Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security? Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Mary Anna Evans author of the Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries.
Q: How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
A: The first germ of an idea for me involves the book's setting. Faye works outdoors, so I need to be able to make the natural world feel...well, natural. As an archaeologist, she's delving into the past, so I also need to know about the history of the place where she's working.
Once I have a setting in mind, I embark on a wide-ranging reading spree. I read scholarly tomes and popular articles and even wild rumors. Ideas abound, and I compile them into a raggedy document that I call an "outline," but that an English teacher would call an "unholy mess."
One day, I wake up and something in me says, "It's time." That's when I start writing.
Q: What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
A: I prefer to write when I'm alone in the house, typically when my daughter is in school. I use the rest of the day for other business-related work, but creative work happens best when I can jettison my distractions for several hours at a time.
Q: Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
A: Boring things...I get a snack or throw a load in the washer or hop over to my favorite pianists' internet forum.
Q: Where do you write?
A: I like to get comfortable in a recliner or even in bed. The idea is to make myself feel like this time with my story is a treat, not a joyless slog through the salt mines.
My office serves primarily as a receptacle for things that need to be filed.
Q: What do you write with?
A: A little-bitty notebook computer. I do a lot of promotional travel, and I got tired of hauling around a big, heavy computer, so I splurged.
Q: ...and why is that your preference?
A: I like computers because I won the high school typing award and I can type like a bat out of heck.
Q: What do you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing?
A: usually have a cold can of Coca-Cola beside me and, if I'm lucky, a Hershey bar. I like Hershey bars so much that I bought stock in the company. Before last week, it had done very well for me. Right now, I'm afraid to look.
Q: What can you see when you look up from your writing.
A: My cat. My feet. An afghan, if it's cold.
Q: What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
A: A haiku:
Earth moans beneath me
As her summerlong labor
Yields newborn bounty.
I bet nobody else answers this question with the entire text of their first published work.
Q: What is your latest book?
A: Findings, (Poisoned Pen Press)in which Faye returns to her ancestral home, loses two friends, wrestles with questions of love, and digs up a honkin' big emerald.
Mary Anna Evans was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and now lives in Gainesville, Florida. Find out more on her website.
Read about Peter May, Jane Finnis, Ruth Dudley Edwards and many other Writers' Rituals
Janice Hally - Janice Hally has written more than 300 broadcast hours of prime-time TV drama in the UK, as well as fiction and non-fiction books.
