Ask the Author: Jennifer Handford
Answered Questions (4)
Jennifer Handford
My next project takes readers to 1964, the year of the civil rights legislation, the year of much hope followed by much tumult. We will meet a young mother, Diana, who has lived a hard life. We will also meet Astrid, age 50, in modern time, who is dealing with her grown daughter’s bi-polar depression. In alternating sections, we learn that these two women are connected through time and history, family and tragedy. Diana pushes forward to make a life out of the cards she's been dealt, while Astrid travels back in time in order to understand the life she's living. And Sophia—Astrid’s beautiful, yet tortured daughter—who fights her disease to stay on this earth, just might be the thread that holds these women together.
Jennifer Handford
I don’t usually get “writer’s block.” It’s more typical for me to succumb to a “writer’s allergy,” which means I feel almost averse to my desk and computer—and I’ll do just about anything to avoid them. I have a similar reaction to exercise. I find writing no less strenuous than deep lunges. Getting “to the office,” or in my case, “to my desk,” is the hardest part. I believe that for a writer, “getting there” is an act of will. If I’m not all in, nothing will come to me. My mind will stall on shallow details: grocery lists, dinner plans, schedules for the kids’ activities. If I’m serious about working, I must force my mind to go deeper than my everyday surface-level thinking. Only when I “dig deep,” and inhabit this subterranean space, do I unearth a worthwhile nugget.
I do my best thinking when I’m driving. Lulled by the monotonous hum of the engine, I can assign my mind a simple task: I’ll think about a scene I’m writing, a character who is examining her feelings, or dialogue that may ricochet between characters. Although I usually can't find the exact words to convey the whole setting, the energy of a character, or the rhythm of a conversation, I can typically extract enough of the vital essence (a few details for the scene, an insight from the protagonist, a snippet of pithy dialogue) to lure me back to my computer.
In short, my advice for overcoming writer’s block is to seek solitude and assign your mind a specific task—or three. Think about X, ponder Y’s feelings, describe the setting of Z. Then take a deep breath and leave the surface world for a while to “go deep.” You might feel fatigued at all levels afterward—body, mind and soul—just as with exercise. But I’m certain you’ll also come away with something worthy.
I do my best thinking when I’m driving. Lulled by the monotonous hum of the engine, I can assign my mind a simple task: I’ll think about a scene I’m writing, a character who is examining her feelings, or dialogue that may ricochet between characters. Although I usually can't find the exact words to convey the whole setting, the energy of a character, or the rhythm of a conversation, I can typically extract enough of the vital essence (a few details for the scene, an insight from the protagonist, a snippet of pithy dialogue) to lure me back to my computer.
In short, my advice for overcoming writer’s block is to seek solitude and assign your mind a specific task—or three. Think about X, ponder Y’s feelings, describe the setting of Z. Then take a deep breath and leave the surface world for a while to “go deep.” You might feel fatigued at all levels afterward—body, mind and soul—just as with exercise. But I’m certain you’ll also come away with something worthy.
Jennifer Handford
My advice for aspiring writers is to write a lot, revise a lot, and share your work! The first two tactics are obvious. We all know that first drafts are junk and that writing is more sweat than magic—it requires an insane amount of revision. It’s the third point I want to focus on: sharing your work.
Even though I had a happy, healthy childhood—with plenty of supportive people around me—insecurity rode me piggyback for years when it came to sharing my writing. It still does! Once I began writing in earnest, I showed my work only to people I paid to review it—teachers I had taken courses from, editors for hire. This wasn’t a bad thing; their advice was often helpful. But the point is, it can be helpful, even inspiring, to allow other people in. You’ll find that others are not only willing but also eager to read your work and offer advice. I hope you aren't as timid as I am when it comes to sharing your work, because getting feedback is one of the most important steps for a writer.
