Q: I absolutely love the story about how you met writers at a wedding and
how they encouraged you and gave you some great advice. If you hadn’t gone
to that wedding and gotten that encouragement, do you think you still would
have been a writer?
Definitely, but it would have taken me a lot longer to figure out the nuts and bolts of story/plot and the publication process. When I first got started, I had heard vague murmurings about literary agents and editors, but I had no clue what they really did and why an author might need them. I was very lucky to find a few mentors to guide me and help me form realistic expectations and patiently explain how to format a manuscript for submission, etc.
Q: What is your favorite part about the writing process?
Turning in the finished manuscript!
No, actually I love the spark of excitement that comes with the inspiration for a brand new story, the “what if…?” question that first gets the ball rolling and my initial meet-and-greet with fresh characters. (Yes, I host imaginary cocktail parties in my mind in order to mix it up with imaginary people, and then I embroil all these imaginary people in the juiciest scandals my depraved sensibilities can come up with. I love being a writer.)
I also love chatting up my writer friends. Most of my author buddies live in other states, but we regularly spend hours on the phone, bouncing plot ideas off each other. Just talking through plot problems with someone else can lead me to surprising solutions, and hearing about their work makes me feel less isolated; writers spend a lot of time sequestered alone in their offices, which can be very bad for one’s head state.
Finally, I love those hours when I’m so caught up in a scene, when the characters and the dialogue and the action are all clicking together and I can’t wait to get the next sentence typed out, that I forget where I am and what I’m doing and am transported, temporarily, out of the “real world” and into the story.
Q: Is there one character you have written about (or multiple!) that you
feel you really relate to, or where do you get your character inspirations?
You know, I’ve written a lot of characters who are similar to me in terms of background, but the characters I most identify with are probably Stella, the young “trophy wife” from Nearlyweds and Brooke, the former Sourthern belle in Second Time Around (coming April 2010)…even though I’m not at all like either of them on the surface! Stella and Brooke embody that feeling we all sometimes have that we don’t really fit in with our peer group and we can’t meet the expectations that the world has of us. They refuse to fit neatly into the stereotypes society has created for them. I think everyone can relate to that.
Q: How did you celebrate after your first novel was published?
A very wise author once advised me to buy myself a little present with every advance check because “you need to recognize and reward your own accomplishments and not expect constant validation from your publisher or your reviewers because that’s a one-way ticket to crazy town.” I still remind myself of this whenever I hit a new milestone in my career. Of course it’s important to plan for the future, but we need to live in the moment, too; celebrate what we’ve already accomplished and not immediately switch focus to the next goal.
So, when I sold my first book, I bought a bottle of good champagne, a million-calorie chocolate cake, and a classic black pearl and diamond pendant that makes me smile every time I wear it.
Q: How long does it take you to complete writing a book, from beginning to
end?
About 9 months. I can whip out a first draft pretty quickly, but I’m a very revision-intensive writer, so my first draft is just a jumping-off point. Then I roll up my sleeves, wade back in, and do lots of elaboration on character and theme and conflict. I spend about half my writing time revising. Everyone’s “process” is different, and my process is to be the Revision Queen.
Q: What is a “typical day” in the life of Beth Kendrick?
Well, I can tell you what my schedule was today:
-Drag self out of bed. Vow not to stay up too late again tonight.
-Check email.
-Get my toddler dressed, fed, and bundled off to preschool.
-Go to gym, slog through a few miles on treadmill, all the while thinking about the upcoming scene I need to write for my work-in-progress. (I wish I could write off my gym membership as a work expense, because I do a ton of brainstorming and problem solving in the cardio room!)
-Go home, shower, check email.
-Pick up toddler, eat lunch together.
-Naptime for toddler, work time for me.
-Check email and procrastinate for a bit by skimming celebrity gossip blogs.
-Write a few pages .
-Talk to agent about contract details for new book deal.
-Talk to author buddy about her current plotting issues, my current plotting issues, and celebrity gossip we have recently read online.
-Check email.
-Toddler awakens. Emerge from office and realize in dismay that house is trashed. Toys, stacks of paper, and dog hair abound. Swipe at countertop with damp dishcloth. Bust out vacuum cleaner. Vow to come back in next life as the love child of Martha Stewart and Cesar Millan the Dog Whisperer.
-Commence making dinner (white chili). Cease preparations upon realizing that one of the dogs has “counter-surfed” the bag of Great Northern Beans and distributed the contents all over the family room.
-“Hey, we’re having breakfast for dinner! Here’s your cereal and scrambled eggs! Isn’t Mommy madcap and fun?”
-Bath and bedtime for the toddler (insert choir of angels singing).
-Write a few more pages.
-Read a few chapters of book on nightstand. (Tonight = Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs by Michael J. Collins. Hilarious and incredibly well-written.) Stay up too late. Will curse self tomorrow morning. But, as long as I’m up, I might as well read a few more chapters.
-Lights out.
The epitome of glamour. I know you all are jealous.
Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures (TV shows, foods, etc…)?
Other than my shameful addiction to celebrity gossip blogs, you mean?
Food: Homemade mac and cheese made with extra sharp cheddar and gruyere, See’s candies.
TV: Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County”, MTV’s “Teen Mom”
I also have a thing for browsing online for ridiculously overpriced handbags. I almost never buy them, and then only on clearance, but for whatever reason, browsing through designer handbag is a balm for my soul. Perhaps I have an undiscovered Italian leather fetish?
Q: Do you have a favorite book or author?
Too many to list, but among my “desert island” library would be the complete works of Carol Shields, Jane Austen, Sandra Tsing Loh, and Michael J. Collins.
Q: What would be or is your favorite place to travel?
I hope to someday make it to what I refer to as “The Three A’s”: Australia, Alaska, and Antarctica.
January 18, 2010
