Interview with Heather Sellers and Dinty Moore's Advanced Fiction Writing Class at Penn State Altoona

Cori: hi all

Betsey: Hello everyone! Welcome to the Sarabande in Education chat room. This afternoon Dinty Moore's class will be chatting with author Heather Sellers.

Dinty: Hello Betsey

Cori: how are you, jack?

Betsey: Hi there, Dinty...Hi Cori.

Cori: hello, Betsy

Matt Glazewski: How's life in the Bluegrass State?

Cort: Hello Betsey, It's great to virtually meet you.

Betsey: Fantastic...I love when people call it the Bluegrass State.

Dinty: Oh where oh where could Heather be?

Betsey: It's nice to meet you as well, Cori. I just talked to Heather...she'll be here in second.

Heather Sellers: Hi, hi Dinty -- it's so nice to "see" you.
What class is this?

Dinty: English 412: Advanced Fiction Writing

Heather Sellers: I'm here, I'm set, I'm ready!

HolmesJW: In Geroria Under Water, was your main character Georgia based on someone you know, and if so, whom?

Heather Sellers: Hi, Holmes. A very sleuthing question.
I write what I know--I guess everything is
true in the book, even the madeup parts.
GA is kind of my alta ego... she's loud and
brassy and weird--everything I always wanted
to be..... she's a copmosite. the quintessential
florida girl

Cort: Why did you choose to write an open ending to your story Gulf of Mexico and what was your motivation for the male characters in that piece?

Heather Sellers: That story was written on assignment, sort of--
Sarabande wanted a story from the mom point
of view and the dad. I don't think of the
ending as open--don't you hate open endings,
I do. I think it's very Arnold S.--everyone
dies! Some in the story, some later. Take no
prisoners, that would be alcoholism. The male
characters are motivated by a complex set of
American tragedies--unexamined life, selfish
ness, addiction, pleasure-seeking, meanness...

Heather Sellers: That was supposed to be
Arnold Schwarzenneger and "alter" ego,
not ALTA these are GREAT questions!

Cori: i'm really interested in characterization. how do you make your characters come to live and breathe-actually become humans with their subtle flaws?

Heather Sellers: Cori, that's a generous question. I want my
cahracters to be subtle and breathe... I know
Georgia does, I know Sid doesn't--I just didn't
do that great of a job on him. I think the secret
to characterization is to get really, really specific. To tell the stuff that is secret. To expose the character--again, it's take no prisoners. You can't hold anything back on them. You have to step up to the plate and REVEAL
REVEAL REVEAL. Their most interior stuff. Does that make sense? Is that what you try to do?

Ian : Why were you inspired to write Georgia Under Water as a bunch of short stories, instead of a novel?

Heather Sellers: I tried to do it as a novel. But, my characters,
they aren't novel people. In a novel you have
to have people learn and grow, you know, have
epiphanies, join society. My characters,they learn but then they forget everything. They get stupider. They just wouldn't ever be in a novel. they can offer glimpses into human life--that's it.
but

CortneyG: I would like to know if you found it difficult to write from the point of view of a young girl?

Heather Sellers: No, Cortney, not at all. Georgia has been
haunting me for like ten years--she's always
with me. I love her. I welcome her presence
in my life. She's great. I interviewed about twenty girls for the book. I love adolescence, I love my topic--coming of age. I think it's the most fascinating time of all in the human life, the arc--it's so messy and scary and weird and pleasurable. I have a question--how many are in your class right now, what does the room look like?

CortneyG: well there is about 12 of us here right now, the room is white with a few small long windows, brownish carpet, lots of computers in a row

Cori: kinda dim in here too

Heather Sellers: Oh. Hi. Hi, Dinty.

Trisha: In Georgia Under Water, Gulf of Mexico was such a different tone than the stories from Georgia's point of view- did you find one character "easier" to write about than the other?

