Pause!

This week, work is taking all my time. Busiest week of the year! Check back next week for a new interview! In the meantime, I hope you are doing more writing and reading than I am!

Inquiry XVII: Erin Dionne

Today I am excited to welcome Erin Dionne to The Day Job.

Erin Dionne is a writer who lives in New England that I had the pleasure of meeting at the first Kinship Writers Association Literary Festival. She is the author of Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies and The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet. She is currently working on a new Middle Grade novel ELSIE WYATT HATES LOVES MARCHING BAND. When Erin isn't writing her fabulous stories, she is busy outside of Boston with her husband, daughter and dog named Grafton. She roots for the Red Sox, teaches English at an art college and sometimes eats chocolate cookies. To read more about Erin Dionne and her books you can visit her on the web at www.erindionne.com

EEM: Did you always want to be a writer?

ED: I have a memory book that my grandmother gave me when I was in kindergarten. It has a page for each school year K-12, and there’s a place for a photo, a few lines about what you want to be when you grow up, best friends, favorite color, etc. In first grade, in my big, scrawly handwriting, I filled in the blank “When I grow up, I want to be AN AUTHOR.” So…yeah. Basically, ever since I could read, I wanted to be a writer.

EEM: When you began writing, was it instant success and riches or did you find you had to work other jobs in order to continue your dream of being a writer?

ED: Ha! I’m still working at other jobs! I think instant success and riches comes to very few writers—it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And, really, if you’re in publishing for the money, you’re in for a rough ride.

EEM: What jobs have you held, current or in the past, to help sustain your writing career?

ED: Before I published any fiction, I worked as a marketing assistant in a publishing company. I learned about the industry (I was in the college math textbook division, but it still taught me a lot!) and its cyclical nature. I also worked in journalism as both a magazine editor and a freelance newspaper writer (I wrote for the real estate section in a small local paper). This helped me learn how to work with deadlines and work with editors. Now, I’m a college English teacher. It’s a job I love and it gives me time to write and be with my family. Oh, I also worked at a bookstore, which was really enlightening!

EEM: Which job was the most challenging or strange to you?

ED: Being an editor was definitely challenging. Our magazine was published monthly, and we had several months of lead time, so we’d be developing the December issue in September. I had to come up with stories for each issue, assign them to writers, field pitches from freelancers, and write my own pieces. I was the multitasking queen!

EEM: What was your favorite thing about this job?

ED: Seeing an issue come together was pretty amazing, and I got to do cool stuff like interview Adam Sandler and Matt Stone and Trey Parker (the creators of South Park).

EEM: Least Favorite?

ED: It was super stressful; the magazine launched right before the dot-com bubble burst. It lost funding, everyone lost their jobs, and the whole thing crashed and burned in a spectacular fashion.

EEM: Did your day job(s) allow you to write regularly? Or did you have to get creative to get those word counts in?

ED: My day job of teaching gives me a lot of flexible time that I can use for writing. Although, being the mom of a toddler eats into most of that flexible time! I rely on a strong family support system so that I can work and mom and teach.

EEM: What other effects did it have on your writing?

ED: Being a professor and talking about writing all the time really helps me to evaluate my own work and push myself as a writer. It also means I’m comfortable speaking in front of an audience, which—believe it or not—can be a major part of a writer’s life. I do school visits, talk to library and parent groups, and present at conferences. So those teacher skills come in to play a lot.

EEM: Have you ever based a loved protagonist or an evil villain on one of your co-workers? Wished you had?

ED: I haven’t based anyone on a colleague, although I always look to my teacher friends for advice and will name the teachers in my book after them.

EEM: What are you working on now and is the process any easier than your first work?? If so, in what capacity (people noticing it, the writing itself, the confidence?)

ED: Right now I’m in the middle of edits on my third tween/middle grade novel, ELSIE WYATT HATES LOVES MARCHING BAND. I’ve heard that every time you write a book, it’s like you’ve never written anything before in your life—and I’m definitely finding it true in this case. I have different expectations of myself, my work, and my goals. Plus, there are new external pressures that come with following up published works. So it’s been nerve-wracking and stressful. I just keep reminding myself that I’ve done this before and gotten through it…and I keep a lot of chocolate on hand.

EEM: Would you change anything if you could begin your writing journey over again?

