's show. Todd Schultz, author of the Bloomsbury release, AN EMERGENCY IN SLOW MOTION: The Interior Life of Diane Arbus (williamtoddschultz.wordpress.com), and Heidi Durrow, THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY, published by Algonquin, (heidiwdurrow.com) will be my guests (Weds. 26 October, at 9 a.m. PT).

Tune in at 88.9 KUCI FM if you're in Orange Co, CA, or listen online at iTunes/college radio or kuci.org.

Thanks for listening!

Barbara

p.s. Tickets have started to go fast for the Pen on Fire Writers Salon with Karen Karbo and Merrill Markoe on Nov 15. Visit penonfire.com/speakerseries. Be safe, not sorry (now, where did that expression come from??)!

Tom Perrotta and Jane Mendelsohn

Marrie Stone interviews Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers and Jane Mendelsohn, author of American Music.

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(Broadcast date: September 21, 2011)

Melissa Bank & Leah Hager Cohen podcast posted

Melissa Bank, author of the reissued Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing and Leah Hager Cohen, author of The Grief of Others.

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Broadcast date: October 12, 2011

Jessie Sholl on writing memoir

Jessie Sholl, author of Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean About her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding, and I talked a bit more after the show about writing memoir.  If you listened to the show, you would have heard some of what's here. If not, here you go!


How did Dirty Secret come about?

After a particularly difficult period in terms of my mother’s hoarding, I joined a support group for children of hoarders; I was shocked by how much shame we all carried because of our parents’ behavior. After all, it wasn’t our shame to carry, nor was it our secret to hold. Yet we all did. I was between projects at the time, so I decided to write about hoarding. By writing about compulsive hoarding and getting the secret out, I hoped to lessen the shame and the stigma surrounding it.


At any point, did you have any misgivings about writing such personal stuff?

I didn’t at all while I was writing the book. That’s because I have a strategy for when I’m writing nonfiction: I just tell myself that no one is going to ever read what I’m writing, so I can write whatever I want. It’s very freeing. Also, I tell myself that if I go into territory that’s way too personal, I can cut it down when I revise.

Right before the book came out I had pretty major anxiety about revealing all of these parts of my life that I’d kept hidden for decades. Before this book I was not very forthcoming with personal information, even to friends. I was very private and quite shy. (I guess I’m still shy.) Anyway, I’ve been really pleased by people’s reactions to the book and there’s nothing in it that I regret including.
 
Did you feel a need to allow your relatives read your manuscript?

I did, yes. Especially my mother. I let her read it and said if there was anything she strongly objected to, that I’d take it out. Luckily for me, she said “it’s the truth. Leave everything in.” Also luckily for me, she really likes the book.
 
Did you work off an outline?

Yes. I first wrote a proposal for the memoir, which was extremely detailed – broken down chapter by chapter and within those, scene by scene. I also included three sample chapters; the proposal was 100 pages long and it was a great roadmap to have as I wrote the book.

You were recently on 20/20, on an episode about hoarders. How did this affect the sales of your book? And how did this opportunity come about?

To be honest, I’m not sure how it affected sales. I won’t find out the sales numbers for that month until March of 2012. What’s that expression? Oh right: publishing is glacially slow. There’s always the Amazon ranking, but that’s more of a general gauge and most of the time isn’t all that accurate.

The opportunity came about because one of the producers read and liked The New York Times piece from May, about how children of hoarders deal with their own homes when they become adults. She contacted me, and things took off from there.

Any tips you have for memoirists?

I highly recommend telling yourself that no one is going to read what you’re writing—even if your book has already sold and you know that someone will read it. It’s just an easy way to trick yourself into writing freely. I also did a lot of brainstorming ahead of time for scene ideas, always keeping in mind the focus of the book. Since memoir usually covers a specific topic or period of time (as opposed to autobiography, which is the story of a life), it’s really important not to veer too far from the focus of the book.

One last thing: a good memoir should be as compelling and as rich as a novel. You could have the most unusual topic and the loveliest writing, but story and plot are still crucial. You still need to make the reader want to turn the page, to see what happens next.

 

De-Cluttering

I've been on a mission to declutter.  The place is beginning to look good!  But man, it's a long road. Just when you think you've gotten rid of a bunch--sold, donated, trashed--more pops up.  When I talk about this to friends, I get so many nods and groans of agreement. It's hard to get rid of things--especially in our culture where less is not more--less is less!  I disagree. The more i clear out things I don't love, the more I can focus on that which I do love. Here is a wonderful blog I just discovered that has motivated me to pare down even more. And here's a photo of our new living room and my corner writing desk. I love it!

Marty Smith to speak....

