June Writing Month an interview with the author: Julie Lamin
For paid subscribers, it’s Week 3 of my writing course, Think Like a Writer.
This week, it’s an author interview based on the impressive questions students asked me when I visited their school. I hope my answers are helpful.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Did you always want to be a writer?
I liked the idea of being a writer, but I always wanted to be a teacher! Any regrets? No. I love teaching and it paid the bills. Besides, I had neither the courage nor the self-belief to become a writer. Teaching is all-consuming, as is being a parent, so there was not much time to write except for occasional poetry.
As my children grew up and became independent, I began to teach less and write more, eventually becoming a ‘full-time writer’ in 2017. Having achieved some my own writing goals, I now help young people and adults to achieve theirs.
What inspired you to become a writer?
Have you heard people say ‘I could write a book about that?’ Lots of us think it, a few say it, even fewer do it. What pushes us to write hundreds of pages is the strong feeling our story, or stories, must be told.
For example, when someone said: ‘You hear some dreadful things about schools and young people. I don’t know how you put up with teaching. Isn’t it awful?’ I replied, ‘Well, no! I love teaching!’ I wanted to set the record straight so began writing a kind of memoir, which I haven’t published yet, although it was long-listed in a national competition. One day soon I will finish it properly.
What was the inspiration behind “Beyond the Volcano”?
In 2017, I went to Nicaragua in Central America with the National Education Union to help teachers develop the best teaching methods for learning English as a second language. During my month’s stay, I was impressed by what this small country was doing: ensuring people have enough to eat and providing free healthcare and education for all ages. Although poor, all students were healthy, smart and eager to learn.
Everything I saw was a triumph: a country overcoming the terrors of the dictatorship that ruled Nicaragua from the nineteen-thirties until 1979. People my age spoke about the horrors they had endured as teenagers. I didn’t find being a teenager easy, but worrying whether I would be murdered by the National Guard for being young, for being a student, wasn’t on my list of worries as it had been for my Nicaraguan peer-teachers. A resistance movement of mainly young people had toppled the Somoza dictatorship to build a better country, free from oppression and poverty. It was their courage that inspired me and was the torch that lit my way through writing.
Can you explain the message you wanted to convey in your book?
I believe every human on the planet has a right to live in safety and peace, have a home, good, free healthcare and education. And where there is hatred, oppression and hunger, people have a right to bring about change. It’s a simple message!
Are there any specific characters in the book that are particularly meaningful to you?
I love each character for their special traits, be it wisdom, cleverness, kindness, humour or determination. If I have to choose, I’d say Leonie is my favourite, but maybe that’s because I invested a lot of Walter’s love for her onto the page! I love her because she believes in her cause, is brave, strong and kind. Now I feel mean and want to extol the virtues of my other characters!
Writing Process:
Can you walk us through your typical writing day and/or routine?
When I was at work, my routine was: 6am alarm, a run, shower, dressed, breakfast and out before eight. When I left work, I realised that for all those years I wasted the best part of my creative brain. Now, I write as soon as I wake up, somewhere between 5.30 and 7 am. Apparently, there is something about the dreamy state of the brain that is good for creativity. It also means that I get the writing done before anything else. I work until I get the urge to run or swim, and probably do more writing at intervals until the evening. Some days involve minimal writing: I spend time with family and friends; I teach and visit schools; I go for walks.
What is your approach to planning and outlining your books?
I’d say that most of my books seem to ‘pop up’. The characters appear and start talking and then my job is to write down what they say. With ‘Beyond the Volcano’ , Walter arrived, smiling, laughing and joking, then became serious. Gradually, the other characters came into focus and I sat down for two months and hardly moved until their stories were written. After that, I spent months and months editing the book into a readable shape.
Editing and Revision: How do you approach the editing and revision process?
I go with the ‘write it all down then edit’ approach but being an English teacher, I can’t resist correcting as I go! Telling the story, getting completely involved in the world of your characters is absolutely the most joyous part of writing. That’s the magic. The reality is the sobering part when you read through with your critical eye. Reading your work aloud is a good way to check that your work sounds right as well as being accurate. There’s a lot more to say about editing than fits in here!
Is there a particular part of the writing process that you find most challenging?
I think most writers would agree that completing a book, although a rather wonderful achievement, is only halfway along the writing process. The most challenging is writing your synopsis, pitch and cover letter to send to agents and publishers. Believe it or not, having written three hundred pages, I confess to this image of myself: standing cartoon-like scratching my head asking, what is my book actually about?
To be continued…
For information on my school visits: Julie Lamin | Author (julielaminauthor.com)
An annual subscription entitles you to a free Zoom call. Perhaps you would like some feedback on a project, or on the writing challenges here or each week. Email julie@julielaminauthor.com
An annual subscription entitles you to a free copy of Beyond the Volcano. Email julie@julielaminauthor.com
Writing Challenge… is an editing challenge
Listen to your writing: Select something you have written, maybe something you wrote earlier in response to one of my writing challenges. Read it aloud to discover how it sounds and make changes or corrections.
Practise summarising a story or longer piece of writing in a single sentence. In other words, work on your pitch as early in your writing as you can.
Guest writers – if you would like to share your experience and tips for editing to be included in a future article, please send to julie@julielaminauthor.com