A short interview wherein one of my favorite authors answers three questions about the writing life.
Question 1
In what genres have you written, and which one of them gives you the most satisfaction?
I’m always stumped when someone asks me what genre I write in. I have a hard time categorizing my books, not because they are unusual or special, but because I find the question of genre limiting. I’ve written memoir and fiction. The fiction tends to be historical. A few years ago, I felt like my inability to pinpoint my work into a genre meant that was being difficult and unprofessional. I needed to pick a lane. I began to openly claim that I wrote historical fiction, but it felt like inviting the public in before I’d even invited the characters in. I started feeling crowded by that definition. I need to explore and to commune with the work in solitude, without anyone watching or asking, letting it tell me what it wants to be, rather than the other way around. So, I don’t claim a genre. It gives me more spaciousness that way.
Question 2
Do you create elaborate outlines for your books? If so, can you explain the process? Or do you go by the seat of your pants? If so, do you have any tricks you use to keep from crashing?
I admire people who make outlines. It seems like such a practical method, and a comfort to know where the story is going when you reach the muddly-middle. I’ve tried it though and it doesn’t work for me. I have a friend who asked me why anyone would even try to write a novel without an outline? It’s a good question and I can’t answer. I’ve come to think of plotters and pantsters as being a little like extroverts and introverts. We share the air of writing, but sometimes we just don’t get each other, which is not to say either is wrong.
Regarding how to keep from crashing as a pantster, I have this to say: when a story comes knocking on your consciousness, there are only two things you can say. Yes, I will do my best to serve you by writing this story or no, I won’t take this on. I commit to a story because it interests me. When I can say yes, I’m saying I’d like to spend the next three years or more with you. I know it will be frustrating at times, but it won’t be boring.
Question 3
What books do you recommend for an aspiring writer?
THE CREATIVE ACT: A WAY OF BEING by Rick Rubin. This book cuts across all disciplines. Be you a writer, a musician, a sculptor, a pastel artist, or anything else. What I love about this book is that the author speaks about living as an artist.
Let’s face it, we all want to be noticed and even to make a living with our art. It’s just not always possible. What is possible is listening to yourself, carving your own pathway, forgetting about other people’s needs and opinions, and simply getting to know yourself better as you work. You can’t write for long without getting to know yourself.
For fans of Cold Mountain and The Invention of Wings comes “a magnificent, immersive, breathtaking work of historical fiction” (Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author) that follows the epic journey of a slave-turned-Comanche warrior who travels from the brutality of a New Orleans sugar cane plantation to the indomitable frontier of untamed Texas, searching not only for the woman he loves but also for his own identity.
I have been to hangings before, but never my own.
Sitting in a jail cell on the eve of his hanging, April 1, 1875, freedman Persimmon “Persy” Wilson wants to leave a record of the truth—his truth. He may be guilty, but not of what he stands accused: the kidnapping and rape of his former master’s wife.
In 1860, Persy had been sold to Sweetmore, a Louisiana sugar plantation, alongside a striking house slave named Chloe. Their deep and instant connection fueled a love affair and inspired plans to escape their owner, Master Wilson, who claimed Chloe as his concubine. But on the eve of the Union Army’s attack on New Orleans, Wilson shot Persy, leaving him for dead, and fled with Chloe and his other slaves to Texas. So began Persy’s journey across the frontier, determined to reunite with his lost love. Along the way, the Comanche captured him and his only chance of survival was to prove himself capable of becoming a warrior. His odyssey of warfare, heartbreak, unlikely friendships, and newfound family would change the very core of his identity and teach him the meaning and the price of freedom.
From the author of the New York Times Notable Book Life Without Water, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson is a sweeping love story that “is as deeply moving and exciting an American saga as has ever been penned” (Lee Smith, author of Dimestore).
About the Author
Nancy Peacock’s first novel, Life Without Water, was chosen as a New York Times Editor’s Choice. This was followed by two more novels, Home Across the Road and The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson. She has also written a memoir titled A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning and Life, about which Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild said, “Each essay is an engaging, well-written, funny and poignant journey into Nancy Peacock’s generous spirit, humble heart and incisive mind.”
Peacock has been teaching a free prompt writing class for over 25 years. If you’re interested visit her website: https://nancypeacockwrites.com/
Peacock’s latest novel, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson follows the journey of a man enslaved on a sugar plantation in Louisiana through the Civil War and into the wilds of Texas and a tribe of Comanche Indians, all in search of the woman he loves.
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