Interviews with Authors

Erica Orloff has published twenty-plus books and has been named by Richmond Magazine as the writer to watch for 2009. This year she has three books coming out:  Magickeepers, Freudian Slip, and Starcrossed. Erica also maintains two successful blogs: one about writing, and the other about the antics of her youngest son. http://www.ericaorloff.com/blog/  She was recently interviewed by GYWO Editor Laura Jones.

LJ: You belong to a critique group, “The Writer’s Cramp,” that has been in existence for fourteen years. How beneficial is participating in a critique group and with twenty plus books to your credit do you still get enlightening insights from this group about your writing?

EO: My critique group functions in two ways. One, it holds me accountable. We are a group comprised of working writers—and all that entails. In other words, you had better show up with pages for our biweekly meeting. Or else bring chocolate. Or wine. Preferably the latter.

Second, yes . . . every meeting I get insights. The group functions on a very high level, and so it's essentially workshopping a novel with professional editors and writers. This allows whatever I submit to leave my desk very polished. One writer in the group is tremendous at pacing—so I learn from him. Another has astute insights on motivation, and so I learn from her. Another . . . the fine-tuning of language and nuance and ruthless cutting of cliches or weak sentences. I gain the "best of" insights in each of our areas of strength.

LJ: Working at home can mean an unstructured environment, particularly if you have children creating distractions such as ziploc bag water bombs under the sofa cushions. How do you manage to control the muse so that when you need to write you can?    

EO: I have four children, and I have learned to give up the rather lofty ideal of "what I need" in order to write. Like probably every young female writer, when I was a little girl, I thought of myself as Jo in her attic hiding spot creating plays in Little Women. I thought I needed serenity and a sacred place in order to create. By the time my fourth child and third dog arrived, I realized I had learned to create in chaos and get into the "zone" quickly, and that the muse had learned to show up on demand most days. My muse is a tolerant sort.

LJ: You mentioned in your blog that you were picked as one of three students to meet John Updike because of your writing talent. You’ve also mentioned that you believe writing is an inherent talent. How much do you think education played a part in enhancing your ability to write so well?

EO: I won an academic scholarship to the University of Richmond. I realize I gained a tremendous education, but I also sincerely believe that college, for writers, can give you a foundation of (in my case) liberal arts. Learning from the masters of literature, reading a lot, exposing your mind to other cultures. For example, I took courses in African literature at UR. But I didn't really become a writer until I had lived enough to have something to say. And I learned most in the trenches of writers' groups in the practical hard work of producing thousands of pages and writing over and over and learning to self-edit and really grasp how I could improve.

LJ: You’ve mentioned that you draw a lot on your colorful past for the ideas in your book, such as being an avid poker player, blackjack dealer, and bartender. Having become a full time writer, where do your ideas come from now?  

EO: I think I tend to live life very passionately. I surround myself with interesting people. I generally have friends of all ages and walks of life and cultures and sexuality and religions. I am engaged in the world--and in reading about politics and crises worldwide, and in the little human interest stories every day, and in art and literature. So I can't say where specifically, but it all somehow melts together into some sort of creative soup and ideas emerge.

LJ: You’ve mentioned before that you’re a character-driven writer. Plot is the most difficult part to write. Have you ever found yourself boxed in by a character’s choices so that you had to go back and rewrite a manuscript?     

EO: Yes. I once, a week from turning in my manuscript to my editor, had to rewrite a book when the person I thought was the good guy was actually the villain. But I still feel like if I create very authentic, real, earthy, vibrant characters they will end up having three-dimensional adventures and lives on the page that will serve me, as writer, well.

LJ: Can you sum your life up in six words?

EO: Driven to create, love, persevere, mother.

More information at www.ericaorloff.com.

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