Ask the Author: Nicole C. Kear
Answered Questions (7)
Nicole C. Kear
Yes, it's something I've considered a lot lately, as many readers have suggested learning Braille. It seems challenging, but then again, learning a new language always is. Maybe when I'm done potty training this toddler of mine, I'll have the energy, and time, to tackle that!
Nicole C. Kear
Thanks Maria! I'm delighted you enjoyed the essay in Spirit magazine, and hope you enjoy the book as well! Gotta love the library (I'm a frequent visitor at mine).
Nicole C. Kear
The best thing about being a writer is that moment of consuming creative inspiration where you just get lost in what you're working on; when I was an actress, I had a professor who called it the Cosmic Aha! moment. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does strike, it really is delicious; you don't notice time passing, or hunger or heat or any kind of discomfort; there is no anxiety, or frustration, or any thoughts outside of the world you're inhabiting, the world of your book. Everything feels easy and seamless and aligned. This isn't usually how my writing process works -- it's typically more laborious and unglamorous -- but there are those times when everything gels and when it's over, you look at what you've done and don't even remember writing it. It's pretty great.
Nicole C. Kear
Hi Tamal! Yes, I think every writer struggles with self-doubt, absolutely. The only way I've found to overcome that is to just keep going. Give yourself a writing goal (for instance, a certain amount of pages, or a certain period of time); make it reasonable and achievable but push yourself, slightly, too. Once you meet that goal, you'll likely feel great satisfaction and have more confidence to do it again. I think another great way around self-doubt is to write in a journal. where you can free yourself from the sense of pressure that you have to "get it right." The best way to use a journal is to write regularly -- some writers love to write one page every morning, for example. It's important to find a way to get rid of your inner critic, that voice telling you "this is no good!" and writing in a journal, that only you will see, is one great way to do it! I urge you to keep writing. You can always have someone help you fix the grammar and clean it up later; that's what revision is for!
Nicole C. Kear
Hi Don! Yes, my husband is a huge character in the book, and one of the things I've been really happy to see is readers observing how much the book is a love story, not just a valentine to my husband, but to my kids and my family of origin. I think Family in general is so much at the heart of my book. So, yes, he's essential, but you're right, he enters the story only in relation to me and my journey of acceptance. There was so much I cut -- so many scenes with David that I loved but which didn't really serve to advance the story, and the question I had to keep asking myself was, does this serve a purpose to this specific story, not just the general "story of my life." He will definitely have more of an audible voice in the future, though not just in my books and stories -- he's an author himself, and is working on a beautiful book of fiction!
Nicole C. Kear
Hi Kelsey! Thanks for your question. It took me about a year to come up with a very detailed outline of the book -- a synopsis, a detailed table of contents, and a bunch of chapters -- which comprised my memoir proposal. Once that was done, it took a little less than a year to write the book, though I imagine it would have gone faster had I not had a baby during that time!
Nicole C. Kear
Hello Kim! So much of this process has been so surprising, and that's really been a big part of the fun. The thing that's shocked me the most, though, has been how terrifically supportive and enthusiastic the blind and visually-impaired community has been. I've been flooded by message from people who say they felt like they were reading their own story, and that has been so incredibly gratifying to me, and it's also been surprising (in the best way). I just didn't expect that the story would resonate so deeply, and that readers would be so wonderfully vocal about communicating the ways in which it's impacted them.
I've been surprised, too, but the power of some of the swear words I use in the book, on readers. I guess living in NYC and having grown up in a family that employs pretty colorful language, I've built up a tolerance to the effect of profanity, and I read so many different kinds of books, I'm not surprised to find it in literature. But some readers have expressed that the profanity's too much for them, and that's something I didn't expect. It's been eye-opening for me; I think the language serves an important purpose in my book and is integral to both the humor and my specific voice, but it's something I'm more aware of now.
I've been surprised, too, but the power of some of the swear words I use in the book, on readers. I guess living in NYC and having grown up in a family that employs pretty colorful language, I've built up a tolerance to the effect of profanity, and I read so many different kinds of books, I'm not surprised to find it in literature. But some readers have expressed that the profanity's too much for them, and that's something I didn't expect. It's been eye-opening for me; I think the language serves an important purpose in my book and is integral to both the humor and my specific voice, but it's something I'm more aware of now.
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