Q&A with Jane Porter

I'm very lucky to be speaking with Jane Porter, author of Odd Mom Out, The Frog Prince, and Flirting with Forty, among other novels. Jane's latest, She's Gone Country, has just hit the shelves. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two sons. Today Jane talks about writing, Texas, and her latest book!

Q: Thanks for speaking with me, Jane! You’re certainly busy—writing Harlequin romances along with more mainstream women’s fiction. Do you prefer one over the other?

JANE: I don’t have a preference. I love them both and really enjoy having two different genres as it allows me to create very different worlds and very different characters. Going back and forth between the two has also made me a much better writer.

Q: In many of your books, your main characters are women facing a turning point in their lives—many of them are hiding their true selves from the world for various reasons. Does any of that come from real life?

JANE: Undoubtedly. I grew up the typical first born, good girl. I was a pleaser my entire life, feeling obligated to make everyone happy. What I wanted and needed was secondary to others needs. And while I don’t discount those needs now, I learned at forty that I’m important, too, and that I will never be happy if I’m waiting for others to be happy first. I realized there’s only so much one can do for others, and that I have to be responsible for my emotions and let others be responsible for theirs. This discovery allowed me to ‘find’ me and it started in The Frog Prince, continued in Flirting with Forty and the rest is history!

Q: Can you tell us about your writing routine? How do you power through those rough spots (aka writer’s block)?

JANE: I write pretty much every day, although when I finish a book I take anywhere from 2-4 weeks off. I can be a bit of a procrastinator now, too, but having a firm deadline goes a long way to keeping my tush in the chair!

Q: Your new book, She’s Gone Country, sounds like a lot of fun. You’re a California girl—what kind of research did you do to get the “flavor” of living on a ranch? Where did you get the idea for this book?

JANE: Shey is a character you see in some of my previous novels, playing a minor character role in Odd Mom Out and Easy on the Eyes, and her background was established from the beginning as a tall blonde Texan with a heart of gold. And writing about Texas is a natural for me as I’ve spent a lot of time there, and my mother’s father was a rugged Texan who had two Black Angus cattle ranches. He actually died on one of our ranches during a round up, and we still have the ranch in the family today. I think once you have that affinity with the land and a certain lifestyle, it just stays with you.

Q: What's next for you?

JANE: I’m just now putting together a proposal for a new series about an Irish-American family in San Francisco with four daughters. The stories will revolve around the Brennan sisters’ relationships with their families and each other. I’m really excited to be writing about sisters for the first time!

Revving Up the Writing Engine

Even with the fairly steady flow of assignments lately, getting started on a new project is not high on my list of favorite things. In fact, I’d be a little embarrassed to let people see an article in raw form—bits and pieces of sentences all over the page, notes to myself (things to look up, reminders to include a person’s title, statistics to double check, etc.), and even a rough outline to guide me as I write. Friends, here’s a trade secret—that article you’re reading in a magazine didn’t look like that when the writer first started working on it. That short little 800 word piece may have taken the writer hours (and many cups of their beverage of choice) to put together. It’s not pretty.

Much as I love landing new assignments, I loathe getting into “the zone” and getting started. Sometimes—but not as often as I’d like—a brilliant lede will come to me and the story will flow on its own. But more often than not, I rely on an outline to help me get my thoughts together and determine the final story. I’ve been a fan of outlines since college, and wouldn’t have much of a writing career without them.

But before all of that…I have to psych myself up to put butt in chair and write. Anything!

If I have a fairly long stretch of writing time ahead of me, I work on smaller projects just to get my mind working. I’ll typically work on my writers’ group newsletter, answer email, or put together blog posts. On a good day, by then I’m usually ready to tackle the work at hand. If I have my interviews ready and my outline in place, I’ll work on the final version for as long as I can. I’ll take a break every hour or so, or switch between projects if I feel myself getting a bit stale, but once I get into “the zone” and my thoughts are really clicking on a certain article, the time flies by. If I only have a short turnaround time, I’ll put together a fairly detailed outline so that the final story all but writes itself—I mostly fill in the gaps in my outline. They’re the best days. On not-so-great days, I’m struggling to put every sentence together. It happens. Especially if there’s been a lull between assignments. But I’m usually able to get myself back on track fairly quickly.

