Interview with:Alison Mackie The Gypsy Chronicles [alisonmackie]
WRITING
 | What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? My first read was Pippi LongstockinG.
How did I begin to write? Letters. My old grandmother was the first to read my work. Although very young, I was expressing myself always with great intensity and having many rough drafts before posting the finished letter. When the letter was perfectly expressed I would then draw little pictures in the margins. |
| What is your favorite genre? Can you provide a link to a site where we can read some of your work or learn something about it? I am superstitious about books. Books that are recommended more than three times I will read, no questions, feeling there must be a reason.
So long as an author has dipped his pen into the ink of his/her own blood I am happy to read it. Such books resonate deeply. Pastiche is verboten.
EXCERPT of The Gypsy Chronicles here:
http://alisonmackie.com/AboutTheBook.aspx |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? Little by little an inspiration, or an idea will deepen within me in such a way that I cannot but write it out. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? Writing so tight that the words seem alive on the page. |
| What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story? Engagement with the reader. Personal involvement. There is a secret truth that the writer places between the lines for the reader to discover on her own. Sometimes the words say one thing but mean another...if the reader is discerning she can sense things that are not written. This sensing via the word is magical. I admire how Joanne Harris and Isabelle Allende pack meaning in between the lines...Little truths and meanings that travel undercover of word shadow, incognito. Deep engagement with a story has much to do with word magic - the rest are details. Thats my shout. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Because I have always been a letter writer I am most comfortable in first person. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? Anais Nin. Lorca. George Borrow. |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? If the character can create within the reader a sensation...a feeling, then he is believable. In this way I am an emotive writer...not psychological. If my characters are believable it is only because they are capable of creating a sensation and no other reason. My writing is sparse...the feelings I create, simple. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? No. |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? I imagine myself writing directly to Anais Nin, Saint Teresa of Avila or Lorca (etc) as though they are my teachers. In this way the writing process becomes magical and I end up writing above my skill, or so I imagine, to please them. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Yes. Margaret Atwood once wrote that anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity. I have to agree. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. When the feedback is too glowing my suspicious nature kicks in and I begin to feel like the Emporer without any clothes. Afraid to believe, afraid to be made fool of, I squint at the reader's words as though they are full of lies. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? Oh yes. I won the best essay in Fourth Grade for writing "My Favorite American: Lucille Ball." Everyone else chose characters such as Lincoln or George Washington and so I won for sheer originality. I am very proud of winning that contest. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? No I've never done this. Actually, I did it once and the boffin told me to burn my manuscript. I decided to rework it instead. One should never burn one's work! |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? Yes I have found my voice. But the pitch is changing and that is creating a brand new challenge. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? Sometimes I binge write. During such episodes I will lose up to twenty pounds. I go nowhere, see no-one and eat very little. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? As little as possible. My notes and a little salt rock lamp for good luck. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I do all the above and then I do it again. |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? None. |
| What has been your experience with publishers? I self publish. Ashton Court Press, Inc is my own business. Incorporated. |
| What are you working on now? In my next book, instead of using vintage postcards from Spain as illustrations, I am painting...So I write in the morning and paint at night. |
| What do you recommend I do with all those things I wrote years ago but have never been able to bring myself to show anyone? Take a creative writing course. When it comes to writing a qualified writing instructor is the one to trust...Not friends, not family. |
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