Martin Smith, editor-in-chief of Orange Coast Magazine, will speak about "Writing and Publishing the Personal Essay" on Saturday, October 15, at 11 a.m. (doors open at 10:30). The free event takes place at the Orange Public Library & History Center, 407 E. Chapman Ave., Orange, CA 92866. Sonsored by California Writers Club, Orange County branch, the event celebrates California Writers Week, designated as the third week in October. For more information: www.calwritersorangecounty.org.

Writing spaces

We're redoing the house--clearing things out, painting--and I find that the more minimal a space is, the better able I can think, and concentrate. So out went the cute vintage plates that hung on the wall, all the photos and knick-knacks and stuff. I'm entering a minimal phase, a monochromatic phase....whites, blacks, blues. Here are two photos of the current state of affairs...where I write and what I see when I look to my left. I'm in the process of buying a desk for that window you see in the second photo.

Where do you write and do you like it to be a cluttered, busy space, or a minimal space,  or something in between?

West Hollywood Book Fair this coming Sunday

I'll be there, moderating a memoir panel with Emma Forrest, Dan Fante, Matthew Logelin and Amy Ephron.  11:45.  A fun literary day, free, free parking....colorful.... Make a memory.  Join us!

Here's a video.... for your viewing pleasure....and to get you to the fair!

Dani Shapiro at the Pen on Fire Writers Salon

Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion, was a guest at the Pen on Fire Writers Salon in February of 2010.  Here is that live event. 

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(Broadcast date: XXX XX, 20XX)

Plot board

I'm not the only writer I know who has trouble organizing her material--especially when you get above a certain page count and revisions start mounting, it can be brutal, keeping track. 

So I created this: A plot board, is what others call it. I've been writing down on a mini-legal pad what's going on in each chapter, but I work better with visuals so here I color coded what's happening in my memoir. The light pink represents the far past. The light pink, the recent past. Little orange slips are photographs, etc.  (I blurred out text on the Post-its....)  If I need to move the Post-its around, I can. What is in ink are the lines of the squares.  What do you do, to organize?

Kim Wyatt and Danzy Senna podcast up

Kim Wyatt, editor of Permanent Vacation and Danzy Senna, author of You Are Free, a collection of short stories, talking with me about--what else?--the woes and triumphs of writing and publishing. 

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(Broadcast date: 9/14/2011)

Caitlin Rother and Katie Arnoldi

Barbara DeMarco-Barrett interviews Caitlin Rother, author of Dead Reckoning, and Katie Arnoldi, author of Point Dume. Due to technical difficulties, this podcast begins in the middle of Caitlin's interview in which she's reading from her book.

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(Broadcast date: Jun 15, 2011)

Pen on Fire Writers Salon with Heidi Durrow and Danzy Senna

Travis, setting up before the event

Danzy reads from You Are Free

In the background, Heidi talks with author Lynda Zussman. In the foreground, Danzy talks with poet Tina Lustig

Danzy, Heidi, and me

Tina, CJ Bahnsen, Heidi, Danzy, Debra Cross

What a great night with two brilliant authors and an intelligent crowd of writers, and readers.  If  you were there, and would like to hear them talk more about their books and writing, each will be on the show--Danzy next week and Heidi at the end of October. Stay informed by getting on the elist. Email penonfire at earthlink dot net and ask to be put on the elist.

Photography: C.J. Bahnsen

Save the date: West Hollywood Book Fair

I'll be there, moderating a memoir panel at 11:45. I love this event. Free parking, a literary Sunday. Who could ask for more? Info here. Hope to see you!

Literary prize

WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING
Deadline for Entries: January 31, 2012
For More Information: http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan/

Nominations are now being accepted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Two prizes of $5,000 each are given biennially for works of fiction and nonfiction. Cosponsored by the Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, the awards are intended to “encourage new or emerging writers and honor the Saroyan legacy of originality, vitality, and stylistic innovation.”

Submit five copies of a novel, short story collection, or work of creative nonfiction published between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011, with a $50 entry fee. Visit the website for more information, including entry forms, contest rules, and complete guidelines. Go to: saroyanprize.stanford.edu

DEADLINE: Please note that entries must be received on or before January 31, 2012.

If you have additional questions, feel free to contact Stanford University Libraries, William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, Green Library, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6004. Sonia Lee, Saroyan Prize Administrator: sonialee@stanford.edu , (650) 736-9538.


Thank you for helping us spread the word!

Best regards,
(Ms.) Sam Petersen, for Stanford University Libraries
Tel: 650.854.5575; Email: sampetersen@sbcglobal.net

My UCI critiquing workshop begins Sept. 26

Here's the link to the UCI class I'll be teaching this fall. Writers of novels and memoirs...if you're looking for a critiquing workshop, here's a good place to start.