Ian : actually two rows and teh computers are back toback so we can face each other

Heather Sellers: It was really hard for me to write from Buck's
POV. But I ilke that story. It was so fun
to have him telling all this stuff to people,
and he really believes his own BS, youknow?
I think he's sweet and funny in a doomed way.
The hardest story to write was the Mom story.
I almost always write in first person. I'm
working on a sequel to the book, it IS a novel,
Georgia is thirty years old...

Dinty: Here's a question: Heather, are you in Hope, MI, upstate NY, or NYC right now?

Heather Sellers: Hey, Dinty. I'm in upstate New York. My office
has only stained glass windows. It's beautiful
in a creepy kind of way. It's cold.

Bernice: Do you ever block when you're trying to write a story? If so, what do you do to get unstuck?

Heather Sellers: Well, there is that great William Stafford quote.
Got writer's block? Lower your standards.
For me writing is a daily practice, I know I'm going to do it every day, so I don't get blocked, like a binge writer might. I show up, write crap or something I like--it doesn't matter (well, it matters a lot) because I know I'm going to be there tomorrow. If I am "stuck" reading someone's work I like--either student work or famous people work--that will unstick me. Or, reading interviews with writers, that actually helps, too. Mostly, you hvae to just WRITE through the blocks.

Dinty: By the way, excuse our typing. We have really horrible keyboards in this room.

TiNA: Now looking back on this collection of stories, what would you do differently? Any regrets or something you are really glad you did?

Heather Sellers: REgrets? YEAH! I mean, you always want to be a better writer! Always. I would do a better job with Sid's plot, make that more present. I would cut some of the stories, and tighten the scenes. I love the first story and that last story--I'm done with those, but the mom story still bugs me...

JackP: I was wondering how you develop your ideas. Do you come up with characters first and then invent a situation to put them in, or do you come up with plot ideas first?

Heather Sellers: Jack, that's a great question. I think different writers do it different. I always work from character. I don't really invent situations--I really work the character, push them, test them, annoy them, surprise them....I really waste an awful lot of time just writing, writing, writing, making all this "fabric" which is the character yakking, then I start to pull threads through...if that makes any sense. But usually, making up a situation feels contrived to me. I find that if my students have THREE characters on stage, not one, not two, but three--there will be trouble. it will happen. It's not good to think about it too much. Just stir the part, with your eyes closed.

Cori: what would you advise for us budding writers to do? should we drink lots of caffeine and really pour our souls into our work so that (after our first dozen rejections) we feel really good when we get good news from a publisher? just get an agent? hope that the deal of a lifetime falls into our laps? what did you do?

Heather Sellers: Cori--when you say "do" what do you mean? I'm not esactly sure of your question--tell me more what you mean. Tue Oct 22, 2002 4:55 pm
Cori: as far as getting published, i mean. getting ourselves out there, in the market- so that we get to do book signings one day and have entire leagues of devoted websites ?

Heather Sellers: There were 50,000 books published last year.
Eleven of them sold more than a million copies.
Most books don't sell. Much. Most writers have
a "day job." So, I guess I would focus on the writing, make sure that you enjoy sitting alone in a room (caffeinated or not) completely by yourself in a state of anxiety...for years on end. It's not for everyone! I spent years learning how to write a story and experimenting with how to do a more experimental structure (I will probably never have a HUGE readership--I'm more interested in capturing voices of odd people than "selling").
I mean, develop your craft, right? And then realize that publication doesn't change you or anything, and the next story you write is at least as hard to write as the last one. Is this depressing you? I'd wait to publish until I was
really sure I didn't need publication for any reason outside myself.... Tue

Heather Sellers: That said, we still need your stories.
We still need, and will always need, really
great stories. We're starving for them.

Matt Glazewski: Drat, someone stole my first question, and then, when I came up with a second, it got stolen again! I'm trying to think of something no one has asked yet, so at Dinty's sugestion, I looked at your responses. When you spoke about characterization, you said to reveal their most interior stuff. How much is too much? Is the sky the limit? Sometimes I feel as if I tell too much about my characters and stray from the topic of the storyline. Is there a way that I can incorporate the inner-psyche without overwhelming the reader or side tracking them making them less interested in the plot? If so, how?

