Nature, art and writing — Julie Zickefoose has successfully found a way to combine her three passions into one, and, in the process, provided the rest of us with a birds-eye view of the natural world.

Zickefoose started illustrating and then writing for Bird Watcher’s Digest in 1986, building an audience of bird enthusiasts via this worldwide magazine. She contributed natural history and mild social commentary to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered from 2006-2010, a pretty good run as commentator runs go.

Her first illustrated book of essays, Letters from Eden, was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2006, and was followed by a book twice its size and span, The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012), featuring 320 color paintings and life sketches. The Bluebird Effect was chosen by Oprah’s Book Club as its Book of the Week in April 2012. (For more information about Zickefoose, visit her website )

Tell us a little about yourself. What is your professional background?
I was a field biologist for The Nature Conservancy for six years right out of Harvard. It was a great experience, and I learned a tremendous amount about plant taxonomy and conservation management of wildlife. Eventually I figured I could starve myself just as well painting birds as working in conservation, and that turned out to be true.

Tell us about your book, The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds. What sparked the idea of doing a book about bird species?
This book is about the relationships I’ve built with birds over the years. The impetus for writing it was having a couple of cornerstone experiences with hummingbirds and chimney swifts, and realizing that their stories were pretty incredible. I wanted to tell them, but there was too much there to put in a magazine article. I wanted to line out and run with a narrative about what it’s like to be a mother to these birds. So I sat down and wrote a list of other birds with which I’d had similar experiences, and in fairly short order I had a list of 25 species I knew I could write about.

You also wrote Letters from Eden: A Year at Home, In the Woods, which, like The Bluebird Effect, used essay-style writing. Can you share a little about the process by which you develop your essays? Do you have a specific technique? Had you taken classes in essay writing or does it seem like you came to it naturally?
My essays are born when I have a revelation, even quite a small one, and I want to pass along that feeling of epiphany. Telling how it came about is the natural thing to do. Most of my “lightbulb moments” come when I’m outdoors, immersed in nature. I also have a strong urge to synthesize a bunch of experiences into one cohesive whole. So, in coming up with the list of birds I wanted to write about, I made sub-lists of the neat interactions I’d had with each species. Each of these interactions revealed some facet of the bird’s behavioral profile, or even its “personality,” for lack of a better word. Birdality. Through the anecdotes I’d collected over the years, I knew I could paint a portrait of the species.

I’ve never taken classes in essay writing. I still draw upon the instruction I got from my most excellent high school English and World Literature teacher, Miss Jeanne Saunders. She and I have been in touch since I graduated in 1976. In fact, she makes sure that each valedictorian of my high school gets a copy of a Zickefoose book upon graduating.

My other teacher was my father, who made an art of telling stories at the kitchen table. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, he had a story or two ready. I heard many of them multiple times, but I always enjoyed watching the preamble, the windup and the pitch–he’d hit the ball out of the park with an audible crack. He knew what was interesting and what wasn’t; he knew where to embellish and what to leave out. So that’s how I learned to tell stories: in the purest oral tradition.

Do you find writing an essay significantly different from writing an article?
In an article, I generally have a set of things I need to cover. An essay is more freeform, more fun to write, more my style. It’s self-guided. E.L. Doctorow said that “writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

On average, how much time do you spend writing a day? Do you have a schedule that you keep?
I really have no set schedule. I’m a mother of two kids, 12 and 15, and they come first. I’m writing this in a public library as I wait for my daughter to finish a three-hour play rehearsal. I can write anywhere, anytime that I have a little “piece of quiet.” Part of being able to write about the things that I do is living in service to serendipity. For instance, tufted titmice hatched in one of my nest boxes yesterday, so I blocked out time to take a nestling out and paint its portrait today, and I’ll do that every day for the next two weeks. Writing is a refuge and a release for me. I love climbing into the hermetically-sealed closet of writing.

