Marcy Luikart of Santa Barbara, California is primarily a writer, however, she also exercises her creativity by painting and playing the fiddle. She approached me with the idea of discussing in her interview how the different art forms infuse the writing. For example how does a writer "paint" a picture with words; is it similar to the process of putting color on canvas?
Luikart's current novel is River Braids which tells us stories spanning 100 years. In this interview she will be talking about the novel in terms of the visual process involved in addition to sharing from her personal experiences as a writer. Her short stories have appeared in The Iconoclast, Bellowing Ark, Pangolin Papers, Beginnings, QWF, and the Connecticut Review.
I've been writing my whole life. This is my first historical fiction novel,
but in reality writing historical fiction was more of an accident for me. I started out writing a short story and while
researching my story I found myself back at the 1904 World’s Fair. And then I
found myself with a big “what if?” And the next thing I knew I was writing a
novel. Prior to this I was primarily a
short story writer. And I've got a
couple of unfinished mysteries floating around on my hard drive. I don’t have a genre. Each story is a new
story and it tells me where it wants to go. What genre it wants to be. I know
that’s not the trend. Writers are supposed to fit into a neat marketing box,
but for me it’s all about the story. I
read all kinds of stories, mysteries, sci-fi, fantasy, literary. I love all
stories, and I like to write all stories.
What inspires and
motivates you to write?
People motivate me. I
write to discover people. And ultimately
I discover myself. There is something
very exciting about putting people in imaginary circumstances and watching
where they go. Sometimes it begins with a place and I imagine the people who live
in that place. Sometimes it’s a picture
and I find myself wanting to know the story hidden in the picture.
Tell us about the visual
process in writing River Braids
River Braids had some challenges for me. Because I was writing about a large event in
history (the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympics) I had to understand the physical
space. And there was action. There was a Wild West show and two rowing races as
well as practices on the river. I found that I had to be able to picture the
events very clearly and then try to get the setting of the scene in a few words
and then put my characters into action. I had a writing teacher who would
always ask us, how would they film the scene. He wanted us to get our
characters out of the monologues in their heads into action that could be
seen. So that is what I tend to do,
create a visual scene that elicits character.
I talk about that process in the next answer.
You have mentioned
that writing is similar to painting a picture only - with words. Would you elaborate on this process?
I am often amazed at how similar the processes of painting
and writing are. There is the obvious connection that as a writer it is my job
to paint a scene with words. That is a
little simplistic but I have to see a scene in order to write it. I have to
place my characters in space and then I literally watch them move. The trick for me is to slow myself down
enough so that I can see what is happening. I’m sure for many people who come
to your site, this is going to be painting 101, but for me this was all new. I
didn't start painting until I was in my 40’s.
And then I was an exuberant expressionist. Color lots of color applied with enthusiasm
was my hallmark. And then I took a class and I learned about values. I learned to see not what I think I see but
what I actually see. If I pay attention it becomes obvious that there is no
line that divides the point where objects meet.
There is no clear demarcation. I realize instead that there is only
value and light and shadow. There is a world of context in the meeting of
things that I can see if I let myself.
Beyond all this, beyond the seeing there is choosing, because
unless one is a super-realist, the art is in the choosing. Each scene, each
object, landscape or still life requires choice. Where is the visual focus of
the painting? It is the same in
storytelling. Instead of a visual focus
I have to find the emotional focus of the scene. And then there is the palette
itself. When painting I lean towards a
limited palette. I use maybe five or six
colors and white, not even black. I like to mix my colors to create the depth
of black, to push the shadows from the palette itself, and from there I build
my scene. It is the same with my
storytelling. I am a bit of a minimalist. I tend to use short simple sentences,
quick descriptions and I let the sounds roll around on my tongue as they fall onto
the page as I find the values and the truth of my characters.
Painting, writing, the approach is the same. Slow down, look, choose. Slow down, look, choose. Slow down, look, choose
- at every step of the process - slow down, look, choose.
What’s your typical
writing session and environment like?
I like to write in public places. I am a restless writer and if I’m in a room
that is quiet and isolated I never get anything done, so I go to where the
people are. I crave the visual
stimulation and some of my future characters end up drinking latte at the next
table. What can I say, research!
What are your
favorite writing tools?
I use a little book called “The Book of Questions.” I think
it was originally meant as a way for people to get to know each other; a game
of sorts. I use it to discover my
characters. I’ll pick a random question out of the book, something like;
describe your best birthday party. And then I’ll describe it from all my main
characters point of view. The answers
might end up as part of the book, but most likely they are just my discovery of
who my character is, where they came from, where they are hoping to go.
What plans do you
have for future work?
I feel a new story brewing inside of me. This is that
awkward time, when I vaguely see a place, and I see a shadow of someone in the
space, but they are not in focus yet. It’s scary and exciting.
What advice would you
give to aspiring authors?
I think the best advice I can give to any aspiring author is
to take the critiques. Don’t be so
attached to your writing that you aren't willing to take a look at it and see
if it really works as a story. Read it out loud. See where you find yourself
wanting to skip over sentences or even whole scenes. Chances are that is where
the readers will fall out of the story as well.
How do you promote
your work both on and off the internet?
Promotion is the most difficult part of this whole process
for me. There are so many wonderful
books out there and how does someone choose?
I've got my website and I write a blog.
I've done several local book store signings and some radio interviews. There is also a video interview I did on a
show called Literary Gumbo. That interview
is posted on my website.
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| all images © Marcy Luikart |
How should people find you online…?
- My website is the best place but I am also on GoodReads and
Amazon and through my publisher.
- Also on Google+: MarcyLuikart
Available on Amazon:
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