Are writers obsessive-compulsive? Overly superstitious? Or do habits and rituals provide security for writers who never know where the next idea, or the words to write it, will come from?
Searching for clues to the secrets of writing, Suite 101 has an exclusive interview with Radine Trees Nehring. Radine is known for her "Something to die for in the Ozarks" mystery series featuring Carrie McCrite, a widow, and Henry King, a retired Kansas City Police Major.
How much research and plotting do you do before you're ready to write a book?
A LOT! Since all my books are set in actual Arkansas tourist destinations (national and state parks, as examples) I do extensive research. I stay in the location, often returning to spend time there more than once. Not only do I look, ask, and listen, I simply "absorb." I talk with folks, feel the ambiance, learn what the place is like for me. I "live" there in my mind. I study the history as well, and read non-fiction information about the area. I always talk at length with park employees or others involved in activities at my chosen location. And I always enjoy where I am. (Hey, it's a tough life!)
What hours do you devote to your writing and what time of day do you prefer to write?
I edit previous day's work as soon as I get up, usually around 5:00 a.m. Whenever something else doesn't intrude, I write all day. If things do intrude (you know...cooking, laundry, not to mention taking care of writing business and promotion matters) I write from 2:00 until time to prepare supper.
Do you take breaks, and if so, what do you do during them?
Breaks? Hm, aren't those the times when I go to take laundry out of the dryer, get a bite of lunch (handful of almonds and bites of cheese) or some such? I may also take time to walk up to the road and get the mail. Of course thinking time is important to all writers, so I guess I could say I'm working, even during chores.
Where do you write?
I am lucky, I have my own office. Small. Cozy. Stuffed!
What do you write with?
Computer. Occasionally, when the power is out here or I am on the road, I write on a legal pad.
...and why is that your preference?
Writing text and making corrections are so easy on a computer, but I always edit printed text. I simply can't catch all mis-steps on a computer screen.
Describe what you like to keep within arm's reach while you're writing.
I have an album full of photos taken at the sites being covered on a credenza by my right arm. I have notebooks with character and plot notes and reminders on the desk to my left.
Describe the things you can see when you look up from your writing.
Snoopy cartoons about his writing laminated in plastic are in clips on my window frame, also a photo of my husband. The window is right behind my computer screen, and it looks out into our forest. That's not a distraction for me, I love it. I admit I do look up to watch birds, and once spent thirty minutes watching a barred owl who settled on a branch right outside my window. In winter (when trees are bare) have also watched a coyote parade back and forth on the ridge beyond our hollow.
What was the first thing you wrote which was published?
An article on skeet shooting, right after I was married.
What is your latest book?
A River to Die For, set at the Buffalo National River in Arkansas. Archeological looting, abduction of a female, and murder.
Find out more about Radine Trees Nehring and her books, here.
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.