It appears that you have successfully combined your love of writing, your artistic ability and your passion for the natural world. Which came first—the writing, the art or your interest in nature?
I was fascinated by animals and the outdoors from my earliest memory. I’d hurry off the bus after school and disappear into the little 5-acre woodlot behind my house in Virginia. I’d announce to my mother, “Today I’m studying fungus!” and come back with a plate loaded with mushrooms. That kind of thing. I found my own joy, by myself, in the woods. I found birds’ nests and crouched down to watch them tend their young–wood thrushes and great crested flycatchers; woodpeckers and cardinals and jays.

I drew from the time I could hold a pencil. I discovered that, though I couldn’t cartoon or draw things out of my head very well, I could draw something that was in front of me and make it look right. I didn’t really blend the two abilities until my first magazine article was published in Bird Watcher’s Digest in 1986. And then I was off! By 1993, I’d married the editor, who wasn’t even working for the magazine (his family business) when I started writing and painting for it.

You live in the Appalachian foothills of Ohio on an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary. What will visitors find if they come there?
They’ll find a tall, odd-looking house with an observation tower built atop it, sitting on 80 acres of forever wild land. One whole wall of the living room is books — field guides, reference books, art books, old books. All around, birds, flitting all over the yard — hummingbirds at the extensive gardens; cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers and nuthatches at the feeders; brown thrashers and yellow-breasted chats in the hedges. Bluebirds singing from the bird houses, which also hold chickadees, titmice and tree swallows. You get the picture. It’s Paradise.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I write and paint in the studio, with a big bank of north windows casting natural light, or in the tower room. I wrote most of The Bluebird Effect in the 10 x 10′ glassed in tower room. That was pleasant, especially when the snow flew around the windows.

What stimulates your creativity or serves as a writing inspiration? Conversely, what creates a major writer’s block for you?
Nature, always nature. I get most of my ideas when I’m running or walking in the morning, taking in the birdsong and noting what’s blooming or changing around me. The everyday interactions I have with wildlife, the things I notice on my walks and out my windows, are my fountain.

I don’t have the luxury of writer’s block; I don’t have time for it. Too much to do to keep the house, yard and gardens in ship shape. By the time I get a few hours to rub together, I’ve pretty much written a piece in my head already. Which leads me to a favorite E.B. White quote: “Just to live in the country is a full-time job. You don’t have to do anything. The idle pursuit of making a living is pushed to one side, where it belongs, in favor of living itself, a task of such immediacy, variety, beauty, and excitement that one is powerless to resist its wild embrace.”

Do you have any writing totems? Superstitions? Routines? Things you do or have to have around you when you begin your writing process?
An empty house is most desirable. Failing that, full bird feeders (how can I write when they’re hungry?), a cup of hot rooibos, and my best dog at my feet.

Do you keep a journal? If so, how often do you write in it? Is it for personal reflection, for tracking writing ideas or both? How do you use it?
I blog, and have since December 2005 at Julie Zickefoose on Blogspot. I post three meaty posts each week (down from 7, then 5 per week in the first few years). I blog to keep in touch with my readers, and to share the things I find wonderful. The number of essays and topics I’ve covered in the last seven years boggles my mind. I’m sure there are several books just waiting in the archives. It was through blogging that I figured out what my next book would be. It’s like having a superb test market at your fingertips. When readers respond, you know you have a winning topic.

I also keep detailed nature notes about what’s changing around me every day. I keep records of bird arrivals in spring and fall; of what’s breeding and blooming and flying. We’ve had 185 bird species and 78 butterfly species on our sanctuary to date. By writing things down, I give myself an accurate picture of the changing seasons and the world I live in.

When I have something difficult to work through, I do it by writing about it. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words nobody will ever read! So yes, I journal, in several different ways.

Having The Bluebird Effect chosen as Oprah’s Book Club “Book of the Week” is quite a coup. Were you surprised?
Well, sure! As far as I know, only one other nonfiction natural history book has ever been chosen: Tree by David Suzuki. But it’s not much like my book. I love the thought that The Bluebird Effect could cross over to such a mainstream venue as Oprah’s Book Club. I’m sure the paintings had something to do with it. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt gave the book such a lavish and beautiful treatment that it literally squawks to be looked at.

What do you hope to achieve with this book?
I hope to change how people think about songbirds, and give readers an appreciation for birds’ rich and varied mental and emotional landscape.

