Interview with Mary Ann Taylor-Hall and Scott Fischer’s Creative Writing in Fiction Class at Rock Valley College

(20:20) [] Only I.
(20:21) [] Hello
(20:22) [Kris] Hello
(20:25) [Kris] Niclole Brown: There was a power outage at the off campus site, Scott Fisher will be on as soon as he lets the rest of the students know about the change of plans.
(20:30) [Nickole Brown] Thanks, Kris. Any idea how late he might be?
(20:31) [Kris] Well we were to meet out there at 7:25 so not long I would hope.
(20:32) [Nickole Brown] Well, the chat’s not scheduled to take place for another half hour, so I think we should be okay.
(20:33) [Nickole Brown] By the way, are those two empty name boxes down at the bottom of the screen yours?
(20:34) [Kris] Well one was, the first hello.
(20:35) [Nickole Brown] Oh, okay. Just checking.
(20:36) [Kris] How many people are expected in the room?
(20:49) [Dan Mann] hello
(20:51) [Jennifer Williams] I don’t know if I like doing this at home
(20:51) [Jennifer Williams] my computer is weird and this chatroom works upside down
(20:52) [Dan Mann] why not?
(20:52) [Nickole Brown] New messages will appear at the top—we did it this way for people with smaller monitors.
(20:52) [KarenM] hi! any idea when Scott Fisher’s class will be online?
(20:52) [Jennifer Williams] oh that confused me for a minute but i figured it out
(20:52) [Dan Mann] 8:00
(20:53) [Nickole Brown] The chat is scheduled to start in five minutes.
(20:54) [W.Taylor] Hi....thank God I managed to resigter on time.
(20:54) [Nickole Brown] By the way, if anyone has questions about this chat, feel free to ask me here online or call me at the office at (502) 614-5222. The general number for Sarabande will be busy as we have an extra computer online tonight.
(20:54) [KarenM] Thanks Dan and Nikole -- I’m on vacation just waiting for this chat
(20:55) [W.Taylor] Does anyone know when or if Mr. Fisher will be online?
(20:55) [Jennifer] i went out and fixed it so i won’t have my last name on there
(20:55) [Andrew] Hello everyone
(20:55) [Nickole Brown] Is everyone working from their computers at home? Or are you all together in a lab?
(20:55) [Jennifer] he supposed to come when he gets home
(20:55) [W.Taylor] At home
(20:55) [Andrew] We are at home
(20:56) [Jennifer] i am at home
(20:56) [Andrew] The power is out at the lab
(20:56) [KarenM] In Florida : )
(20:56) [Jonah/Liz] hola room
(20:56) [Cathy Powers] I’m at home
(20:56) [Jennifer] what are the chances of that happening tonight?
(20:56) [Jonah/Liz] almost didn’t make it here on time
(20:57) [Jennifer] is it warm in florida?
(20:57) [W.Taylor] How long will we have to stay online? Half-hour?
(20:57) [KarenM] Today was pretty cool - only about 70 but we did have a beautiful sunset tonight
(20:58) [Jennifer] that’s warm compared to here
(20:58) [Jonah/Liz] is everyone here from Scott Fishers class?
(20:58) [Andrew] It was a beautiful, crisp, cool day here.
(20:58) [W.Taylor] Sounds like Florida is nice. We’re starting to freeze up here. Just had a frost this morning!
(20:58) [KarenM] what is the temperature in Rockford?
(20:58) [Nickole Brown] W. Taylor, the interview should take about an hour and will start as soon as everyone gets here.
(20:59) [Andrew] 40 degrees
(20:59) [Jennifer] i don’t know but it has been really cold the last couple of days
(21:00) [Scott Fisher] Hi everyone. I made it. Nickole, we had a power failure at our building, so everyone is logging in from their home computers
(21:00) [KarenM] Did any of you know that today is John Lennon’s birthday? He would have been 60.
(21:00) [Andrew] Does anyone know when Scott will be here?
(21:00) [Jennifer] so how is this chat going to work
(21:01) [Mary Ann ] I’m here--ready to roll.
(21:01) [Andrew] Never mind
(21:01) [Nickole Brown] W. Taylor, you did not give me your full e-mail address (i.e., I need the @whatever part). Please re-register before the chat is over.
(21:01) [Jennifer] he said he had to wait until everybody showed up at votech
(21:01) [W.Taylor] Hello Mr. Fisher. Glad you’re here! Just managed to get on the chat room!
