What was the most challenging part of writing The River Knows Your Name? Did you run into any surprises or roadblocks?
When you first start your novels, how complete is the story in your mind before you start writing? Do you have an outline to begin with? How did the story or the characters change as you wrote them?
When you were writing The Girls in the Stilt House, whose story came first as you were developing the work, Adaās or Matildaās? Was one story easier to write than the other?
I appreciate your attention to the setting(s). Some stories barely describe the locale(s), which becomes difficult for me to visualize as the reader. I want to know the details of the surrounding in which the characters and story reside. And this includes the sounds (plop, plop, plop), the smells, how the air might taste, and tactile feel, etc.
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@NanK Thank you, Nan. Iām that kind of reader, as well.
The story is a puzzle, with various characters bringing individual puzzle pieces for readers to gather. None of the characters know the whole story, but by the end, readers can see the entire picture. There were times during the writing process when I found a hole in that big picture, something I had to go back and fill in with a new scene or plot thread. Making sure everything fit together was a challenge.
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Did you rely on others to help you find the pieces that didnāt quite fit? Iām curious as to if you mostly work alone until you have a nearly finished product, or if you have others (other writers, family, friends) read your manuscript as it develops.
In general, Iām not an outliner, though I might draft a sketchy outline for two or three upcoming chapters. As I mentioned before, I begin with a setting and a structure, then think about themes and a very loosely formed premise. Each new scene sparks new ideas and possibilities, pathways to try that might lead to somewhere exciting or might prove to be a dead end. Thereās a scene in The River Knows Your Name in which Nell explores a dark, abandoned nightclub with a flashlight, one circle of light at a time, as she tries to make sense of the nature of the building. Writing a first draft is something like that for me.
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I work alone at least until I have a solid draft that Iāve revised a few times. At that point, I generally ask a couple of trusted readers for feedback on at least portions of the manuscript before I send it off to my editor for her thoughts.
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Iād love to know about the journey you took with your first novel, The Girls in the Stilt House. How long was it rolling around in your head before you put pen to paper? What encouraged you to begin the novel and continue working on it (I imagine it wasnāt a quick process)? How did you get it published? And, what went through your mind when you learned it was a USA Today bestseller?
*** Edit *** I posted this before I read your response, so I see where you got the inspiration. But Iād still like to know how you got rolling on it. Iāve always been fascinated by what pushes someone to devote so much time and energy to produce something as brilliant as a really involving novel.
What came first was an image of an old brick tomb, buckled and with a crack across the lid, an image Iād had in my head since childhood trips to backroads cemeteries with my genealogist older sister. Iād held onto that image for decades, and it inspired the scene in the prologue in which Ada and Matilda bury a body in just such a tomb. I liked the idea of two young women from very different circumstances in the 1920s finding themselves cast in an unlikely and uneasy partnership in the aftermath of a murder. Adaās storyline was a bit more clear to me than Matildaās was when I began, but they arrived as characters at the same time. Matilda was probably the more difficult to write, as I was especially concerned with telling her story in an authentic, sensitive, and respectful manner. While it was important to give her story the attention it deserved in a 1920s Mississippi setting, I didnāt want to overstep or encroach with the writing. That was always foremost in my thinking as I developed the story.
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I love those descriptions. A friend always says to bring in the senses and you do just that.
Thank you, Melinda. I have readers like you in mind when Iām working!
I worked on The Girls in the Stilt House for about five years and restructured it a couple of times. Getting a rough first draft down from beginning to end is agonizing work for me, although I know writers who most enjoy that stage. The magic, for me, is in revising, honing the story and the prose until Iām mostly doing things like changing a period to a semicolon in one draft, then changing it back to a period in the next. Iām definitely in my groove when revising.
Can you share something about your next project? And are there any screenplays in the works?
Iām still mulling over my next project. Itās just a whisper in my imagination right now. I think Iāve chosen the setting, and maybe the structure. Thereās a vague silhouette of a main character. But itās too early to put into words. As for films and other media, thereās no news to tell now. But you never know!
Thanks, Kelly!
Before we close the discussion, is there anything we havenāt touched on about your work that youād like to share? Any subject youād have liked us to ask about that we missed?
I just want to send my heartfelt thanks to you, Kim, and to everyone here who has read my books or plans to. Itās always a joy to be among other book lovers!
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Thanks so much, Kelly! Itās been a pleasure having you here. We appreciate your time - and your books! Looking forward to your next novel.
Thanks so much, Kelly! Itās been a pleasure having you here. We appreciate your time - and your books! Looking forward to your next novel.
Thank you, Kim!