What is the next project you have in the works?
It’s a dog book. I’m ready to write about Chet Baker, Boston Terrier, who has become something of an Internet celebrity. My daughter is piqued that he has more friends on Facebook than she does. Blogging about him and witnessing the kerfuffle over him convinced me that there is an audience thirsty to read his story.

How do you define success as a writer?
Success is writing easily and joyfully of the things you care most about. Success is looking forward to writing each day, of craving the chance to get back to it and then making something of your time spent at it.

What do you find the hardest part about the “writing business”?
I spent a few years writing workmanlike prose about how and what to feed birds, what to plant for them, and that was truly difficult for me, but boredom was my biggest foe. I believe that writers and artists are of greatest use to society when they’re writing and drawing things they’re vitally interested in. If I’m not learning as I go, if I’m not dying tell a story, what’s the point?

What’s the worst advice anyone gave you about being a writer? What’s the best?
I’ve had people tell me I should write and illustrate the next great American field guide. I’ve had lots of people tell me I’m the perfect person to illustrate their children’s book manuscript. Both leave me scratching my head. I’ve worked for decades to get to the point where I can write and illustrate my own books. I feel as if I’ve grown up to become just who I should be, in a career sense, anyway. The best advice is to write every day, even if it’s just a little something, just to keep those muscles in shape.

What advice do you have for other writers who are contemplating pursuing a writing career?
Write every day. Start a blog. See if you can get and hold a readership. Then write about what your readers seem to most enjoy, and what you most enjoy. It’s by having an audience that you’ll find your voice.

What do you want your writer’s epitaph to be?
She listened to the birds, and got it right.

My thanks to Julie for being part of One on One: Insights Into the Writer’s Life!

Sometimes we write to explore new worlds, new situations, new possibilities. Other times, the writing comes from a deep need to understand and make peace with what is happening, now, in our world.

In the case of actress Judy Prescott (who has appeared on television shows such as True Blood, Grey’s Anatomy, Cold Case and Bones), the inspiration for her book came as a result of her mother’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s, when she had to come to terms with a situation that was entirely out of her control.

As a long-distance caregiver, Prescott found that writing poetry helped her express the pain of witnessing her beloved mother’s journey while also helping to understand what was happening. From this came her new book,  Searching for Cecy: Reflections On Alzheimer’s. (For more about Judy’s experiences, visit her Facebook page or follow her on Twitter.)

Tell me a little about yourself. You are an actress and a poet—both creative professions. In what way are they similar? Different? Do you find it difficult to switch from one to the other?
Both my poetry and my work as an actor provide me with the opportunity to examine various aspects of life. They each feed my need for self-reflection and help me to understand and interpret the experience of others. Writing and acting come from an inherent place within me that wants to explore, illuminate, and give voice. They are interchangeable forms of self-expression and exploration.

How long have you been writing poetry? When did you start?
Poetry was a way for me to express what I didn’t have the courage, opportunity, or faculty to discuss verbally as a child. I wrote my first poem about the sudden death of my closest childhood friend, Kyle, when I was twelve or so.

What was your “writer dream”—your goal— when you began to write? Has it changed over the years? What is your “writer dream” now?
My intention has been to give voice to this experience of being human. To bear witness.

When did you first know that you were a writer?
I suppose I learned the value of the written word early. I have written on and off for most of my life, and yet I have only just begun to consider myself a poet. Perhaps compiling Searching for Cecy has helped me to embrace the idea.

Who are three of your favorite authors (prose or poetry) and why?
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, because of the genius of his magical realism and his effortless ability to make one laugh at the darkest of moments, Charles Dickens for his complete understanding and portrayal of the human animal, and Pablo Neruda for his belief in the utter inevitability of grace… and the bard, of course!

On average, how much time do you spend writing a day? Do you have a schedule that you keep?
I used to write in the very early hours of the morning, upon waking. With the birth of my daughter, I have had to become very adaptable. Now I scribble ideas onto bits of paper as they come to me and pray for a moment of peace when I might have the opportunity to make sense of them.

Where do you do most of your writing?
I write anywhere and everywhere, I write on paper, and I prefer not to be seated at anything as structured as my desk.