(21:01) [Kris] Happy birthday John.
(21:01) [Jonah/Liz] hi scott, just so you know--liz is here with me. she doesn’t have access from her house
(21:02) [Andrew] Hello Mary Ann
(21:02) [Nickole Brown] Hi, Scott! Sounds like you’ve had a bit of a catastrophe this evening, no?
(21:02) [Scott Fisher] Hi Mary Ann. I guess we might as well get started. People might be trickling in as we go along and we don’t want to take up too much of your time.
(21:02) [Nickole Brown] Well, who wants to begin with the first question?
(21:03) [W.Taylor] To Nickole Brown: My full e-mail is Gemini5181@aol.com
(21:03) [Jonah/Liz] Hi mary ann
(21:03) [Mary Ann ] All right--I’m just sitting here with Nickole’s Doberman, waiting to talk.
(21:03) [W.Taylor] Good evening Ms. Ann
(21:04) [Cathy Powers] Mary Ann ~ So many of your female characters are victimized/oppressed by men. In your formative years, did you have some crushing experiences w/guys?
(21:04) [Kris] Mary Ann, hello. Who were the storytellers in your family?
(21:04) [KarenM] Your stories contain mentions of ghosts, miracles, signs/omens, prophets - have you ever experienced any of these things?
(21:05) [Andrew] Woa! One ? @ a time.
(21:05) [W.Taylor] Ok - Mary Ann, when you start on a story, do you typically think of a plot first, or the characters?
(21:07) [Mary Ann ] I’ll answer Cathy’s question first--I don’t think I would agree that these characters are generally oppressed by men. If you look at the stories one by one, you’d have to say that in the first one, Undella’s oppression is a result of her own desire for freedom and experience. I can’t say that I see how any of the heroines of the last three stories are oppressed by men. Only Rosa, in Banana Boa
(21:08) [Mary Ann ] Boats is truly in the position of being oppressed.
(21:09) [Andrew] It seems to me that the woman are searching.
(21:09) [rick] hi mary-ann
(21:09) [Nickole Brown] Make sure to hold off your questions for now, Mary will be answering Kris’ question next.
(21:09) [rick] hi mary-ann
(21:10) [Mary Ann ] To Karen--my father was a true Southern story teller, full of the instinct to spin a yarn. My mother had a very vivid childhood, which she remembered very well, and talked about a lot. All my neighbors in Florida were full of gossip and hunting stories.
(21:10) [W.Taylor] Is it all right if we ask a second - once everyone’s had a chance to ask and Mary Ann is prepared?
(21:10) [rick] hi mary-ann
(21:11) [Jonah/Liz] mary ann-what first inspired you to write?
(21:12) [Mary Ann ] Karen--No. I always wnted to see a ghost, but they say people who want to see one never do. Signs and omens are another story--I see them everywhere. I think we all do. this is in answer to Karen’s question. Oh, and I really did see such a whale once as the one in The World’s Room
(21:13) [Nickole Brown] Mary Ann is still answering Karen’s question now. Let’s keep this chat paced, like a conversation.
(21:13) [KarenM] Thanks, Mary Ann
(21:15) [Sharon Hodges] Hi room
(21:15) [Mary Ann ] W. Taylor--my dear cousin--No. I don’t think of plot. I wish I could. I work by instinct, like a person groping forward in a dark room. I guess there’s a plot incipient in what I begin with, which usually is a feeling for place. But I seem to be the last one to know. Are you all writing fiction now? What gets you started? I’m kind of interested in knowing
(21:15) [W.Taylor] Whenever I write, it’s sometimes the same for me.
(21:16) [Andrew] I usually rely on instinct.
(21:16) [rick] my question is- what is the best tip you can give to aspiring writers irin
(21:16) [W.Taylor] What kind of fiction do I like? Horror, Sci-Fi mostly. I get my ideas randomly, but sometimes I read and get inspired.
(21:16) [Jennifer] I just think that there is so much I want to tell people I might as well write about it
(21:17) [Mary Ann ] Jonah/Liz--What first inspired me to write was paper. Really-- I was about five years old, and had an aunt who worked in a book bindery who’d bring home beautiful remnants of end papers--orange and marbled and turquoise. And I’d imagine filling these papers up with words. I don’t think I could write yet
(21:17) [Sharon Hodges] What gives you inspiration when writing your stories?
(21:18) [Craig] I usually get the plot first, but the characters come along very shortly after. Oh, and hi- I came in about fifteen minutes ago.