Heather Sellers: Matt, fabulous question. Sorry you were robbed
before. I think there's a danger of writing a neat story, sterile, where everything adds up. I think you will discover the best truths about your characters by straying from "the point." I don't think there is a too-deep or a too-exposed. I draft all that stuff out, and then pick a few shiney bits to put in my story....and I dno't mind overwhelming my reader.

Matt Glazewski: Thanks!

Jeremy Sellers: Does music inpire your writing? Do you ever listen to music when you write?

Heather Sellers: Jeremy Sellers? Are you kidding me? From North Carolina Sellers by any chance? Love your name.
Music--love music. What made you ask that? I listen to a lot of what my characters listen to.
Buck is a RayPrice Hank Williams guy, so those songs kind of sidle into the story. I like Lucinda Williams so much. I listen to a lot of jazz when I am revising--the wayward ways of it makes me stay looser, I think? I like the way music can distract the "concious" mind and keep the monkey away, while I am trying to write. Dinty might hate that.

Matt Glazewski: I'm inspired!

Dinty: Nah, Dinty agrees.

Heather Sellers: Matt, how so?

Matt Glazewski: I play in a jazz band here at PSU, and I always listen to jazz, I never really listen to music when I do my work,I alwyas crack a window or lt the voices of hallway traffic float in. Why not combine artistic loves like Jazz with my writing, I'd be interested to see where my mind leads.

Jeremy Sellers: I'm a huge skynyrd/Hank williams fan and it comes out in my characters all the time. I have relatives from north carolina so this is kind of cool. Love your name too!

Heather Sellers: Musicans, athletes, anyone involved in a process
that requires the ability to really CONCENTRATE
and practice--they usually are really good at writing, same skills.

Bernice: What strategies do you employ to make memories & imagination work together?

Heather Sellers: Well there is a town in NC called Sellersburg,
I think it must be the Site for Sellers...
okay, back to the topic here, Bernice, that is a great question. I use photos, art, and stealing.
Let me explain. I like old photos--especially if I don't know the people. I buy boxes of them at auctions. All those stories. They supply me.
I do a lot of guided writing, memory work, with my students, lots of exercises from books like Writing Down the Bones, and Gail Sher's new work.
I love giving myself assignments--first kiss, go, first mean words you can remember saying to a guy, the color red--go. I do a lot of timed writings. I have to write everyday, so I have to fill up the hours. Dinty could tell you about some of the books on the market that are packed with these prompts?

Trisha: You mentioned writing a sequel with Georgia being thirty years old- she was such a vibrant character- how is she at age thirty? Now that she is not as young and innocent- is it more difficult to keep that liveliness of the character?

Heather Sellers: Hi Trisha. Thanks for the nice words. I think
she is still vibrant--but it IS hard--she
could be wacky and quirky before, because she
was a kid--now she has to be more insightful sometimes, in a different way than that great kid wisdom. She's a single mom in a super religious
conservative small town--everyone learns something in this novel. It's still her voice.

Cort: In Florida Boys, why did you choose to represent the fifteen-year-old girl in such an adult-like manner? Did you make this choice to coincide with the character traits of her alcoholic father? Also, would you ever consider rewriting the story from the father's point of view?

Heather Sellers: Cort, interesting. Yes, I think alco. kids have
to take on the adult roles--they like the power, right, driving, shopping, etc,. mothering in GA's case, but the risks are intense--a bad encounter at a highway motel. I think it's one of those true to life things, where the kids who grow up in homes--and there's lots who do--where the rules aren't clear, they really experiment their way to adulthood. That story, Buck's pov--no, probably not, he's too unconscious....

CortneyG: You said that you would like to devolop the character of Sid more. What do you think you could have done to make him a more solid character?

Betsey: Just a warning that we have about fifteen minutes left in the chat.