What stimulates your creativity or serves as a writing inspiration? Conversely, what creates a major writer’s block for you?
Powerful emotions triggered by beauty, loss, or injustice inspire me. If I am not true to myself, I cannot write.

Do you keep a journal?
I occasionally use a journal as a way to discover a poem if I don’t have a specific idea in my head. I begin by writing what I think the poem might be… often taking a great deal of time to structure an idea. I almost always abort the mission when I realize I am being too heavy-handed, then turn the page and write what I am meant to write in a way that seems effortless. I find that the process is similar to throwing a pot on a wheel…if I try to force the clay into a specific shape, it will collapse in on itself.

Tell me about your book, Searching for Cecy, Reflections on Alzheimer’s. What inspired this poetry collection?
I wrote the poems in Searching for Cecy over an eight-year period. I live in California and my mother, Cecy lives in Maine. Being so far away from her has been a great challenge for me. I began writing the poems in this collection as an attempt to chronicle both Cecy’s journey and my own through the rough seas of Alzheimer’s. I wanted to make sense of a situation that seemed entirely out of control.
One of the family artists who contributed pieces to Searching for Cecy is my aunt Rosanne Prescott Mac Pherson who lives in Maine. She would visit Mom and take photographs of her and turn them into beautiful art pieces using collage. These she sent to me in Los Angeles so that I might feel closer to Cecy when I was far away. This kind gesture gave me the idea to ask Rosanne if she would consider collaborating with me to create some sort of a tribute to Mom. She agreed and we elicited the help of three family artists to join us in our effort to honor Cecy. I paired my poems with their artwork. I was looking to find the beauty in this journey and working with these talented and inspiring artists helped me to do just that.

What kind of impact has this book had on your life? How did it help you come to terms with the situation?
Putting this book together these past nine years has given me the opportunity to learn to let go while continuing to mourn the loss of Cecy, however gradual. It has provided me with the added challenge of speaking publicly about the book…something I have not been accustomed to doing. I feel honored to have been presented with this opportunity and happy to have found my voice.

Did you have a specific goal for this book when you first started writing it or was it more for you to help you come to terms with your mother’s diagnosis?
Creating this book has been a way for me to better understand and pay tribute to the fascinating woman who is my mother. I wanted to give voice to her remarkable spirit and to bring awareness to a disease that touches so many.

What type of feedback have you received from readers? From your own family members?
The feedback I have received regarding the book has been kind and supportive.  Readers relate to the story in many different ways. I’ve received a great deal of correspondence in which many readers have shared their own personal stories. This prompted me to create a “community” page on my website (judyprescott.com) inviting anyone whose life has been touched by Alzheimer’s to share a few words… a poem, a piece of art.

What do you hope others get from reading this poetry collection? What is your message to those who may be facing a similar situation?
I hope that experiencing Cecy’s story will help others in a similar situation to feel less alone and more willing to share their own story with loved ones or friends in whatever manner  helps them to find peace.

Did you have an agent for this book?
I did not pursue agents or publishers in the creation of Searching For Cecy, but chose initially to publish the book independently. During this process, I was introduced to a woman who began advising me and ultimately, published the book.

What is the next project you have in the works?
I had a dear friend, Ken Kelly, who recently died after a fifteen year struggle with HIV/AIDS. I was involved with his care for many years. He was a strong, courageous, human being and I feel his story should be told. Perhaps on stage, perhaps on paper…we’ll see.

How do you define success as a writer?
In my opinion, a successful writer is able to exalt and find beauty in the human condition against all odds.

What do you find the hardest part about the “writing business”?
In the writing business, like show business, the struggle to balance creative passion and business acumen can be a difficult one.

What’s the worst advice anyone gave you about being a writer? What’s the best?
Worst: “No one wants to read poetry.” Best: “Keep writing.”

What advice do you have for other writers who are contemplating pursuing a writing career?
Keep writing!

What do you want your writer’s epitaph to be?
“We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry.” – W.B. Yeats

My thanks to Judy for sharing her story and being part of One on One: Insights Into the Writer’s Life!

