|
Kelley being creative! |
Welcome everyone :) It's time for another "Won't You Be My
Neighbor." I'm so excited to present Kelley Lynn! She is a talented
author, SOOO nice and she's a freaking engineer!!! Talk about overly
gifted :)
I've got on my Mr. Rogers sweater (Pink today...Mr. Rogers wore
pink, right?) so I'm ready to go.
Kelley: I don’t
remember if Mr. Rodgers wore pink…even if he didn’t this is your program not
his. Move over Mr. Rodgers!! :)
I’m super excited to
be here!! Isn’t technology great? I’m answering this from a hotel lobby in
Philly since I’m on a business trip for that engineering job. It’s good to know
I’ve got you fooled into thinking I’m overly gifted. I’m still wondering if I’m
even remotely gifted ;) I figure it I throw myself into a number of things I’ve
got to wind up good at at least one of them! (Fingers crossed its writing.)
Angie: You are super
gifted!!! I love technology too. I'm writing back from my iPhone waiting in the
Jr. High parking lot.
That brings me to my first
question...What is one talent you wish you had, and why?
Kelley: Oh boy. There
are so many things I'd love to have a talent for. I think I'd have to go with
cooking. Right now it is literally dangerous for me to be in a kitchen. I've
melted plastic bags to glass 9 by 13 pans and have scars on my knuckles from
sticking my hand in the oven without mitts. Not to mention nothing I cook
tastes good. So then it’s like, why bother? Haha.
Angie: Hehehe :) Cooking
is a lost art! I wish you lived by me, I would teach you to cook. I'm actually
a pretty good cook, but I hate it!
My three kids are so picky they've sucked the life out of cooking for me. I can
make perfect chicken enchiladas and they will ask for cold cereal?!? YOU SUCK
KIDS! (Did that sound bitter? Yes? *sigh* I guess I am)
Kelley: Where do you live? I'll move there... :)
Haha. You're only
slightly bitter. Someday they'll appreciate your fantastic cooking abilities.
Force them to learn too! That way they won't end up like me...
Angie: I went on a six
month cooking strike! Seriously! But it didn't help :(
Okay, no more about me. I have another question for you. I know
you are superwoman! You run half marathons and play soccer. I want to
know...How is writing like playing sports? (Did you see how I
"pitched" you a metaphor opportunity?)
Kelley: That was well done. Thanks for the metaphor.
Writing is like sports
because we all have our strengths and weaknesses and rely on others to
accomplish our goals. Let's take soccer for example. Usually there are those on
your team that are better at offense, others specialize in defense and the rest
run around the midfield. (Then of course there's the goalie. VERY specialized.)
Each position needs some skills more than others.
So how is this like
writing? We all have our strengths. Some of us are better with dialog, some
with action, some with character development. It’s funny but when I started on
this writing journey I through it was a solo endeavor. WRONG! Writing with
the intention to share our work is anything but solo. We need help from other
writers, beta readers, CPs. The whole journey needs a team to reach a goal (or
get a goal, in the analogy of a soccer team. :))
Angie: Oh, that
was beautifully delivered!!! I love a great metaphor.
Kelley: Oh thanks! I
stole it from the guy next to me on the airplane. ;)
Angie: Whatever you stole it from the guy on the airplane.
"Excuse me, sir? Do you have a writing metaphor I can borrow?"
You are SO right! I've learned so much in the last year and most
of it has been from other writers. Do you feel like you learn more from
critiquing or being critiqued?
Kelley: Hmmm... This is a very good question. I
definitely learn from both. But I learn more from critiquing, I think. There's
something about analyzing someone else's work. Determining what you like and
why. What you don't like and why. Plus my CP's work (including yours, my dear
:)) is SO good, I learn an incredible amount about writing an engaging story.
Angie: I completely
agree about learning from critiquing. Pacing, internalization, world building,
and characterization are all things I've learned from reading other authors :)
I feel like we need a fun question. If you were a candy bar what kind would you
be and why?
Kelley: I would be a
Nut Roll. How can you go wrong with peanuts and caramel?
Plus it’s like a hidden gem. Not everyone knows how wonderful they are. AND its
sort of a joke we've got going with a few writers about how
amazing Nut Rolls are. I want to be that amazing :)
Haha. How ridiculous is this answer??
Angie: I love Nut Rolls. I
knew there was a reason I loved you, beyond the obvious.