Matt Glazewski: Thanks Betsey

Heather Sellers: Thought through more who is he. I don't know many boys in that age range. I didn't interview any. Complete mystery! He doesn't have a story, or a plot, or even any key scenes. He doesn't change, or have an arc of any kind, he's like a little sofa or something. He's there. He's not dynamic--and I think he's got potential--I just don't know enough about who he is--you know how that is when you are writing?

HolmesJW: Was there any specific reason in Spurt that you had GA have a kind of Freudian relationship going on with her father? There was confusion in the class about whether or not she was coming into her own as an adolescent or maybe the first inklings of GA seeing herself as a sexual being. Is there anything you would change in that specific piece that would alter the perception of GA's relationship with her father?

Heather Sellers: When you don't know about sex, really, as GA doesn't, and you grow up in a culture (DAytona Beach) and a family (the Jacksons) where the boundaries are really permeable, absent, I think that you wouldn't really know what is appropriate. You know how teenagers can go from totally knowing to five years old in ten seconds? I think that's the confusion there. I dno't think I would want to clarify that--the point is it's incredibly confusing (and should not ever be for a kid) for Georgia--she doesn't know what she's doing. Her mom kinds of "assigns" the dad to GA. Because she can't deal. The roles are screwed up, and confusing, and youa re right, she has the inklings, but no idea where they go, does that make sense?

Ian : you describe your stained glass window as beautiful in a creepy kind of way, does this beautiful-creepiness of your office add to or detract from the creepiness of your stories? I'm asking cause the dark nature involved in Georigi Under Water is very intriguing, and it interests me if your office environment played a role in that.

Heather Sellers: Ian, wow, interesting connection! Close reading!
I just got this office--this semester, so the book was finished in 1999 -- no DIRECT connection!
But you are absolutely right, I am attracted to
what might be called the sublime--stuff that is so beautiful, it's creepy, or vice versa. Florida operates on that level for me. But, I write at home, in the early mornings, never at school--I don't have the web (or I'd be on it all day) at home, and the office is very normal looking, like completely boring and regular

Dinty: We are going to wrap up here now. Many many thanks, Heather. We love your book.

Heather Sellers: Ian should be a biographer of writers in addition to being a famous fiction writer

Heather Sellers: Thank you this was way fun.
Email me, class, if you want:
sellers@hope.edu Anytime! HS

Matt Glazewski: I enjoyed this very much. Thanks a bundle for your valuable advice, I can't wait to test it out. Good luck with your book!

Trisha: Thank you!!

Cort: Thanks a bunch Heather!!! It was great to virtually meet you!!! Keep up the good work!!!

TiNA: Thank you!

Bernice: Thanks a million! This was a wonderful treat.

Betsey: Thank you all so much. This was a really fun and interesting chat! Special thanks to you Heather!

Dinty: Seeyou

CortneyG: Thank You So much for answering my questions. I love your book and I can't wait to read your next one! :)

Cori: g'bye! thanx

Dinty: See you in Baltimore?

Heather Sellers: Bye, thanks!

Ian : Thank you so much for your compliment, if you would like me to experiment with that field of study please send me info that I could use my email address is psuwildthing@hotmail.com . Again thanks.

Dinty: Thanks too to Betsey!

Betsey: I will be e-mailing the transcript to everyone who registered, and to Dinty.

JackP: i love dysfunction, your book characters intrigue me and i enjoy reading the stories

HolmesJW: Thank you for your time!

Heather Sellers: Yes, DInty, but let's talk soon..

CortneyG: Thank You Betsey!

Jeremy Sellers: Bye bye, love your book! thank you for talking to us. Support whiskey and roll!

Dinty: Bye bye now.

Betsey: Thank you Dinty...this was great.

Matt Glazewski: Au revoir

Heather Sellers: Betsey Thanks, I'm not sure I registered, but
will you send mea copy too? thank you!

Betsey: Oh, sure Heather! No problem.

Betsey: Okay, signing off!