Welcome to One on One: Insights into the Writer’s Life! Today’s interview is with Susan M. Ewing. She’s been in dogs for over 35 years, and has written eleven dog books, including Bulldogs for Dummies, Poodles for Dummies, and The Pembroke Welsh Corgi: Family Friend and Farmhand. Susan writes a bi-weekly pet column for The Post-Journal of Jamestown, NY and has written for many national cat and dog publications.

She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Dog Writers Association of America and Cat Writers Association, and is a past president of the Cat Writers Association. She lives in Jamestown, NY with her husband, Jim, and two Corgis, Rhiannon and Gael.

Tell us a little about yourself. What type of writing do you do? If you do more than one kind, what type is your favorite?

SE: Currently I write about pets, mostly cats and dogs. At my “day job” I sometimes write press releases.

Do you find it difficult to switch from one writing type to another? What techniques do you use that help you switch “writing gears”?

SE: I haven’t done real newspaper writing in so long, that sometimes it’s hard to get into a “press release” frame of mind. It helps to remember the old who, what, when, where, and why, as well as remembering that if the piece is too long, the paper probably won’t use it.

How long have you been writing? When did you start?

I remember starting to write a novel when I was about 9 years old. As a teen-ager and college student, I wrote sports features for the local paper, as well as features about Chautauqua Institution. Then I had several jobs writing ad copy at both television and radio stations. I also wrote for a mobile home paper and for an appliance trade magazine.

When did you first know that you were a writer?

I always felt like a writer inside, but it wasn’t until my first book was published in 2000 that I felt like I could actually tell people I was a writer.

Who are three of your favorite authors and why?

Trick question, and hard. I love historical fiction, so Philippa Gregory is on my list. Essays by E.B. White. He’s funny much of the time, and just wrote so well. James Thurber, same reasons. I also like T.H. White, Ted Kerasote, Donald McCaig, oh, wait, only three. Sigh.

Is writing your full-time career? Part-time career?

Part-time now. For a couple of years, it was full-time, which I loved.

How much time do you spend on average writing a day? Do you have a schedule that you keep?

There’s no specific schedule right now. When I’m working on a book, two hours at a minimum and four or five at the most. I do better in the morning, and sometimes, if I get a second wind, around 9 at night. The closer I get to my deadline, the longer I spend at my computer!

Where do you do most of your writing?

I write at my computer. I always wanted to be one of those writers who wrote longhand on yellow legal pads, but, early on, I learned at the newspaper office to just crank the paper into the typewriter and write. It’s certainly faster and my fingers can keep up with my thoughts better. I love the computer for speed and for making corrections or moving text around. If I had to write everything longhand now, I think I’d just shoot myself.

What stimulates your creativity or serves as a writing inspiration? Conversely, what creates a major writer’s block for you?

Anything that catches my imagination, that makes me passionate about a subject. Working Border Collies, for instance. Also people doing amazing things that other people may not even know about. I know a man who goes to Ethiopia every year and works with a theatre troupe to educate about AIDS.

Sometimes it’s hard to write freshly about a topic that I’ve written about a lot. Flea protection, for instance. Then I just have to remember that there are new pet owners coming along and they don’t know what to do and they need my advice. Pretending that I’m just talking one-on-one with that new owner helps me to be more enthusiastic about the topic.

Do you have any writing totems? Superstitions? Routines? Things you do or have to have around you when you begin your writing process?

I can do without it, but when I’m writing a dog breed book, I like to have a really good picture of that breed taped where I can see it, and, I usually buy a little statue of the breed to look at. A good photo keeps me focused on the physical characteristics of the breed and sometimes, their personality.

Do you keep a journal? If so, how often do you write in it? Is it for personal reflection, for tracking writing ideas or both? How do you use it?

I love the idea of a journal. In reality, I don’t have one. I do jot down ideas sometimes on the computer, or write the first few paragraphs of an article occasionally. One night I dreamed a novel, so I did write down as much as I could remember, but I don’t think that will amount to much. I save quotes and articles that inspire me.

What is your most recent book or published piece? What inspired this?

My most recent book is “American Pit Bull Terriers” and what inspired it was the editor emailing me and asking me to write it!

