Ask the Author: Leah Ferguson
Answered Questions (6)
Leah Ferguson
Ooh, this is a heavy question for me. I had a very good friendship that fell apart rather quickly over the course of a couple of months. I was never quite sure what happened, and am still a little sad over the loss of it--it's tough to make friends once you're in Grown-Up Land, as we all know. This was also around the time tabloids were starting to get terribly snarky about the Duchess of Cambridge's personal assistant--saying that she was a "wannabe" Kate, tired of living in her shadow. And I started to wonder--what WAS it like for somebody to live in the background of someone else's life? What if there were friends who found themselves in this type of situation--how would it play out? I wanted to explore that. I'm still exploring it, actually, as I write--I'll let you know if I figure out any answers!
Leah Ferguson
I keep a blog called One Vignette--it started out as a sort of online baby book, mainly because I was never organized enough to keep an *actual* baby book, and turned into a way to sort my way through the early years of parenthood, and my transition to full-time educator to full-time mom. One Vignette is what keeps me writing--it keeps my brain working, keeps me thoughtful, keeps me accountable (more or less--I'll go weeks without posting, but let's not talk about that). It's helped me realize what my voice sounds like, which has been really helpful in honing the kind of novelist I want to become.
Leah Ferguson
Oh, I am so EXCITED about the new book I'm working on! It's about two women in their early thirties--one's a law student, the other an aspiring food truck owner--and the story of their thoroughly modern friendship, with all the complications that friendships often bring: tension and support, envy and companionship. It's the story of watching one friend succeed while you falter, and about how much is too much of yourself to give to another. I'm working on the proposal right now--tightening up my synopsis and polishing the first chapter or two, and I can't wait to dive into the rest after that. I seriously love this book. I can't wait to see how it develops.
Leah Ferguson
Okay, three pieces of advice popped into my head immediately: a) Don't give up. You're a writer who's an aspiring author--but you're still a writer. So make sure you keep writing--it only gets better with practice. b) Get feedback on what you've written. I can't tell you how many revisions ALL THE DIFFERENCE went through before it became the sweet little women's fiction book it is today. You're writing for a reader, so it helps to have a reader help you write. And finally, c) Be smart about trying to get published. Don't rush. There's no deadline you need to make. Take your time and research good literary agencies and the agents who might respond best to your project, and work well with you. Join writer's groups, online communities, social media. Don't let it distract you from the writing, but concentrate on learning more than promoting. ALL THE DIFFERENCE started out as a NaNoWriMo project--quick, quick, quick. It wasn't until I slowed down that the chance to become published started to click into place.
Leah Ferguson
I don't usually think of being a writer as a good thing, actually! Because when I think about writing, I think about how I feel when I'm in the zone and the real world becomes an annoying distraction. Or how when I"m *not* writing I become the biggest grump you'd care to never meet. But when it comes to the best thing about it...I don't have a quick answer for you. Because it's all-consuming. It's sort of who I am--oh, so there's my answer, actually. Being a writer allows me to be the truest form of me I can be. I can't hide behind the words that come out of my head. I love that an idea can start brewing in my head and just flow out onto the laptop or notebook. And I love that many times, the words that I put on paper are ones that other people can closely identify with. So I guess that's it: the best part of being a writer is knowing that I'm not alone--that I can make others (and myself) realize that we're more alike than we think. I kind of like that feeling.
Leah Ferguson
Um, I don't deal with writer's block very well at all, at first--if I can admit that without seeming like a big of a brat. I'm a big one for walking away from block and suddenly deciding to try a new recipe (with 47 new ingredients!), or to take the kids off for some adventure, or surfing the internet to discover if Kim Kardashian really did have plastic surgery. But I have found that if I just allow myself some minutes of silence (that does happen sometimes, yes?), the wall will open and the words will come. Usually this happens when I'm not in front of the computer, but rather when I'm doing something like driving, or holding my son before bed--something that forces me to slow down and concentrate on just the task at hand. Then my mind can unlock, in a way, and on I go.
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