ED: Part of me wants to say that I should have started regularly submitting work two or three years before I actually did (does that make sense?), but in retrospect, the nearly ten years it took me to get published were valuable ones. I honed my voice and discovered what types of stories spoke to me. So, no. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve learned so much along the way; every step has been valuable.

EEM: It has been a pleasure! Thanks so much for dropping by!

Inquiry XVI: Stephen Swinburne

This busy Monday we are excited to welcome Children's Book Author, Stephen Swinburne.

Steve was born in London, England. When he was 8, he left England with his family and sailed on the Queen Elizabeth to New York City.

Steve holds a bachelor of arts degree in biology and English from Castleton State College, Vt. He has worked as ranger in a number of national parks.

He loves to travel and observe nature and wildlife. A safari in Africa, hiking in Scotland, monitoring sea turtles on a Georgia island, a winter trek through Yellowstone and watching shorebirds in New York have all led to book projects.

Steve is the author of Wiff and Dirty George, Ocean Soup, Whose Shoes, Armadilo Trail, and A Butterfly Grows, just to name a few! He lives in South Londonderry, Vermont, with his wife Heather and daughters Hayley and Devon.

EEM: Did you always want to be a writer?

SRS: No I wanted to be an adventurer, a marine biologist, and then in my teens, a rock star. I love being a writer but I still think a rock star would be pretty cool.

EEM: When you began writing, was it instant success and riches or did you find you had to work other jobs in order to continue your dream of being a writer?

SRS: It was NOT instant success. Even after my first book was published, it took many many years to achieve any name recognition. I have over 25 books published and I wish I had a nickel for every librarian who says, “I’ve never heard of you but it’s great to discover your books.”

EEM: What jobs have you held, current or in the past, to help sustain your writing career?

SRS:

I’ve worn lots of different shoes in the many jobs I’ve had in my life. I found my first job when I was nine years old. I wore old sneakers as a newspaper delivery boy. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, I’d wake early to roll up the newspapers, stuff them in my bicycle basket, and then ride around the neighborhood at breakneck speed. I’d throw the papers at people’s houses, hoping not to break any windows.

I wore grimy sneakers as a dishwasher, new sneakers as a busboy, and black shoes as a waiter. I yanked on hard-tipped boots when I drove trucks and laced up high-top sneakers when I made pizzas. I climbed ladders and painted houses in tattered running shoes. I gardened in sandals. Playing drums in a rock band, I wore cool-looking, pointy-tipped black and red slip-ons. When I was a National Park Service ranger, I wore sturdy hiking boots. When I helped sail boats, I wore deck shoes. In the years that I labored in an office brown wing tips adorned my feet.

Now I write for a living, and I wear whatever I feel like wearing on my feet. Some days I sit at my desk in slippers, and some days I wear wool socks. My feet might have flip-flops on or moccasins or nothing at all. No matter what my feet are wearing, they are always happiest when they are under my desk while I’m writing books.

One of the jobs that helped pay the bills and gave me a chance to write was photographer. If you can handle a camera and take photos, so many opportunities open up to you.

EEM: Which job was the most challenging or strange to you?

SRS: Working in the corporate world was a real challenge. I once had a job as a manager of financial and employee communications at an electric utility company. I managed to keep that job for over 7 years and never once felt like I was an electric utility employee. My head was always in children’s books.

EEM: Did your day job(s) allow you to write regularly? Or did you have to get creative to get those word counts in? What other effects did it have on your writing?

SRS: Once I was a waiter at the London Business School of Economics. I’d write poems on the scraps of paper I was meant to write orders on. You can always find time to write, if you want to. Get up early. Stay up late. Miss an hour of TV. Carve out an hour to write. Do it every day. Read Annie Lamott’s Bird by Bird, a great book on writing.

EEM: Have you ever based a loved protagonist or an evil villain on one of your co-workers? Wished you had?

SRS: No and No.

EEM: What are you working on now and is the process any easier than your first work?? If so, in what capacity (people noticing it, the writing itself, the confidence?)

SRS: I am writing a sequel to my first mid grade novel, Wiff and Dirty George. The Z.E.B.R.A Incident (Boyd Mills Press, Spring 2010). As this was my first novel after writing over 20 nonfiction titles, I’d say I’m still a newbie at novel writing. I love the challenge of developing characters and setting them on a journey and bringing them back. One of my favorite novels is The Hobbit. What a beautiful arc to the story.

EEM: Would you change anything if you could begin your writing journey over again?

