spongeing: sue monk kidd

nashville, though typically known for its music, has really stepped up the literary game. over the past few months, they have had what they call "salon at 615"--our zip code happens to be 615, and the events start at 6:15. last fall i went to see pat conroy speak about his latest novel death of santini but this time, it was the ever-lovely sue monk kidd.

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you probably know her name from her novel-turned-movie the secret life of bees. or the mermaid chair. but this time she came to speak on her latest attempt (and by attempt, i mean she was given the honor of #1 Best Seller on the day she spoke in Nashville)  the invention of wings. 

my pennsylvania bff lindsey was in town unexpectedly this week for a non-ashlyne reason (a pipe burst in her nashville house) so i snagged her to come with me to listen to mrs. kidd speak. well, first it was awesome that i got to actually see her (lindsey, but i was also pumped to see sue monk kidd) in real life and not have to recount my experience for once over the phone! we had lunch a few times this week, wrote at coffee shops together, went to mckay's books for like an hour or two...it was amazing. 

anyway! back to sue. all of the events are held in different locations, but this one was actually at the downtown nashville library in the auditorium. if you ever come to nashville, this particular library branch is worth seeing. it's so awesome and huge, and it has a whole room dedicated to the history of nashville/tennessee. trust me, i've used it for research a lot. 

sue monk kidd is stately. poised. and well-spoken to say the least. you really never know how writers are going to be in the flesh. sure, they can take a pen to paper like nobody's business, but just like a musician, you never can be sure if they'll be awkward in a regular conversation or not, when they are out of their element. 

i want to spend the rest of the post talking about some of the things she said that i took note of. i won't spoil the book at all i promise (couldn't if i wanted to, i haven't read it myself yet). it's more about her journey into writing, and some of the tips she gave, when asked. that's what i'm interested in knowing at this stage of my writing career: how someone who's clearly "doing" it does it. 

first of all, she wasn't looking for the idea. it came to her at a function at a museum in brooklyn. she noticed a heritage panel in the museum with a bunch of names on it...and found two she was interested in learning more about. this was a wonderful bit of information for me. i rarely 'want' to write about something before it just lands in my lap, or rather i notice it for the first time. good to know that it happens that way for someone so freakin' awesome. 

second. it took her 6 months of pure research before she even started writing, which took another 3 1/2 years to complete. granted it's a historical novel set in the 1800s, but still, it gave me a little bit of a buffer not to worry about finishing so quickly in 2013/2014, the world of instant. i don't think i need that much time, but still, i need to give myself a break. 

third, she said she was "very daunted" by the idea of her two major, important, narrators, almost to the point where she decided if she didn't get them exactly right, she was canning the whole project. you wouldn't have seen that doubt in her eye when she was behind the podium (clearly having gotten them exactly right) but it was so good to hear that even she felt like the task was potentially too much. it gave me the inspiration to push on. it also gave me a push to try to take on a new point of view in my latest work: teenage boys as well as girls. i was worried before, but i think i can do it now based on her ability to capture an enslaved girl from the 1800s. at least my people are still around and i can ask. :)

fourth. she talked about her characters the way i feel about mine. like they were real (well, hers actually were in some sense), like she felt the responsibility to represent them perfectly, like she knew them, went to their houses for coffee. i love that. it might seem to non-writers like an adult version of an imaginary friend, but we all know it's way better. 

fifth, she didn't start out her working life as an author. this is probably one of the details i wonder most about successful authors: did you always want to do it? did you do it immediately after, say, high school or college? when mrs. kidd was in high school, it was 1963ish, so it wasn't totally normal for a woman to want to do something like write. so, she went to nursing school, and then 8 years later, she started writing. that nugget of information was so encouraging, seeing as writing has always been in the back of my mind, but i had to do/see/try other more typical (for me) careers first in order to finally arrive here. i feel like it's a common theme, and i'm thrilled to actually feel like i'm doing something normally for the first time ever. 

sixth, i loved this quote. i'm not sure if she was quoting or if it was a quote of hers. i think it's in her novel the mermaid chair, but as a 'they say' quote. anyway, i love it all the same: 

you can bear anything if you can tell a story about it

killer right? 

seventh, her advice: 

a. believe in what you're doing and doubt it at the same time. (i think that's one of my favorite lines of the night)

b. set the bar high and read higher than yourself. (read the best of the best, not at your level, or you'll be pushed to get better)

c. allow yourself to write badly (seriously, sue, you're amazing. this is a big deal for perfectionists all around. but i have definitely done it and it helps to allow yourself to do it)

d. don't expect yourself to write a masterpiece in a week (guilty)

e. this wasn't her advice, but i took it as advice. she talked about how she modernized the voices in her latest novel to make sure her readers could really understand the characters. apparently, the journals from the 1800s are not as fluid as our speech now. they were choppy and hard to follow. so mrs. kidd took her author prerogative and made them into people we could relate to. i think i get so caught up in making sure everything is exactly how it would have been that i don't remember that i'm allowed to make some decisions on my own. i'm telling the story. 

i hope some of these help you out there! it sure helped me! now, go write till you fall over.