How long did it take you to write your first book? Was it easier or harder than you expected?

Oh, my first book….Again, an editor called and said they wanted a book written on Pembroke Welsh Corgis, and a magazine editor had recommended me and did I want to do it? I said yes, because a book had always been my dream, but I was terrified. I had no clue. Fortunately, the book was part of a series, so I had other books to look at for format and chapter titles. I had a bit less than a year to write it, and I needed to get all the photos as well. It certainly sharpened my research and interviewing skills!

Did you have an agent at the time? If you self-published, what were some of the challenges of going that route?

I don’t have an agent and I’ve never self-published.

What is the next project you have in the works?

Nothing currently. I do write a bi-weekly newspaper column, but no books or major articles right now. I’ve GOT to get busy!

How do you define success as a writer?

I’d like to be busier, and I’d like to write about other topics, but when it comes down to it, I feel successful as far as I’ve gone. I’ve written about what I love, and had fun doing it. I’ve met wonderful people, and I have the respect of my peers. For me, having fun, enjoying the process, is the best part. Would I love a big book tour and to write a best seller? Yes, but I don’t worry about it.

What do you find the hardest part about the “writing business”?

It’s not steady work, and the work itself seems to be undervalued.

What’s the worst advice anyone gave you about being a writer? What’s the best?

I think the best and the worst is “write what you know.” It’s the best because what you know keeps you grounded, and probably means that you have the passion to write well enough to share the information effectively with others. It’s the worst if it keeps you from exploring something new and becoming passionate about that.

What advice do you have for other writers who are contemplating pursuing a writing career?

Go for it but keep your day job. Seriously, keep writing and just do it! Lucille Ball was told she had absolutely no talent and would never amount to anything.

What do you want your writer’s epitaph to be?

Gee, I wasn’t planning on leaving. It’s not profound but “She loved what she did and she had fun.”

Thanks, Susan, for sharing your thoughts and experiences at One on One: Insights Into the Writer’s Life!

Welcome to One on One: Insights into the Writer’s Life! Today’s interview is with Mary Beth Caschetta, owner of Caschetta Consulting and author of Lucy on the West Coast: And Other Lesbian Short Fiction, who has also won several literary awards for her short fiction and her literary essays.

Tell me a little about yourself. What type of writing do you do?
MBC: I started out writing short stories, got writers block and pursued a degree in medical sociology, became a medical writer, started to write fiction again, published a small collection of stories that got great reviews but limited distribution, worked on a

Mary Beth Caschetta

novel for 15 years while publishing more stories and some essays in anthologies, journals and magazines. Then I got disinherited and decided to write a book about that. I was lucky to get an excerpt of the book in the New York Times Modern Love column. Now, I have a book proposal out to several editors, and am hoping to sell it soon.

Do you find it difficult to switch between your “work writing” (the medical and scientific writing) and fiction? If so, what techniques do you use to shift your creativity from one to the other?
MBC: I have very intense deadlines for my medical communication clients….all the time. So I’ve learned to adapt to this by being able to switch pretty easily from one writing project to the next. If I clear away the patient brochure, peer-review-article, physician website, first, and have some time in the day, I will work on the essay I’m writing, or the section in the novel I need to revise. After managing this kind of balancing act for 12 years, it’s become an easy habit.

I think of both kinds of writings as the same act, but the creative work goes much deeper, and I have to be in a different kind of state. But I’ve learned to shift from one state to the other pretty easily. I guess I don’t have the time to be very precious about it. For me, I know I have limited time, and I have to get the writing done. The motivation is different of course, for work it’s externally driven (who wants what when…usually yesterday), and for creativity it’s internally driven (what am I compelled to say today).

How long have you been writing? When did you start? 
MBC: I wrote my first novel longhand in a bunch of notebooks when I was a kid; it was about a creepy doctor who kept his daughter’s dead infant twin sister in a jar of formaldehyde in the basement. It was from the point of view of the surviving twin. I wish I still had it.

In high school, I took a brief foray into poetry, and won a couple of awards, but poetry wasn’t really my thing. When I went to college, I wanted to be a writer, and when that romance wore off, I just plain knew I had to write — whatever the cost. The school I went to had an intense creative writing program. When I graduated, I got a job in New York City publishing, but first went to a writer’s colony for a month.