(21:18) [Jonah/Liz] cool, thanx mary ann
(21:19) [Kris] Mary Ann, do you ever begin with an ending and develope backward through a story line?
(21:20) [Mary Ann ] Rick -- I believe to write you have to believe your own experience is valid. Never to dismiss it as not being interested or au courant or whatever. Not to envy anyone else’s voice, to have faith in your own.
(21:20) * W.Taylor is happy :)
(21:20) [Nickole Brown] Mary Ann will be answering Rick’s question next: What is the best tip you can give to aspiring writers?
(21:20) [W.Taylor] Thanks for answering my question Mary Ann. Nice to meet a famous writer for once
(21:20) [Crystal Spurbeck] Ms.Hall, I am interested in knowing why your female characters seem to have difficulty living a life.
(21:22) [rick] cool! thanx mary ann. I will use your good advice!
(21:22) [Mary Ann ] I think that my main interest in fiction is in what people do under pressure, Sharon. It’s what I think bears the weight of our experience as human beings. It’s going on all the time, that time when someone is coming to the wall, and will be forever changed by what happens there. That’s what inspires me. People becoming what they are.
(21:23) [W.Taylor] That’s an interresting theory for psychologists...
(21:24) [Mary Ann ] Kris--I don’t think I’ve ever been so fortunate as to have an ending in sight when I begin. No. That’s never happened to me. I wish it would.
(21:24) [W.Taylor] I suppose all writers are psychologists in a sense, that’s how they figure out a character’s motivations.
(21:24) [Mary Ann ] CRYSTAL--for heaven’s sake. Everybody has trouble living a life.
(21:25) [Jennifer] Mary Ann what is the first thing that come into your head after you’ve finished a story and before you start to revise it?
(21:25) [Kris] Amen
(21:25) [Kris] Amen
(21:25) [Andrew] Mary Ann- What is the purpose of a writer in a society.
(21:26) [rick] yeah- if they didn’t the story would be boring!
(21:26) [W.Taylor] Naturaly...no conflict, no story...
(21:26) [Dan Mann] Mary Ann, \"Who is your favorite author to read and why?\"
(21:27) [Mary Ann ] I think the first feeling I have when i finish a story is what turns out to be a totally erroneous feeling of well-being. I think, well, there, you’ve done it. But of course, I never have really done it, that first time. It’s never finished when I first think it’s finished.
(21:27) [Sharon Hodges] Did any of your stories come from your experience?
(21:28) [Crystal Spurbeck] Yeah, I guess that’s true. Anyway, do any of your characters take on a life of there own and you could talk to them? Like they were a friend or someone really close to you? Is it easy to get attached to certain characters that you create?
(21:28) [Jennifer] It the exact same with me... I think it’s done and then I look and it and say, \"What was I thinking?\"
(21:28) [Nickole Brown] Guys, we need to slow down. One question at a time.
(21:29) [Mary Ann ] Andrew, that’s a really good question to which I have absolutely no answer. I think a writer can’t really ask her or himself that question--not during the act of writing. I think the only allegiance a writer ought to have, while writing, is to the little portion of the truth that comes our way. If you ask about purpose, I think you end up with propoganda.
(21:29) [W.Taylor] When I get a story done I’m usually scanning it for spelling mistakes - I usually say \"DOH!\"
(21:30) [Mary Ann ] To be perfectly honest, all of my stories come in some sense or other from my own experience. Sometimes the story comes out of a place I’ve been-- sometimes out of an experience I’ve had, but usually very tangentially.
(21:31) [rick] mary ann- do you plan to use slip in any more stories?
(21:31) [Mary Ann ] Rick--No Old Slip has slipped off. He’ll never be seen again, I don’t believe.
(21:32) [KarenM] I can picture Undella, with 20+ years of life experience, as Ginny, Was this intentional on your part?
(21:32) [W.Taylor] A pitty. It would be interresting to find out what becomes of Slip after dealing with Undella
(21:32) [Sharon Hodges] I was just thinking the same thing Nickolos
(21:33) [brett] i notice you write alot in the present tense, does that ever interfere with what you originally intended to write?
(21:33) [Kris] He’ll find another Undella somewhere along his way...
(21:34) [W.Taylor] To Kris: I wouldn’t doubt that...