If you spend too much solo time with your work, you no longer have the fresh eyes required to see what warrants your focus and energy. Sometimes it takes only the glance of a new reader to ignite your enthusiasm and inspiration for a rework. I have created my writing life to be solitary, but in hindsight, I wish I hadn’t. I think it would be more satisfying and enjoyable if I had a writer’s group or more people to bounce ideas off of. So when it comes to sharing your writing, don’t be an introvert or, worse, a hermit. Put it out there. You have a talent to share, so let the world see it. Feedback is essential, and it’s the fuel every writer must have to continually reimagine, rethink . . . and revise.
Even though I had a happy, healthy childhood—with plenty of supportive people around me—insecurity rode me piggyback for years when it came to sharing my writing. It still does! Once I began writing in earnest, I showed my work only to people I paid to review it—teachers I had taken courses from, editors for hire. This wasn’t a bad thing; their advice was often helpful. But the point is, it can be helpful, even inspiring, to allow other people in. You’ll find that others are not only willing but also eager to read your work and offer advice. I hope you aren't as timid as I am when it comes to sharing your work, because getting feedback is one of the most important steps for a writer.
If you spend too much solo time with your work, you no longer have the fresh eyes required to see what warrants your focus and energy. Sometimes it takes only the glance of a new reader to ignite your enthusiasm and inspiration for a rework. I have created my writing life to be solitary, but in hindsight, I wish I hadn’t. I think it would be more satisfying and enjoyable if I had a writer’s group or more people to bounce ideas off of. So when it comes to sharing your writing, don’t be an introvert or, worse, a hermit. Put it out there. You have a talent to share, so let the world see it. Feedback is essential, and it’s the fuel every writer must have to continually reimagine, rethink . . . and revise.
Jennifer Handford
A high school student once asked me the same thing. I said something along the lines of my having (and appreciating) the satisfaction of seeing and holding the final product. And truly, there is great reward in planting a seed, caring for it and watching it grow. But the question nagged at me, because I thought there was more to it than the literal sense.
I believe the real answer is that writing is like being an archaeologist of the human heart. It’s as if I’m dusting off the bones of our human condition: my task is to find the words to express pain and grief, shame and guilt, and joy, love, and euphoria—and then to veer all the way back again to heartache and sorrow. It's an opportunity to wrestle with all the hard questions in life.
As human beings, we all have the same basic need: to be loved and accepted. I’m forever in awe of the book EAST OF EDEN because John Steinbeck so painfully describes how "The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears." He goes on to say how rejection leads to anger, and with anger there comes some sort of crime . . . and then, the guilt. According to Steinbeck, the “chart of the soul" has many paths, depending on the human spirit.
I think that's the essence of just about everything: the mystery of the heart and the soul, and the ordinary life one must live each day while making the extraordinary decisions that make his or her own path wholly unique on this earth.
Life is hard, love is hard. Writing about life and love is hard. But living life and knowing love is our reward—and writing about it is my joy.
I believe the real answer is that writing is like being an archaeologist of the human heart. It’s as if I’m dusting off the bones of our human condition: my task is to find the words to express pain and grief, shame and guilt, and joy, love, and euphoria—and then to veer all the way back again to heartache and sorrow. It's an opportunity to wrestle with all the hard questions in life.
As human beings, we all have the same basic need: to be loved and accepted. I’m forever in awe of the book EAST OF EDEN because John Steinbeck so painfully describes how "The greatest terror a child can have is that he is not loved, and rejection is the hell he fears." He goes on to say how rejection leads to anger, and with anger there comes some sort of crime . . . and then, the guilt. According to Steinbeck, the “chart of the soul" has many paths, depending on the human spirit.
I think that's the essence of just about everything: the mystery of the heart and the soul, and the ordinary life one must live each day while making the extraordinary decisions that make his or her own path wholly unique on this earth.
Life is hard, love is hard. Writing about life and love is hard. But living life and knowing love is our reward—and writing about it is my joy.
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