Here's a question I'm curious about...You live in Wisconsin (my
sister lives in Milwaukee, btw :), do you have a supportive group of
writers where you live? Where do you meet most of your CP's or other writers
you are close too?
Kelley: Your sister
lives in Wisconsin! She must be SO COOL! ;) ;) Does she write?
I actually don't know any writers in my area. Most of my friends and family
don't even read. (My sister says if I get published she'll wait till the movie
comes out...haha)
I found my betas and CPs in a number of ways, but all
online. My first CP, Theresa, I found through the website, Ladies Who
Critique. She is an amazing writer and very good at critiquing. I actually
found another four CPs through Cassie's call for CPs. I answered
the call and she hooked me up with Jade, Jen and Hope. I also found Leigh,
but for the life of me I can't remember how our relationship began. I think she
was searching and I was searching and the stars aligned and we found each
other. :) Again, all these ladies are fantastic and 'specialize' in
different areas of writing. AND they don't mind telling me what they think
which is one of the most important aspects of CPs/Beta Readers.
Which brings me to YOU, my dear. You realized that our stories were similar
and offered to give mine a look. Brilliant as you are you found my plot holes,
inconsistencies and lack of tension. Each one of you is vitally important to
the success of my work. (We're kinda all like that soccer team we talked about
earlier ;))
Angie: You are sweet to think I am helpful. We sound like a soccer team
:) Can I play the position that moves the least? You know the
position that sits on the field and counts blades of grass? (I guess I've been to
too many 5 year olds soccer games :)
Here in Utah I am within a super
short car ride of tons of writers and bloggers. And even though I'm neighbors
with a few, we also met online. The online writing community is amazing!
Kelley: The online community is amazing! I wish I were
closer to all you wonderful, talented people, but alas, I just have to sit
longingly behind a computer screen, wishing for the day when you all sign six
figure deals and can fly me out to meet you at your incredibly popular book
signing ;)
Angie: I would love for us all to get mega deals. Then maybe we could
all fly somewhere fun like Hawaii :) I bet Cassie would be a blast in Hawaii!
Okay time for the infamous pageant question. Are
you ready? Can you tell me who these
people are: John Boehner, Ben Bernake, and Mahmoud Ahmajdinejad?............
I'm just kidding. Although I have asked
a variation of this question in SOOO many interviews. If you know you
can impress us all (but we will never really know if you googled them or not :)
Real question...What is the best advice your parents have ever
given you? And did you realize it at the time?
Kelley: Haha. I actually know who the first two are. I do try and
keep up with the news and have it on in my house as I'm doing things. So I know
John Boehner is the Speaker of the House and Ben Bernake is the Chairman of the
Federal Reserve. I did have to google Mr. Ahmajdinejad, the President of Iran.
:)
I think the best
advice I've ever gotten was from my mother who lives by the philosophy, 'Live
your life with no regrets.' I think at the time I realized it was important and
have made it my mantra as well. When faced with a tough decision this is what I
ask myself. Will I regret doing it? Will I regret not doing it? If the answer
is yes, I do the opposite. I realize we all make mistakes. (In my case MANY
mistakes). But mistakes aren't the same as regrets. I don't want to look back
on my life with any regrets.
So far so good ;)
Angie: That is EXCELLENT advice. I think with the exception of breaking
the law and poor moral decisions, most people regret what they don't
do. I think writers are really brave. We open ourselves up to the
world. We tell people who we are deep inside by what we write, and we do that
knowing that some people will reject us.
Kelley: I completely agree. As writers we are really brave. Because
though we might not realize it, there is so much of ourselves in our work. We
might think we're writing about characters completely opposite ourselves and
events we've never experienced, but we're in there. We have to be in order to
put in a believable voice and compelling fiction.
And yes, people will
judge us but it’s so much better than not writing and not sharing. Because far
more people will be touched and encouraged in a positive way than those who
aren't. We write for those people.
Hmmm...was that too
deep? Haha
Angie: No, that is the perfect amount of deep :)
Thanks for stopping by today Kelley! You were awesome. Next time
I come visit my sister (she is a book lover and one of my best Alpha readers)
we can go out and get custard!
Kelley: Saweet! That sounds awesome. Yes, we'll have to get custard
for sure!
Thanks SO MUCH for
having me. This was a lot of fun!
Angie: So much fun :) Thanks Kelley!
And thanks to everyone for sticking around for the whole
interview. I need to be more concise. I can be super long winded.