When did you first know that you were a writer?
MBC: Always.

How do you define success as a writer?  
MBC: This has been a difficulty for me. Of course you want your work out there for people to read. I’ve had long stretches of nothing but rejections, and I worked on a novel that came so close to being published so many times that it’s not even funny, but in the end, no cigar. So, I sometimes feel that I’m not very successful at all.

On the other hand, I have published a book I am proud of, and several stories and essays in wonderful anthologies, and I make my living as a writer all day, every day. I get to be paid for writing and making people very happy with the work I deliver, but I have also managed to arrange a life in which my creative work is a big part of my life.

I get to spend a good part of every week writing what I want to write. I think that’s a pretty damn successful! In other words, I shouldn’t waste so much time looking at what I haven’t achieved because that’s just egotistical and defeating.

Where do you do most of your writing?
MBC: I have an office in Northampton, MA, where I live part of the year in a space called the Writers Mill. There are about 15 of us who share the space in a variety of offices. Some have private, full-time desks; some share an open space and take whatever seat is available when they arrive. I have a private desk. The notecards on the wall are a diagram of my novel.

What stimulates your creativity? Conversely, what creates a major writer’s block for you? 
MBC: I wish I knew the answer to these questions! Sometimes I listen to music when I write; that can help me get into the right “head space” for writing.

Who are three of your favorite authors and why?
MBC: Vladimir Nabokov, Lorrie Moore, and Kurt Vonnegut. I think they are all kind of wry smart asses, but in the best possible way.

What is your most recent book or published piece? What inspired this?
MBC: Miracle of miracles (truly), I published an essay about disinheritance in the Sunday New York Times, Modern Love Column. It was inspired by being disinherited. When something I don’t understand happens, I usually end up writing about it.

How long did it take you to write your short story collection, Lucy on the West Coast? Was it easier or harder than you expected? 
MBC: I wrote a piece of the story called “Nuclear Family” in this collection when I was a sophomore in college and published the entire collection when I was 29 years old. It was harder than I thought it would be, but it was exhilarating once I finally got it going.

Did you have an agent at the time? If so, how long did it take you to find one?
MBC: I did not have an agent when I sold Lucy on the West Coast, which was originally titled Nuclear Family and Other Fictions, but I knew someone who was an editor. She read some of the stories and helped me put the pieces together. I got an agent (at the time Charlotte Sheedy) after the book was already sold.

What is the next project you have in the works?
MBC: I’m working on a book about disinheritance that is a hybrid memoir and information nonfiction book.

What do you find the hardest part about the “writing business”?  
MBC: I have found that breaking into the business of getting published is terribly difficult. It’s like standing outside the brick building and beating on the door until your knuckles are bloody. I also banged my head on those bricks for awhile too. Then I took a step back to figure out how important it was to “get in.” Not important enough to get all bloody.

Once I stepped back, I saw that there were other ways in. Like, you could walk around to the back door. Or, you could wait until some of the people came out of the building, etc. I can be stubborn and persistent in my ways, which can be both good and bad.

What’s the worst advice anyone gave you about being a writer? What’s the best?
MBC: Worst piece of advice was: “Write every single day.” Best piece of advice was: “Write every single day.” It’s a terrible thing to have to imagine when you aren’t in the right place, but it’s an amazing thing to do.

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Thanks, Mary Beth, for sharing your thoughts and experiences at One on One: Insights Into the Writer’s Life!

Welcome to One on One: Insights into the Writer’s Life! Today’s interview is with Dianne Schwartz, author of Whose Face Is in the Mirror?: The Story of One Woman’s Journey from the Nightmare of Domestic Abuse to True Healing (Hay House), Hay Foundation Book of the Year and one of the top 100 sellers on women’s issues on the online dictionary of mental health. (Schwartz can be contacted at whose_face@yahoo.com.)

Dianne Schwartz

Tell me a little about yourself. What type of writing do you do? If you do more than one kind, what type is your favorite?
DS: I lean toward self-help and issues that will possibly cause someone to explore a different thought process that could make their lives better. I also like to journal.

