Interview with:Janelle Meraz Hooper [janellemerazhooper]
WRITING
 | What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? I did not come from a family of book readers. At eight, I recall reading almost every novel in the library’s young adult section about horses. At that age, I also read anthropology books on the plains Indians that I found in the library’s adult section. |
| 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? |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? I’m sixty-five, so I have many years of observations and experiences to work with. To prevent things from slipping my mind, I keep files of thoughts, imaginary characters, situations, etc. I reread these files before I start an outline for a book. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? Anthropology, archaeology, marine science, natural science, and art books. |
| What do you think are the basic ingredients of a story? For me, it’s the characters. Then plot. Then the environmental elements. The rest fits in there somewhere. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? Third person, usually. But it depends upon the requirements of the story. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? I like Elizabeth Lowell, Rebecca Wells, Sue Monk Kidd, Tim Tingle, Sue Grafton, John Grisham, Karen Maitland, …oh, I know I’m leaving someone out! |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? The first thing I do is put the character into a believable situation. The rest comes naturally. |
| Are you equally good at telling stories orally? No. No one ever listens to a thing I say. No kidding! In a group I must be invisible! |
| Deep down inside, who do you write for? I write to entertain women like myself. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) said that “Only worried people write.” He may have been right. I know I’ve had my internal conflicts! |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Only my writer friends offer creative feedback. My regular readers are very polite. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? I love competitions! I’ve received:
For A three-Turtle Summer:
2002 Bold Media Award, 1st place for fiction
For As Brown As I Want: The Indianhead Diaries:
1999 Surrey, 1st place fiction
2004 Oklahoma Book Award Finalist
And more… |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? I used to, but all of my writer friends are so busy now, that it has become difficult. We live in a world of deadlines. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? I’ve been told by my editors I have a strong voice. |
| What discipline do you impose on yourself regarding schedules, goals, etc.? When I first started writing novels, I made up schedules and set word goals, but I discovered that I’m very self-disciplined, and really don’t need a calendar. I do a book a year, plus short stories, and still have a family life. I could do more, but I’d lose those days with my family. |
| What do you surround yourself with in your work area in order to help your concentrate? I’m always trying to clear the clutter in my office. But I do have a small collection of assorted little people from around the world (wood and ceramic) that look down from a shelf over my keyboard. |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I do as much as possible on the computer until it’s time to edit. I cannot do a final edit on screen. I have some vision issues. |
| What sites do you frequent on-line to share experiences or information? |
| What has been your experience with publishers? Publishers beat a path to my door—to get out. I think I’m a small niche writer. |
| What are you working on now? My sixth book is about senior citizens living just to the left of homelessness. Believe it or not, it has a lot of humor. |
| 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? Put them in a file. Keep them forever. Now, write something new! |
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435 visits Whohub
Janelle Meraz Hooper
Puyallup, Washington
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95719 interviews created
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