(21:34) [Mary Ann ] DAn--I missed your question. I read a lot of poetry when I’m writing. I love some of them a lot, and they seem to help me remember what language is. Merwin, Gluck, Gerald Stern, C.K. Williams. I love Toni Morrison, Faulkner, Katherine Anne Porte--I’m attracted to those strong voices
(21:34) [Jonah/Liz] does your husband feel offended by the way you portray male characters in your stories?
(21:34) [Jeanne L. Biddle] Was Ginny a woman of independent means for I gather that with her refeerence to wiring or sending for additional funds she was such, - independently wealthy. Also, this would be in keeping with her changiiiiiing from one who thought that she had found the ideal place to one who could leave so abruptly. I say and questioon this as Ginny reminds me of actions of some friends of mine who seem to .
(21:35) [Dan Mann] interesting -- thank you!
(21:35) [Kris] Have you ever read anything by James Baldwin?
(21:35) [rick] ya-nd this time he might get the slip or maybe this girl might slip a knott around him
(21:35) [Mary Ann ] No--Karen--I don’t see those two women as being alike .
(21:35) [Nickole Brown] Everyone, I’m sorry to interrupt again, but we need to try to keep this conversational in tone and take into consideration the amount of questions that you are giving Mary Ann to answer at one time.
(21:35) [Crystal Spurbeck] Mary Ann, what do you like to do to loosen up when you just don’t know what to write or you just can’t seem to find the right word?
(21:37) [Sharon Hodges] In the beginning, were you turneddown alot, and if so have you ever eresubmitted any of your work and it was than published
(21:37) [Mary Ann ] Brett--I would prefer not to write in the present tense and often do not. Sometimes there’s an immediacy of tone that seems to require the present tense,
(21:37) [Sharon Hodges] Sorry forgot the question mark!
(21:38) [Mary Ann ] Jonah/Liz He hasn’t said so
(21:40) [Mary Ann ] I think of Ginny as a kind of vagabond student, getting along on not very much, the way we used to when I was her age. But she must have a mama or daddy who’d be willing to wire her a little cash. That’s an interesting question. I think she probably saved up enough money for this trip from working, and now she’s blown it.
(21:41) [Mary Ann ] Crystal--I meditate and find that helpful sometimes. Just sit and try not to have any thoughts at all, for maybe fifteen minutes. Something usually rises to the surface then. Also, I do a lot of free writing, which I find centering
(21:42) [Dan Mann] interesting -- thank you!
(21:42) [Jeanne L. Biddle] Each of your short stories I found to be quite delightful as both setting and character adventures. Each was like meeting and enjoying new people, their differences yet similarities of individuality to types. Many thanks for the adventures so far read and enjoyed in your collection.
(21:42) [KarenM] Which makes me think of a more mature Undella : )
(21:43) [rick] mary ann- how were you able to portray rosa so well? you really got into an elderly woman’s head?
(21:44) [Sharon Hodges] I have 3 kids ,work full time ,and go to school full time . Do you have any kids and how do you make the time to write stories if you have the kids around all the time?
(21:45) * Sharon Hodges is happy :)
(21:46) [Mary Ann ] Sharon--I’m a very slow writer, and have had the experience of getting things accepted when I at last finish them. But I wrote a novel that took a whole lot of my life that was rejected by just about everybody in new York. That was very hard to overcome. in fact, I’d have to say that the thing I’m proudest of in my life is coming back and trying again.dest of in my life is get
(21:46) [Crystal Spurbeck] From some of the stories that I have read you do not seem to use a lot of color. For you is using a little color only to describe teeth, eyes, yo-yo’s,etc. just your style? In case anyone is wondering...I love color!
(21:46) [Craig] Whenever I read something about writing, or being a writer, rejection always comes up. I was wondering, about how many works have you \"finished\" but haven’t yet been sold? (Rejected, not sent in, etc.)
(21:47) [KarenM] Do you try to write daily?
(21:47) [KarenM] Do you try to write daily?
(21:48) [rick] crystal-after reading your story- we knowyou use it well
(21:48) [Mary Ann ] Rosa got into MY head, Rick, not the other way around. I heard her voice, wanting so much to tell her story. Her voice comes somewhat from my experience of my Czech relatives in Chicago--but it’s not so exact as that
(21:48) [Mary Ann ] Sharon--
(21:49) [Crystal Spurbeck] Ted Giesel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, had his story \"And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street\" was rejected 27 times, but he finally go it published and became a revolutionary for children’s writing. That should be very inspiring.
