Author Interview & Giveaway - Mindy Starns Clark - Part 2

 

Today, we'll continue our interview with Mindy Starns Clark, co-author of The Amish Midwife and The Amish Nanny. Unfortunately, Leslie Gould, her co-author, was unable to participate at this time. Hopefully, we'll have her on the blog in the future.

Don't forget the giveaway! Mindy has generously agreed to provide not one, but two books for this drawing. See details at the end of the interview.

4) You and Leslie live on opposite sides of the country. How do you handle that dynamic? Have you ever met in person for a writing session?

I would give anything to have Leslie right next door! Being so far apart is very difficult, even in this digital age.

She and I have only gotten together in person twice, once when she came out here and once when I went out there. Mostly, we use email, though when we're down to final edits, we can also be found texting, calling, scanning and sending, faxing, or whatever else it takes. It would be a lot easier if we lived closer, but we manage to make it work.

5) Do you have something to share about your writing life, but nobody has asked that particular question? Feel free to express yourself here. :)

Actually, I'll share a little story about my co-author. :) Last winter, when she and I were working hard to wrap up The Amish Nanny and meet our deadline, poor Leslie was also having to deal with the fact that her husband, who's in the Army Reserves, had been called up for active duty to Afghanistan! I think the book was due the day before he was to leave the country. It was awful for her, but she was a trooper to the end and somehow managed to pull it off.

He's been gone a year, but would you believe it, he returned from Afghanistan the exact day before our next book, The Amish Bride, was due! Again, poor Leslie was having to finish up a novel in the midst of all of that. Even once he arrived, she had to find internet there on the base and continue to shoot files back and forth with me to get the book done and in on time the next morning. Which we did, I'm proud to say.

I've known lots of "poor author" stories about books finished while on the way to a funeral or while lying in a hospital bed, etc., but I think Leslie's situation ranks right up there. I have always had great respect for her, but after this, I've decided she's like a writing superhero.

Thanks, Mindy, for an awesome interview and giveaway. Okay, folks, we've got a deadline looming here at Christian Writer/Reader Connection: Saturday, March 10, 2012, at midnight.

1) The contest is open to both current and new Followers of Christian Writer/Reader Connection. To be eligible, you must be a resident of the United States.

2)  Four (4) chances to win! Comment on each interview post, mention the giveaway with a link on your blog, and/or Facebook. Please make a note in your blog comments if you've linked via your blog or Facebook.

3)  Leave your email address in the comment section. Sorry, no email = no entry.

4)  The winner will be notified via email on Sunday, March 11, 2012, and a notice will be posted on the blog that day. I'll provide Mindy with your snail mail address, and she will mail out a book to each winner.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any remuneration for this interview.

Writers & Readers: What was your favorite part of this interview? What nugget did you take away?

Interview At Life Lessons

 
Maria Morgan, at Life Lessons, interviews Karen and me about our collaboration on a novel. Get the skinny on how two independent writers mesh their ideas into one story.

See you there!

One Sheet? Two Sheet?

Karen Lange, of Write Now, and I are preparing a one sheet for our book. We want to see if there's an interest in our story.

Some questions came up with the one sheet format:

1) With two biographical sketches needed, how could we fit everything on one page? After much discussion, we decided to depart from the norm and produce a two sheet. All the book information is on the main page, while our biographical information is on the second page. Otherwise, there would have been no room for the book summary.

2) What is the title of our book? We have to come up with one...fast. I slapped a temporary name onto the draft of the one sheet/two sheet, but we're still emailing about that subject.

Technical problems:

1) My ancient Microsoft Publisher program that I used to produce the one sheet for The Moses Conspiracy decided not to cooperate. I managed to put something together, so we'd have a basic document to refine.

2) When I emailed the document to Karen, she couldn't open it. Snail mail to the rescue.

3) I sent my picture to Karen's secondary email address because she couldn't open it from her primary account.

Karen was able to do the layout in Word and solved the picture problem via cut and paste. Her son did a small graphic. We were happy he was in the wings to bail us out if we ran into serious trouble. Karen will send the finished one sheet/two sheet to me via U.S. Mail.

I'll be putting together a packet for the conference. The one sheet/two sheet, our business cards, and the first two chapters will be put in a presentation folder. It keeps everything organized. 

Collaboration is a lot easier when you have the right equipment and it meshes with that of your co-writer. Karen is doing a post on producing a one sheet. I hope you'll visit her sometime this week.

Have you run into difficulties sending pictures via computer or opening documents from another writer? Have you ever had an email submission get lost in cyberspace? I'd love to hear your experiences and advice.

Of Purses, Plots, and Prioritizing - Part II

By now, all of you know I am a Seat-of-the-Pants writer. Yet, with my latest WIP I'm getting a little wistful...about plotting.

Knowing what's coming up in a story has advantages. Research targeted toward a specific storyline is much easier than covering an entire subject from A to Z. Characters' personalities can be crafted to match a plot-driven novel.

Karen Lange, of Write Now, and I embarked on this adventure a few months ago. Yes, we're collaborating on a novel. We've both wondered at times whether we'd lost our sanity, but things are beginning to chug along.

The Method

Susan

We decided on a genre (a secret for now), timeframe (American Colonial period), and characters. Then, we turned the whole kit and caboodle loose.

I wrote the first chapter. From there, we take turns, building upon what the other writes. We never know what twist, turn, or dilemma will surprise us when we receive the latest installment.

Karen

As Susan mentioned, we alternate writing the chapters. I think this is a great way to share the responsibility. We have each done/continue to do different aspects of research, and both bring a different yet similar skill set to the project. It's a wonderful way to blend our writing styles and bring an interesting angle to the book.

The Difficulties

Susan

The biggest difficulty for me is the loss of momentum when it's Karen's turn to write a chapter. There's no way to mull over my next move because I have no idea what she's written. As a pantser, my brain feeds off what I've written previously. We're both adjusting to this rhythm although we need to pick up the pace.

Karen

We can plan ahead in generalities, but not specifics from chapter to chapter. You just never know what is going to happen. It is hard to think ahead on what we each might write. Overall, the frustration is offset by the excitement. Even though we brainstorm, the plot surprises make things interesting.

For example, I added a character in Chapter 2. She just popped up and will serve us well later. Then Susan used her for a scene in Chapter 3 that had me laughing out loud. Although we face difficulties a single author might not, we get to enjoy feedback and more specific help as we go along.

The Disagreements

Susan

Uh-oh. Early on, Karen and I had an alternate vision for an event in Chapter 2. We emailed back and forth, debating the issue. Finally, a research book I'd purchased gave us the answers we needed.

There's a lot of trust involved in taking on a project like this. It's a marriage of sorts and contains the elements of communication and working things out. (And prayer!)

Karen

We discuss the issue, examine it from different angles as necessary, and make a decision. Some of this involves more research, so we check into it and go from there. We are trusting God for wisdom along the way. I'm not concerned that any issues won't be resolved.

Susan here. So now you know what Karen and I have kept under wraps for several months...a collaborative effort on a novel. We'd appreciate your prayers.

Have you ever attempted a team writing project? We'd love to hear your experiences and tips.