{"id":12003,"date":"2011-12-15T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2011-12-15T05:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/?p=12003"},"modified":"2011-12-15T07:44:49","modified_gmt":"2011-12-15T12:44:49","slug":"thea-harrison-the-terribleminds-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terribleminds.com\/ramble\/2011\/12\/15\/thea-harrison-the-terribleminds-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Thea Harrison: The Terribleminds Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Thea Harrison is one of those authors who kind of floated in and out of my periphery over social media — I didn’t know her specifically, but I know folks who did and they were very excited by who she was and what she was doing. They were spot on — and I think you’ll get it, too. Thea’s got a new novella out, TRUE COLORS<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, and you’ll see my image right there on the cover. No really. NO, REALLY. Check out this interview with Thea, and then scout out her website<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and find her on the Twitters (@theaharrison<\/strong><\/span><\/a>)!<\/em><\/p>\n

This is a blog about writing and storytelling. So, tell us a story. As short or long as you care to make it. As true or false as you see it.<\/h3>\n

A woman went from unemployment to hitting the USA Today Bestselling List and the New York Times extended bestseller list in two and a half years.<\/p>\n

The facts are true, but the story isn\u2019t quite what it seems.\u00a0 This journey was an amazing group effort, including a huge commitment of support by family members, an intense amount of work from a talented young literary agent, editor championship and publisher support.\u00a0 Also, the woman had previous publication experience, and she had collected many rejections over the years.<\/p>\n

Just yesterday I posted a “25 Things” list about writers and rejection. What’s your take on how a writer best handles rejection?<\/h3>\n

Whew, tough question.\u00a0 I have an emotional reaction to rejection.\u00a0 At best it\u2019s a disappointment.\u00a0 It can often sting quite badly, and sometimes I get upset.\u00a0 But I keep that private.<\/p>\n

In my opinion the very best thing a writer can do with rejection is maintain a professional demeanor in public (that means YOU, internet), keep the emotional stuff private, analyze why the rejection happened and learn from it.<\/p>\n

Maybe the lesson is, well, you should keep your emotional reaction private.\u00a0 Maybe it is something else.\u00a0 If you send out three hundred and fifty queries (I made that number up) and you receive universal rejection, then it\u2019s probably a really good idea to look at the quality and content of both your query and your project.\u00a0 Maybe your query needs to be torn down and rewritten.\u00a0 Maybe your project does.\u00a0 Maybe your project needs to go in a drawer somewhere until you can calm down and actually come up with some useful strategies for moving forward.\u00a0 Maybe, oh the horrors, you need to pitch the idea entirely, and yes, I\u2019ve had my share of those.<\/p>\n

Why do you tell stories?<\/h3>\n

I have a \u201crich inner life,\u201d or so an acquaintance who has a PhD in psychology has told me.\u00a0 Or perhaps I\u2019m just neurotic.<\/p>\n

Give the audience one piece of writing or storytelling advice:<\/h3>\n

Be too stupid to quit but too smart to keep making the same mistakes over and over again.<\/p>\n

Or in other words, study the craft, stop doing something if it doesn\u2019t work, implement good advice, keep writing and stay professional.<\/p>\n

Man, that’s some of the best condensed writing advice — a short sharp shock of good sense. Okay, so, let’s talk mistakes. Every writer has them. What mistakes have you made as a writer that you can share?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve made many, many mistakes.\u00a0 I\u2019ve held onto project ideas when I should have let them go, and I\u2019m pretty sure I\u2019ve thrown away things that had promise.\u00a0 I have worked too much in solitude, and probably every piece of advice I have offered in this blog is because I did something wrong.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s great about being a writer, and conversely, what sucks about it?<\/h3>\n

The great thing about being a writer, for me, is that I have an agent who loves the weird stuff in my head and editors who have, thus far, pretty much given me free rein in the creativity department.\u00a0 That\u2019s immensely satisfying, and I\u2019m running with it as far and as fast as I can go.\u00a0 Also, writers can work wherever they have a laptop, PC, tablet, typewriter or even a pen and notepad, so there\u2019s a certain amount of flexibility that other jobs don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

Conversely the sucky parts of writing are things that lots of people have written about before (including you in your blogs).\u00a0 Every writer is going to suffer some kind of rejection.\u00a0 It\u2019s the nature of the beast, and you just gotta suck it up, baby, and learn from it (re: back to the too stupid\/too smart thing).\u00a0 And like any self-employment venture a writer needs to be prepared to work odd, long hours to meet a deadline, and the payment schedule can be irregular.\u00a0 Also, while many people might have a hand in a project\u2014from writer, to agent, to editor, copyeditor, cover artiest, line editor, typesetter, publishing sales team, and booksellers\u2014the writing itself is a solitary job and it\u2019s important to figure out how to balance that with social needs.<\/p>\n

Favorite word? And then, the follow up: Favorite curse word?<\/h3>\n

Payday.\u00a0 Frequently.<\/p>\n

To find out my favorite curse word, I just conducted some word searches in my WIP.\u00a0 \u201cDamn\u201d is apparently my number one favorite.<\/p>\n

Damn = 27<\/p>\n

Fuck = 24<\/p>\n

Hell = 15<\/p>\n

Bitch = 8<\/p>\n

Goddamn = 7<\/p>\n

Favorite alcoholic beverage? (If cocktail: provide recipe. If you don\u2019t drink alcohol, fine, fine<\/em>, a non-alcoholic beverage will do.)<\/h3>\n

My current favorite is 667 Pinot Noir, a California wine.\u00a0 It\u2019s been on sale locally for around $12.<\/p>\n

Recommend a book, comic book, film, or game: something with great story. Go!<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m not particularly into westerns, but despite that I\u2019ve been watching and enjoying AMC\u2019s new series Hell On Wheels.\u00a0 For me, the show has an interesting mix of action and historical detail, such as one character who survived Andersonville, one of the most horrendous prison camps from the American Civil War.<\/p>\n

What skills do you bring to help the humans win the inevitable zombie war?<\/h3>\n

None whatsoever, unless you count telling fun stories to other humans for stress relief.\u00a0 If that doesn\u2019t count I\u2019m dead meat.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve committed crimes against humanity. They caught you. You get one last meal.<\/h3>\n