SRS: I'd Begin writing my novels sooner in my writing career. Please check out my websites:

www.steveswinburne.com

www.oceansoupbook.com

www.wiffanddirtygeorge.com

EEM: Thank you, Steve! And everyone else, have a good week.

Inquiry XV: Kristin Nitz

Today I am pleased to welcome Kristin Nitz.

Kristin Nitz attempted her first novel in 5th grade. She attended Michigan Technological University to study electrical engineering while dabbling with writing on the side. Her first book was Fundamental Softball. Since that first book about Softball, Kristin has written Play By Play Field Events, Play By Play Track, Defending Irene, and Saving the Griffin. For Saving the Griffin, she won the Kentucky Bluegrass Award and was a nominee for the Georgia Children's Book Award and a preliminary nominee for the Mark Twain Award. Kristin is represented by the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. To read more about Kristin and her great books, visit her website at www.kwnitz.com

EEM: Did you always want to be a writer?

KN: I did always want to be a writer. I knew, however, that it would be extremely difficult to break in. So I decided to get a degree in electrical engineering and write on the side. I’m one of those strange people who think that Calculus is a thing of beauty.

EEM: When you began writing, was it instant success and riches or did you find you had to work other jobs in order to continue your dream of being a writer?

KN: I wasn’t an instant success. And I’m still really not at the point where I’d be able to support myself fully on my writing.

EEM: What jobs have you held, current or in the past, to help sustain your writing career?

KN: I spent some time working at a few different electronics firms and as a teacher at a technical college after I graduated from college. Later, I stayed home with my kids. I was just beginning to think about getting back in the work force when my husband had an opportunity to work in Italy for three and a half years. For me, that was a dream come true. He told me later that if I hadn’t been so relentlessly positive about the opportunity that he might not have decided to do it. I set two short stories, two articles and two novels in Europe. Since our kids attended the local Italian schools, I spent one more year at helping them adjust to life in the States before doing some work as a substitute teacher. After my soccer novel came out, a friend suggested that I consider teaching for the Institute of Children’s Literature. After checking over the course materials, I decided to do it. They laid out all the things that I’d had to teach myself.

EEM: Which job was the most challenging or strange to you?

KN: With substitute teaching, I could be with high school seniors one day and kindergartners the next. That was a shift! I generally found the kindergarten classes to be more frightening.

EEM: What was your favorite thing about this job?

KN: Interacting with lots of different kids.

EEM: Least Favorite?

KN: Teaching the music class with the child who had a very serious peanut allergy. He actually had his own mat to sit on and his own instruments to use. I always felt quite relieved when he and his class made it safely out the door.

EEM: Did your day job(s) allow you to write regularly? Or did you have to get creative to get those word counts in? What other effects did it have on your writing?

KN: When I was working outside the home, I typically wrote during my lunch break. I was just too tired at night. When I was parenting young children, I did most of my writing during naptimes or Sesame Street. Currently, I try to work on my fiction in the morning when I’m at my most creative. Then I dedicate afternoons to my students’ assignments. I tend to stress the basics like plotting and point of view, conflict and characterization, setting and scene-building. But I also do plenty of Nitz-picking when necessary on grammar, punctuation and formatting.

EEM: Have you ever based a loved protagonist or an evil villain on one of your co-workers? Wished you had?

KN: Oddly enough, no co-worker has ever inspired me in that way. But in general, people aren’t safe from me. In fact, two of my husband’s Italian co-workers had versions of themselves in SAVING THE GRIFFIN.

EEM: What are you working on now and is the process any easier than your first work?? If so, in what capacity (people noticing it, the writing itself, the confidence?)

KN: Currently, I’m revising the first novel that I ever attempted. While the bones of the plot are the same, I don’t think that it has two sentences in common with the original.

I spent a lot of time earlier this year working on the revisions for SUSPECT, a YA mystery that will be coming out October 1.

I used to study my favorite books for techniques on openings, closings and transitions all the time. Now I only need their help every once in a while.

EEM: Would you change anything if you could begin your writing journey over again?

KN: I wouldn’t change anything for myself. When you’re not a genius, luck is often as important as hard work. But here are two pieces of advice that I’ve carried with me since 1999 when I was fortunate enough to win the Missouri Mentorship with author Gary Blackwood:

It takes a lot of conflict to carry a novel.

There’s no room for deadwood in a novel. Everything has to contribute to plot, character, or setting.

EEM: Thanks Kristin!