Interview with:Pamela Cory [pamelacory]
WRITING
 | What did you first read? How did you begin to write? Who were the first to read what you wrote? As a very young reader, I loved the Nancy Drew series. I also wrote my own stories to add to the series - of course, no one else saw these stories but this was my earliest writing. |
| 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 enjoy reading and writing literary fiction. My current work is classified as Women's Literature. The first book of a trilogy called HASSIE CALHOUN is well detailed on my website www.pamelacory.com. |
| What is your creative process like? What happens before sitting down to write? I try to write something every day but am most successful when I am "drawn" to the computer with an idea or element of the story to develop. As such, I do not have a specific schedule for writing either relative to time of day or length of time spent. |
| What type of reading inspires you to write? I love literary fiction that is driven by strong characters. A long, involved plot will lose me unless cleverly woven through the lives of good characters. My current story, being written as a trilogy, is very character driven so I'm always looking for such inspiration from other writers. |
| What voice do you find most to your liking: first person or third person? I tend to write in third person but like to read first person. |
| What well known writers do you admire most? My favorite fiction writers are Anne Tyler, Cormac McCarthy, Colum McCann, Ian McEwan, Dave Eggers and the classical greats, Fitzgerald, Salinger, Nobokov and Dickens....to name a few. |
| What is required for a character to be believable? How do you create yours? Verisimilitude is the key to all believability. My characters actually live in my psyche and have their own identity, character flaws and personality quirks. I was once advised to assign a living being (i.e. actor/actress) to each character to enable him/her to be "real". I love it when I can not identify anyone who actually fits my mind's description. That also helps me work harder to bring that character alive for the reader. |
| Is writing a form of personal therapy? Are internal conflicts a creative force? Absolutely! And I could never have written with the depth that I can now at an earlier age. Experiencing life's ups and downs has created internal conflicts that underpin my thinking and ultimately influence my writing. |
| Does reader feed-back help you? Yes...whether positive or negative, there is always something to think about and to consider in future work. |
| Do you participate in competitions? Have you received any awards? My first novel was just released this past June. Since then, I have won three Finalist awards from: USA Best Books 2011, International Book Awards, and National Indie Excellence. |
| Do you share rough drafts of your writings with someone whose opinion you trust? I work with a writing coach who advises against sharing my work in progress until the "fair draft" is complete. At that point, I am very happy to enlist reader's input, which has previously proven to be very helpful. |
| Do you believe you have already found "your voice" or is that something one is always searching for? Although I believe that I have generally found my voice, I do think it "ages" over time thus I could buy into the notion that I'm always searching for it. In fact, I like the idea that I might still be searching for it! |
| Do you write on a computer? Do you print frequently? Do you correct on paper? What is your process? I work on computers, occasionally sketching out by hand. I rarely print and tend to do the serious reading/correction process on my iPad. |
| What are you working on now? I am currently working on the first major revision of the second book in a trilogy. The first book was published this past June and I'm hoping to get the second out by the end of 2012. |
| 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? If you really believe that you have a story or subject that should be read by others, go for it! If possible, find someone (a coach, editor, instructor) who can give you a professional, objective opinion and then make sure it's in as good a shape as absolutely possible before submitting it to the agent/publishing world. (I'm not experienced with self-publishing but many people are having success with it. It's obviously becoming a strong option.) |
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Pamela Cory
Dubai, UAE
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