An Interview with Robie Madison
Robie Madison is an award winning romance author. When she isn't writing she's traveling to exotic places and learning about different cultures. Robie Madison also enjoys teaching writing courses. How did you get into writing? At what age did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I started creating stories at a very young age. By the time I was in my teens, I actively wrote in a journal. The phrase "places to go, people to see, things to do," aptly describes the next phase of my life. And it must be said that academic writing calls on a different type of creativity. It wasn't until I moved to Asia and kept a meticulous journal of my adventures that the urge to tell stories resurfaced. Not long after I returned to Canada in the latter part of the nineties, I began writing my first book. I haven't looked back. What was your first book or story that you completed? Did you ever get it published?
My first book was a romantic suspense entitled, Keeping Faith. The story concept grew out of two sentences in a news article concerning a local murder investigation. A key witness had entered the Witness Protection Program and as a result was living in another province under an assumed name unable to contact family or friends. About eight chapters in, I gave the story to a friend, who is still one of my beta readers. Her words of encouragement coupled with a finalist placement in a contest kept me writing. The book was first published in 2004 and went on to final in yet another competition -providing yet another wonderful incentive to keep writing since I'd obviously done something right the first time. How did you finally get published? When were you able to write on a full time basis? Please explain your success story?
How did I get published? I kept sending my manuscript out. And kept collecting rejections until one day an email arrived from a small press I'd submitted to. In fact, I've never actually gotten "the call," just really excellent emails. I've had a rather eclectic career -in addition to three years in Asia, I lived in South Africa for a short time and Wales for a summer. Currently, I both write and teach writing courses online.
How do you stay motivated to finish a novel? How do you stay focused?
I'm absorbed in my story. I'm plotting my next scene while peeling potatoes. My characters won't shut up, even when I'm dead tired. I wake up and have to rush into my office, which is fortunately across the hall from my bedroom, to write down the next piece of dialogue. It is thus imperative that I finish that first draft just to get a little peace and quiet. What is your writing schedule like? Do you write in the mornings, evenings, and for how long?
My writing schedule changes about every four months as do the variable schedules of other family members. I prefer to start writing first thing in the morning. Some days I need to force myself to break for lunch. Other days folding laundry as I think through the next part of a scene sounds like a good idea. I also factor in my teaching obligations throughout the year when choosing projects to work on. Ideally, I've completed a draft and can work on revisions and edits during the months I teach.
How do you get your ideas?
I've always considered this a funny question. Ideas are NEVER a problem. I spend large parts of my days collecting ideas, sorting ideas, putting ideas together to see what happens. Where do I find these ideas? Listening in on conversations at Tim Hortons, the locker room before and after my swim, in the checkout line at the grocery store (which has the added bonus of tabloid headlines), advertisements… The real challenge is developing an idea into a finished manuscript. I think in terms of scenes. A scene - an event or a sequence of events - appears in my head and I start playing with it. Who are these characters? What are they doing? And, most importantly, why are they doing what they are doing? The scene grows and the story develops from the answers.
How do you get over writer's block?
First, accept it when it happens. Sometimes other events in one's life simply need to take priority for a while. That doesn't mean I stop writing, whether it's an article for a blog post or a new lecture for one of my courses. Nor do I stop thinking about my story, so that when way opens I'm ready to get back into the groove.
What piece of advice would you give to someone thinking of becoming a writer? What is a good starting point for them?
There is no delicate way of saying this, but British author Gerald Brenan's is one of my favorites: "It is sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer. Those who do not are amateurs."
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