Why do you write?

So far, I've spent my time writing about real people – people I'm fascinated with, and become quite fond of by the time I'm done. I love the idea of spreading that fascination, and of maybe even forming a sort of vicarious friendship between my characters and my readers.

What inspires you?

That's hard. I could maybe name some books and authors that have influenced me, but inspiration's harder to come by. I just write about things I'm intensely interested in. The hope that I might be able to instill that same level of interest in another person is a big motivator, but the writing itself is made up of a lot more work than inspiration. Although when I read a really terrific book, it does inspire me to work harder, and to do better. I want to reach those same heights.

Do you write every day?

I try to write six days a week. Making myself sit down in front of the computer is often the hardest part, but I've figured out that even writing badly feels better than being mad at myself for skipping a day. I subscribe to Anne Lamott's notions of short assignments and crummy first drafts. Short assignments appeal very much to me - say, one hour or 250 words a day, whichever comes first. I'm still trying to learn to let my first drafts be crummy.

Do you listen to music when while you work?

Yes. Almost always. I choose very specific music for each project, and it's always either instrumental or foreign so I can't get distracted by lyrics. Miss Spitfire was written exclusively to three Beethoven piano sonatas - the Moonlight Sonata, the Waldenstein Sonata, and the Pathetique. The book I'm working on now is set to Russian Divine Liturgy, with an occasional bit of Favorite Russian Songs, by the Barynya ensemble, and the soundtrack to Les Choristes. I've even got tunes selected for a book I haven't started yet: ragtime and opera.

Music does two things for me:
- Sets the mood.
- Lets me know when I've put in my writing time for the day. End of CD = quitting time!

What kind of research do you do?

Any kind I can!

All the ideas I've had so far are centered on subjects I've loved for a long time. So the research begins as a casual, ongoing sort of thing. It's like having a mental file drawer that I toss information into as I run across it. When I officially decide to write about a particular person or topic, my research becomes much more focused and organized.

Mostly, I read. When I write about real people, their letters and diaries are most valuable to me. They give me a solid sense of the person's voice and personality. Biographies and memoirs are great resources, too, of course. I also love to collect photographs of my subjects and their surroundings. I have nearly 400 images related to Helen Keller, for example. If I can actually visit the setting of my story, all the better.

I go for what you might call immersion. I listen to the music and read the books that my characters loved. I study their time and culture. In the case of Miss Spitfire, I learned Braille and fingerspelling, visited the Keller homestead, and read Annie Sullivan's favorite plays and poetry.

You could probably argue that I do too much research, at least as far as the amount of time I spend on it is concerned. It's hard for me to stop studying and begin writing.

What's it like writing about real people?

All in all, I like bringing real people's voices to life, but it's very limiting in some ways. Their speech and mannerisms are dictated by history. So I've got to be hyper-aware of everything, right down to the vocabulary, that comes out of my characters' mouths. That can be hard, in a mostly good way. But I do feel a little boxed in from time to time. For example, I'm heavy into figurative language, and while that fit the character of Annie Sullivan, my current characters aren't. So I've got to restrain myself in that regard.

Still, it can be intimidating, not only because my characters are famous, but simply because they're real people. In the case of Miss Spitfire, I felt compelled to represent Annie Sullivan's history and personality as accurately as possible, because this could very well be the first and/or only book a person might read about her, and I sure don't want to be responsible for leaving my readers with any false impressions. Here's a little snippet from my afterword that explains my approach:

It's rather a presumptuous thing to write someone else's story -- even more so to try to write it in her own voice. The best any author of this sort of book can hope to do is present the truth as they see it. I am grateful that Annie herself knew this, and said so to Nella Braddy Henney: "The truth of a matter is not what I tell you about it, but what you divine in regard to it." I have kept this thought in my mind during the whole writing of this book. What you have read is what I have divined, and what I believe to be emotionally true. In her own way, I believe Annie would approve.

After reading and reading about somebody, you do get a pretty good feel for their personality. And I was extra fortunate that many of Annie's original letters from her early work with Helen were preserved in Helen's autobiography, The Story of My Life. But even with the luxury of having Annie's own thoughts accessible to me, I can't tell you how comforting that quote of hers was for me -- knowing Annie herself was comfortable with the essential notion of 'storyteller's truth' made all the difference in the world.

How long does it take you to write a book?

About a year, not including research.

Do you prefer writing or revising?

Revising, no contest! I actually tend to revise as I go. When I'm a good girl and fulfill my word-goal for the day, I let myself work over the previous couple pages as a treat. I almost always discover they're better than I thought. It's like they cure overnight or something.

I'm not quite as crazy about the formal editing process. Editors are smart, helpful, and very necessary people, but I really enjoy being alone with my early drafts so I can be completely in charge and pretend my book is perfect. And yes, it really is pretending. I can tell because it bugs me when anyone else tries to tell me an early draft is perfect. There's always room for improvement.