How long have you been writing? When did you start?
DS: I remember writing short stories in the seventh grade, which always included a lot of bling and fun clothes! I seriously began writing in 1998, when my inner voice wouldn’t stop nagging. Day and night, on and on! Yes, I had a message to share but didn’t consider myself a writer. This was during the OJ Simpson tragedy and I was hearing a lot of advice on television that could get a battered woman killed and this was when the urging became very strong.

When did you first know that you were a writer?
DS: Shortly after being told Hay House was publishing my book, I was shopping for a piece of luggage for my husband and the clerk asked me if I’d like to apply for a store credit card and receive a discount. Why not? When I came to the line that asked for my employment information I wrote, “Author.” Being published somehow made me feel legitimate!

How do you define success as a writer?
DS: Anyone who sits down five days a week and writes at least 300 words per day. It’s the act of doing that defines success to me.

Where do you do most of your writing?
DS: At one time, before my husband’s retirement, it was the home office. Because he doesn’t understand that the words, “I’m writing” mean I don’t want to be disturbed, I’ve moved to another room, which I have deemed my sanctuary. If the door is closed, he knows to leave it that way!

What stimulates your creativity?
DS: Yoga followed by meditation and prayer is my best release. My mind is calm and open to hear whatever messages are meant for me. I’m amazed at what I learn just by listening instead of trying to guide my mind.

Conversely, what creates a major writer’s block for you?
DS: Any kind of stress causes writer’s block.

Who are three of your favorite authors and why?
DS: I’ve always been fascinated by Doris Kearns Goodwin. What amazing research! She can take any dry politician and make them fascinating. I love anything written by David Sedaris because he makes me laugh until I cry. F Scott Peck because of his inspiration.

What is your most recent book or published piece? What inspired this?
DS: Whose Face is in the Mirror? published by Hay House. I was involved in a brief but very violent marriage and started volunteering at a local battered women’s shelter. I noticed that my words helped the women during the support groups so I thought I would write my story and place it in the refuge for them to read while staying there. A miracle began to happen at this time.

How long did it take you to write your first book? Was it easier or harder than you expected?
DS: With editing, about 15 months. The creative part of writing became a labor or love. I believe with all my heart that my book was Divinely Inspired. I would be lost in sharing thoughts and ideas that I wasn’t sure where I had learned, just that they were completely honest and open. That time stands as one of the most beautiful, spiritual and educating periods of my life.

Did you have an agent at the time? If so, how long did it take you to find one?
DS: I did find an agent to represent me and actually, very quickly, which was yet another miracle. I attended a writers conference and so many people were there who wrote so beautifully and still, had no representation. I started wondering, what’s going on? I’m a novice and have an agent and these wonderful writers don’t. And, my agent, Marc McCutcheon, was always telling me what a hopeful spirit I had because by this time, I knew my story was meant to be out in the world so when he would tell me that a huge book had just been released on men who batter, etc., I would tell him it didn’t matter because books like that wouldn’t help abused women. Mine would.

What is the next project you have in the works?
DS: I’m currently developing a blog for women that deals with spirituality, loving ourselves and taking charge of our actions—both good and bad.

What do you find the hardest part about the “writing business”?
DS: For me, book signings. I’m outgoing, can talk to anyone, have done tons of radio and television interviews but sitting at a table autographing books makes me uneasy. It’s too ego-related for me and smacks of “look at me!”

What’s the worst advice anyone gave you about being a writer?
DS: I never received any bad advice and if I had, I wouldn’t have listened to it. I’m too opinionated about my topic.

What’s the best?
DS: Several stand out in my mind as worthy.

• If you want to be a better writer, read good books.
• Write what you know.
• Always listen to your inner voice and allow it to guide your words.

What advice do you have for other writers who are contemplating writing a book?
DS: Find a good editor. Don’t send your manuscript to agents that don’t represent your genre. Learn how the writing world operates because it’s important to know this. Take your book topic and make it different and set apart from others.

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Thanks, Dianne, for sharing your thoughts and experiences at One on One: Insights Into the Writer’s Life!