The Page Turners discussion

Our next Q&A is with author Annabel Hertz, author of Seeing Green.



Here is the synopsis:

Described as a “timely, energetic and witty” story of a young woman “on a mission to puncture the stasis of Reagan-Bush environmental policy” (Book Review, Huffington Post, 04/04/2012), Seeing Green pays homage to the DC scene, international---and office---politics, and idealism. The novel also explores the rocky and rewarding terrain of family and personal relationships from the perspective of a multicultural protagonist in “a felicitously fast-moving, tightly organized narrative.” (Amazon book reviews). A thoughtful romp through the NGO world of 1992, Seeing Green “provides a refreshing contrast to today’s stale and polarized politics and reminds us that hope is possible.”

Please post questions by April 20.

Where did you get the idea to write Seeing Green?

What was your favorite and least favorite subject in school growing up?

How did you begin writing?

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Hi :) i would also like to ask the question how do you deal with writers block. Also do any of your characters represent people you know/knew?

Here are the answers!

Where did you get the idea to write Seeing Green?

I decided to try writing fiction before I had the idea to write Seeing Green. My initial drive was to take on a creative, challenging, and enterprising project, but in a way I could connect with—and entertain—people. Fiction seemed like a good choice for this. Then, as I was working alongside—and teaching—people who were at the beginning of their careers, I was reflecting on that time in my own life (which then became the basis for the timeframe of my novel). I figured I ought to take advantage of my background in international politics and the NGO world because it might provide a unique perspective and one that I’d never really seen represented in fiction. I developed a few possible story arcs and tried to plot them out, but my writing process did not conform to what I was plotting. So I started with a relatively simple premise—a protagonist trying to get the US President to change US policy on green treaties (1992 was a perfect year for that story to take place)—and then developed the narrative and sub plots around it.

What was your favorite and least favorite subject in school growing up?

I liked all subjects—unless I had a teacher whose style and personality didn’t work well with my learning style. I always liked the humanities, arts, and social sciences, but I had hard time with history taught through date memorization! I also liked math, until I got to pre-calculus, and then it all became too abstract for me. Same with the natural sciences—I enjoyed the conceptual, but not the mathematical, parts. I recently took a statistics course and it was very tough for me! But I think in the end, it’s the teacher who can make or break a subject.

How did you begin writing?

I kept diaries as a kid. In high school, I wrote for the school newspaper. Then I wrote regularly in a professional (non-fiction) capacity.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I heard a writer give a talk recently about how when she writes fiction, she misses writing non-fiction—and vice versa—and I have to say I feel the same way: there are trade offs. If you are writing fiction for the first time, it may take awhile to get the hang of it, especially the “stage direction” part. Hence, there is a learning curve and significant self-teaching involved. I personally found it to be much harder than I anticipated. You may be the only one really invested in your own project so you have to be kind and patient with yourself, even as you motivate yourself as your own taskmaster.

How do you deal with writers block.

This question got me researching writer’s block! Apparently it has many causes and many manifestations. Personally, when I hit a bump in the road, I find exercise or really long walks are helpful. When I come across a mountain, I put the writing aside for days, possibly weeks. I think there is often simply a mismatch between one’s creative process and energy, and one’s expectations for achievement. The creative self can’t always keep time, or stay on schedule.

I also found another mismatch in the writing process in a much broader sense. I started the project with certain ideas or sentiments I sought to express, but these seemed to get lost in translation in the final product. It’s like having an urge to paint something specific and then ending up only with an interpretation.



Also do any of your characters represent people you know/knew?

In Seeing Green, there is one character that represents my grandmother, but all the other characters are not representative, though some are a composite of various people I have known—combined with imaginary characteristics. Each character a face I can picture, though it’s not a specific face I have ever seen. Once, on a public bus, I saw someone who looked exactly how I’d pictured a minor character in my book—and my mouth practically fell open.