New York Times Best-Selling Author, Patti Callahan Henry, has just published her 10th book, The Idea of Love. She recently stopped in Charleston, SC at Blue Bicycle Books where All Things Southern and Literary caught up with her.
The Idea of Love by Patti Callahan Henry
MAH (Mary Ann Henry): Your path to becoming a successful writer: was it your plan all along? A thunderbolt from the blue? A slow dawning?
PCH: (Patti Callahan Henry): I had three children in 5 years. One day, I remember asking my oldest child – my daughter, who was five years old at the time – ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ She answered: “I want to write books.” I thought, ‘Wait! That’s my dream!’ It was the moment I realized I had to make my own dream happen.
MAH: And there you were: a busy young mother. How did you do it?
PCH: I didn’t try to work it in here or there. I wrote every day from 4:30 am to 6:30 am because it was the only time I had to myself. I made time for writing. I didn’t try to make it fit my life. I made my life fit my writing.
MAH: That’s wonderful to hear but it couldn’t have been easy. Do you feel that you were given a helping hand when you were first starting out as a novice novelist?
PCH: Oh YES! I would not and could not do what I do without the mentoring, help, friendship support of other writers.
MAH: You’re undeniably successful. Can you take our readers back to the moment when you knew you were going to “make it”?
PCH: Ah, I never feel as if I’ve “made it”. Ever. It’s a far away goal, like the horizon, that I see. The closer I get, the hazier it gets. But I can tell you how it felt when my agent called me with the first book deal from Penguin. I was in car pool line and had to pull over to cry a little bit (with joy).
MAH: Do you have a secret hideaway where you do your daily writing?
PCH: I do most of my writing at home in the attic. I have a small office there and it is full of all my favorite things. But if I can escape to write, which isn’t often, I go to Bluffton, SC where I feel like my mind settles and my heart quiets.
MAH: The wonderful writer Annie Dillard talks about the sacredness of the writing space. How have you made your space your own?
Patti Callahan Henry. Source: PattiCallahanHenry.com
PCH: I have filled this space with small trinkets and “holy” things that are mine alone, or remind me of something inspirational or special. There are feathers and rocks; books and photos; quotes and scraps of paper. I have shells and paintings and stationery. All my favorite books are in this space as well as boxes and files of ideas and research for my own books.
MAH: I’m guessing the days of having to steal time to write before the crack of dawn are over. How many hours a day spent in writing? Any certain time of day?
PCH: I don’t have a set number of hours that I write because I do so many different kinds. If I am in the heart of a new novel, I try to write for three or four hours in the morning, but when I am editing or writing an essay or interview, I spend less time than that. I do try and do all my creative writing in the morning. By the afternoon, I am spent and it’s homework time with the kids.
MAH: Your characters are multi-layered and complex. Do you have any specific methods or writing tips as far as getting to the heart of who they are and what they want?
PCH: I wish I had a specific method so that I could repeat it with each book, but I don’t! I get to know them the same way I get to know someone in real life: I put them in situations and see how they act. I ask questions. I get to know their background and where they came from. I ask “What do you want?” and “Why?”. What scares them? Makes them happy? What music do they listen to and what do they wear? These answers come in the writing — I don’t sketch them out beforehand (although that might make my writing quicker).
MAH: How important is the geographical region of the South in your stories? Just a back-drop? Or something more?
PCH: Oh, the setting in my stories is an integral part of the story. I want the setting to be such a part of the story that the story couldn’t take place anywhere else. The setting feeds and informs the story, it unfolds and tells us the story in its quiet presence.
MAH: Would you say that you have a theme that runs through all of your writing? If so, what is it, in your words?
PCH: I don’t know if I have a theme — if I do, it’s hard for me to see. Like trying to see the back of your own head. But if pressed, I would say that “truth” is a theme. Most of my characters have hit a wall in their lives, a place where the ground has dropped out and they must find what is true and right for their lives.
MAH: Any advice for talented writers who are struggling to get published?
PCH: I don’t think I have anything new to say because it’s a universal struggle. Anyone in a creative endeavor must always be open to learning more, reading more, writing more. Always be open to new ideas. Research. Be open and inquisitive. Write. Write. Write. The words will find a way. On a practical level — make sure you go out there and meet people in the writing world: publishers, agents, other writers. Network and listen. Network and ask. Don’t give up.
MAH: Actually, that’s great advice. Finally, you get the last word. Your favorite word or words?
PCH: One word comes up: synchronicity. I love that word.
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