What about you? How do you psych yourself up to write?

A Freelancer's Education

I’m all about education this fall. Besides the classes I’m teaching and taking, I thought I’d give my freelance writing education a boost, as well. I signed up for the fabulous Steph Auteri’s first-ever e-course, 5 Weeks to Freelance Awesome. Though I don't know Steph personally, I think she'd be a hoot to hang out with. I love her irreverent and candid writing style (she blogs for YourTango.com and writes a sex column for The Frisky.com, and her writing can be found in a bunch of other places, too).

This is my first foray into taking any sort of class related to freelancing. I normally go for the direct approach and will email specific questions to certain freelancers, or contact them via Twitter. But that can only get me so far—I really want to learn more about successful self-marketing strategies, polishing queries, and breaking into bigger markets. The regional pubs have been very good to me and I’ve developed great working relationships with the editors I write for regularly, but I’m more than ready to take things to the next step, and I’m hoping this course will help me. Steph’s broken into some incredible markets, so if I’m lucky enough to see even a fraction of those results, the money spent will be well worth it.

What about you? How have you advanced your freelance education? What worked? What didn’t?

Back…Back…Back…Back to School Again

(I thought I'd kick off the week with a little Grease 2 reference).

Blogging has taken a major backseat this summer, especially over the past few weeks. I’ve had a blur of interviews, frantic writing sessions, and meeting deadlines. It’s been hectic since mid-July, with no end in sight.

I should warn that my posts will become more sporadic again at the end of August. I just can’t cram enough into my schedule. Besides all of the other things I have going on, I decided to get my Master’s degree moving again and signed up for another course. I keep telling myself that I’m in the home stretch—at the end of this semester I’ll only have 6 credits left until I have my degree!

How has the summer been treating everyone? As you can tell, it’s been one of my busiest, writing-wise, that I can honestly remember. July was my most financially lucrative month since I started freelancing, so I’m totally thrilled. I have a few more assignments due in the next few weeks and a few lined up for September, but with the way my schedule is looking, unless some totally fabulous assignment (or idea) falls into my lap, the writing will have to once again take a back seat while I spend most of my time in academia.

I’ve been working on some pretty great assignments and I have some other very interesting projects in the works, so I really can’t complain. The writing life is good!

How is your fall shaping up?

Guest Post: Writing Heals

by Diana M. Raab

Diana is the type of person who does everything in a big way. She earned three degrees: an undergraduate degree in Health Administration and Journalism, an RN, and a MFA. She has three wonderful children despite high risk pregnancies. And she wrote eight books and won as many writing awards. Although she spent 25 years focusing on medical and self-help writing, she has also penned memoirs and poetry. Diana’s latest book, Healing With Words: A Writer's Cancer Journey, reflects her experiences battling breast cancer at age 47 and then multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer, when she was 52. The book is part practical advice(she is a nurse, after all) and part inspiration, which takes the form of poems, journal entries, and friendly thoughts. To show readers the effect of healing writing, Diana also includes blank sections and writing prompts so the reader can contribute their own thoughts and writings. Diana describes her daily journal writing as “a daily vitamin-healing, detoxifying and essential for optimal health.”

When life takes an unexpected turn, writing can be a beneficial form of release from stress, due to either emotional or physical factors. Writing gets you grounded and gives you a reality check. It brings you face-to-face with your own truths, and in the end, it is the truth which will set you free from pain.

From a physical standpoint studies have shown that therapeutic writing, such as journaling, can decease anxiety and the incidence of depression and can also increase your immune response.