(21:51) [Gerry Woods] Ms. Taylor-Hall, Has your writing discipline changed since you have become a published writer -- such as, has your writing time become more structured?
(21:51) [Mary Ann ] Sharon--I think what you can hope to do with small kids and a full-time job is, for the time being, keep a journal. I know some women can manage to write with kids around, but I think it’s very very hard for women to do that. That’s why I think a lot of women don’t really hit their stride till they’re in their forties--they simply don’t have time. This question of the woman artist (continued i
(21:51) [Jeanne L. Biddle] Are any of your stories baased upon material gleaned from written sources? What kinds of sources?
(21:52) [brett] do you think the internet is agood way to let people read your stuff before you get published?
(21:52) [Mary Ann ] This is still for Sharon. Women balancing art and kids. I’m writing a novel about that now, I think.
(21:52) [Nickole Brown] FYI—We only have about five minutes left for our visit, so we may want to begin wrapping things up.
(21:52) [Jennifer] Mary Ann, have you ever written a story where the central character was a male? Do you think it was or would be challenging?
(21:52) [Dan Mann] Mary Ann, have you ever thought about writing a full-length novel?
(21:53) [Kris] Thank-you for your time Mary Ann.
(21:53) [Mary Ann ] Crystal--I’m under the impression that there’s auite a lot of color in my writing--but who am I to say?
(21:53) [Sharon Hodges] That is really nice to here!! Thank You once again! Mary Ann!
(21:53) [Scott Fisher] I suggest we hold off on any more questions and let Mary Ann just comment on the ones already asked in the time we have left
(21:53) * Sharon Hodges is happy :)
(21:53) * Jonah/Liz is happy :)
(21:53) [W.Taylor] It has been nice speaking with you, Mary Ann. I hope we can talk again and possibly exhange stories - my e-mail is Gemini5181@aol.com. Call if interrested, and thanks for your time.
(21:54) * W.Taylor is happy :)
(21:54) * Gerry Woods does not agree with you!
(21:54) [brett] later
(21:54) [Mary Ann ] Gerry--No. I still have the same old problems getting to my desk. It’s a battle I fight every day. I want three hours. I don’t always get them
(21:55) [Sharon Hodges] I have really enjoyed chatting with you Mary Ann!!!!!!
(21:55) [W.Taylor] See you all later! Good bye for now Miss Ann, and again I thank you. It’s been a pleasure.
(21:56) [Sharon Hodges] Good Nite!!
(21:56) [Crystal Spurbeck] Thank-you, Ms. Taylor-Hall!
(21:56) * Sharon Hodges is happy :)
(21:56) [Jonah/Liz] bye bye ya’ll
(21:56) [Cathy Powers] Mary Ann ~ Thanks! Sorry our time was so short.
(21:56) [KarenM] Mary Ann -- Thank you so much for your time and for answering our questions!
(21:56) [rick] thanx-mary ann-your comment’s will be put to good use!
(21:57) [Craig] Yeah, thanks! It’s always interesting to read author interviews.
(21:57) [Mary Ann ] Jeanne--Well--It looks like this is over--This has been fun though I haven’t been able to quite keep up with your busy little brains
(21:57) [Andrew] is everyone gone?
(21:57) [Jennifer] This was so interesting to learn what a published writer does and how she thinks. Thanks Mary Ann.
(21:57) [rick] nope
(21:57) [Nickole Brown] Thank you all for participating! I will be sending all of you who registered a copy of the chat this evening...
(21:58) [Scott Fisher] Thanks, Mary Ann and Nickole. This was a VERY hectic night with the change in locations, and thanks for putting up with the onslaught of questions
(21:58) [Andrew] ALOHA
(21:58) [Kris] Thanks Nickole.
(21:58) [Dan Mann] It’s been very informative . . . thank you!
(21:58) [Gerry Woods] I dropped my pencil -- did anyone see my pencil
(21:59) [KarenM] Yeah, it rolled under your desk!
(21:59) [Nickole Brown] You’re all welcome! See you later!
(22:00) [Jennifer] i though it rolled under his chair
(22:00) [Gerry Woods] Oh, I see it. Thanks.
(22:00) [Scott Fisher] Good evening, everyone.
(22:00) [Jennifer] good night all
(22:00) [Kris] Later..............
(22:00) [Craig] Ciao!
(22:01) [Jeanne L. Biddle] Thanks, this has been enjoyable.
(22:01) [KarenM] BYE!
(22:03) [Gerry Woods] I get the lights, bye