Journaling has saved my life on many occasions. The first time was at the age of ten when my mother gave me a journal to help me cope with the loss of my grandmother. I poured my grief onto the pages of my journal. Writing then helped me navigate through a difficult adolescence and then years later, a high-risk pregnancy. Eventually that last journal evolved into a self-help book for other women also having difficult pregnancies. The book has recently been updated and is now called, Your High Risk Pregnancy: A Practical and Supportive Guide. And, my most recent book, a self-help memoir, Healing With Words is a self-help memoir which also began on the pages of my journal.

Many famous writers, such as May Sarton and Anaïs Nin used their journals to pull them through difficult times. In her book, Recovering, May Sarton chronicles her battles with depression and cancer. Anaïs Nin used her journals to write to her deranged father who left the family when she was young. In Nin’s case, her journal entries became a springboard for a four-volume collection of her diaries.

Writing provides an opportunity to vent both small and large issues, from problems with your boss to the death of a loved one. It takes a great deal of energy to be angry at someone; it’s much healthier to drop it, as one would a suitcase full of trash. If you must express your feelings, better to do so first on the pages of your journal. My attitude is: “Direct the rage to the page.” Then you can see about talking with someone you are angry with.

By writing down our fears and concerns it forces us to release them. Once we are able to let go, it’s easier to gravitate to the joys in life. In addition, the act of moving the pen across the page can be meditative. At an Associated Writing Conference a few years ago, Dr. James Pennebaker, the author of Writing to Heal said, “Writing dissolves some of the barriers between you and others. If you write, it’s easier to communicate with others.” He does have one rule that he calls, “the flip out rule,” which proclaims that if you get too upset when writing, then simply stop.
Pennebaker believes that there’s a certain type of writing which erupts when we’re faced with loss, death, abuse, depression and trauma.

Learning to open up about issues from your past and present lives doesn’t happen over night, but it’s all a part of the healing process. Author Louise DeSalvo, also advocates writing for healing, began writing her own memoirs, Vertigo and Breathless as a result of coming to grips with her own pain.

Whether you’re affected by change, loss or pain, finding the time to write is critical to your healing process. Some people prefer to journal about their experience, while others may lean toward fiction or poetry to help them escape their own realities. Whatever your choice, once you try it, you’ll see that writing, in any form, can be healthy and empowering.

Good reasons to keep a journal

To discover about yourself
To vent frustrations and express joy
To record and remember events
To fine one’s purpose
To plan for the future
To tap into your intuition
To build self-confidence
To allow self-expression
To uncover secrets
To improve communication skills
To improve mental health

10 Tips on Writing For Healing

Find a quiet uninterrupted time and place to write

Choose an inspiring notebook and pen

Create a centering ritual (light a candle, meditate, play music, stretch)

Breath deeply

Put aside your inner critic

Date your entry

Begin by writing your feelings and sensations

Write nonstop for 15-20 minutes

Save what you have written

Write regularly

I'm Back

My apologies for falling into the black hole once again—these last few weeks have been a blur of frantic interviews, writing, and meeting deadlines! Again—all good stressors I’m happy to have!

I should warn that my posts will become more sporadic again at the end of August. I just can’t cram enough into my schedule. Besides all of the other things I have going on, I decided to get my Master’s degree moving again and signed up for another course. I keep telling myself that I’m in the home stretch—at the end of this semester I’ll only have 6 credits left until I have my degree!

How has the summer been treating everyone? As you can tell, it’s been one of my busiest, writing-wise, that I can honestly remember. July was my most financially lucrative month since I started freelancing, so I’m totally thrilled. I have a few more assignments due in the next few weeks and a few lined up for September, but with the way my schedule is looking, unless some totally fabulous assignment (or idea) falls into my lap, the writing will have to once again take a back seat while I spend most of my time in academia.

I’ve been working on some pretty great assignments and I have some other very interesting projects in the works, so I really can’t complain. The writing life is good!