 Hello, my name is John Harrison. I'm an author, editor, and avid reader. From Sumerian Kanaeiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics to reading on our smartphones and kindles, humans have been telling recording and sharing stories for thousands of years. Our goal with this program is to start great conversations and find out what makes authors tick. Together we will dive into the creative process and come out on the other side with a story. Join us. Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince who grew up on the Upper East Side. Today's words come from Gilded by Sin. We are fortunate to have her joining us in the studio today. Sin, it's great to have you here. How are you today? Oh, I'm fine. I'd like to start with some questions about your origins as a writer. What are some of the creative influences on your writing? Well, when I was little, my father used to read us roll-doll stories. So I grew up with you and Charlie in the Chocolate Factory and James in the Giant Peach and all the children's books. And then as I got older, I started reading some of his short stories which are much darker, but they also have a very moral message and it's essentially people get what they deserved. And so I've always liked that and I like to bring that into my writing and, yeah, basically people get what they deserve. Now, did these stories suddenly go off in your head? I want to do this. I mean, how did these stories lead to starting your own writing? Well, when I was little, I mean, I was your typical kid that always would write the little stories and I even had a few that I self-published and put in our school library, you know, all of two pages long and written in pencil, of course. But then, yeah, writing was never really something I did when I got older and back for quite a while I was afraid that I couldn't write at least nothing long. And then, of course, I got a master's degree and you have to write a 100-page thesis and I was reading that one, but I managed to do it and realized, oh, wow, I can actually write longer things and the irony is when I was in my courses and the instructors, when we were starting to do the process for writing the thesis, they said, yeah, if anybody's got any problems with writing, you know, come talk to us and stuff. So I went up to one of my instructors and I was like, I don't know that I'm a really good, you know, writer and the response was, oh, really, you're one of the best writers in the class. So that was very helpful and really boosted my confidence. So I got through the thesis and then one day I just decided, I've got this idea for a story. I'm just going to start writing it. Okay, so that's what began it. If you hadn't had to write the thesis in school, do you think you'd have gone on to write your story or would it have come any way somehow? I don't know. I'm sure that the characters would have been speaking to me, but whether I actually wrote it down or not, I'm not sure. However, the reason I wrote down the story was to get these characters who were talking in my head to shut up. What brought these characters into your head? Why the Upper East Side? Why this story? Why these characters? When did they start speaking to you? I mean, do you know what the influence was when that happened, how that happened? Well, it was after I retired from the Navy and just, gee, what do I do now? And it just sort of started as a fantasy autobiography. Like I just had this idea of what if I were essentially richer than God? And so that's how this character just sort of started to form. And then it was just the adventures of finding love. Now, I will admit, I was happily married at the time I still am, so it wasn't like I was frustrated dating or anything. It was just a what if. So this fantasy lived on in you and you went with it. Now, how long did it take you to write the story itself? Well, it started as a novella and I wrote that in three months. And then put it away and, okay, we're done with it. But then the characters, they just kept talking and they just, no, it's not done. This is what happens next. So a few months later I was like, all right, fine. And then over the next three months wrote down essentially the sequel novella and then put them together. And then I mean, I would say I edited it off and on for the next 10 years. And once you start something like this you never really finished, even if you put it away for a while. If that's what you have to do, that's what you have to do. So you say you put it away for a while. I mean, the whole process of the final book, the entire, not the novella, but the entire book, how long did that take? Once you've decided to go and finish it and make it a full novel. Well, like I said, it was essentially two, three month chunks. Then put it together, probably worked on it for maybe another six months. And then just put it away. Let a few people read it. Got some feedback on it. And it was all very positive. But of course, family usually is. And then just sort of put it away and went on to, I had other stories coming into my head. So I started writing those down. And so I would say over the next 10 years I worked on maybe seven manuscripts that are at this point in varying states of doneness. Gildes is the only one that I will say is truly complete. Do you have one or two almost complete? I mean, do you see yourself in the next year, two, three having another one, two, or three full novels finished? No, writing is sort of, I've sort of put that away for now. Maybe something will come down the line that'll just prompt me to pick up one of the stories. I was recently involved with the Boston Comics Roundtable and pulled out one of my old manuscripts to start working on as a graphic novel. And I did that for about six months and then it went back in the box. That's a different approach. The graphic novel world is very different. Well, what would you like readers to know about your book, to interest them in your book? What would make them say, I want to read this book. I want to pick this up. I'm curious about how the story continues. Well, if you want to read a story about a gay man who is richer than God, but of course grew up in a very conservative household and essentially rebels against that completely and essentially is just sort of out to prove that he can become even richer than richer than God, but not really embracing who he is and trying to make it by being middle class and then finding out how that works out for him. I'll give you a hint, it doesn't. It is a contemporary story though. Those issues are very contemporary and that would resonate with people. In your book, does your character find happiness ultimately or contentment or satisfaction with who he is? It's ultimately a romance. I mean, I tried not to be that. I kept saying, I don't want to write a romance and it's ultimately a romance, but not one of those bodice rippers. No, no, no, no. That's not sure. There are degrees of romance. But that is a relevant story today. So I think you should publish it and do it. I should let you read it and then see what you think. Yeah, be glad to. So what was your goal when you started this? I mean, you started writing this story. Was there a goal or was it like you had to do this because this was in your head and most authors have that story. How often do authors say that the characters end up driving them rather than them driving the story? The characters end up telling them the direction they want to go and they end up with the book that says, this is the book that I started out with that I thought I would finish. Exactly. Yeah, I had this idea and this was my little fantasy and then the characters essentially took on a life of their own. Yeah, that's what happens. And they just went. And when I said, okay, this is where the book's going to end and I wrote the ending and they're, no, no, that's not our story. This is our story. Yeah, they tell you. They direct you. So what's next? I mean, what's next for you? I mean, this one is put to bed. You can decide how you want to go forward with it, but the story's complete. So what's the next in your writing quest? Well, I probably won't write per se, but I'm a calligrapher and I'm... Okay, that's the other thing I love about writing. I actually love the physical act of writing, which is why I write all my stories longhand. That's right. When you say it, it's going to ask. So obviously you don't do calligraphy on a computer. No, so I want to get back into that and sort of more of the fine art aspect of it. Oh yeah, speaking of longhand, yeah, this is where the tangents start and your guests will do this. I participated in national novel, Nano Rimo, a national... Nano, novel writing month... You know what I'm talking about. National novel writing month, Nano Rimo, it's in November. Every November? Yes, every November. Why don't I know that? And the goal is to write a minimum of 50,000-word novel in 30 days. And a number of years ago, well, I basically found out about it like the first week in November, so I'm like, well, I haven't started at the beginning of November, so there's no point in writing anything. But I participated on the writer's boards and stuff, and then there was this one person who was whining about not being able to write, didn't have the time, and oh, did I mention that I have to make Thanksgiving dinner next week for all these people? And I said, that's it. I'm going to prove this person's a whiner. So the next morning, 10 o'clock in the morning, I started writing, and over the next eight days, I wrote over 50,000 words and completed another story. It's not a very good story. Eight days, that's a record. And I actually wrote my start and finish times, and I think it came out to 56 and a half hours, 56 and three-quarter hours, that I actually wrote. And I would write, and then I would go walk on the bike path, and then the next part of the story would talk to me, and I'd come home and I'd write, and all longhand, and it was rather painful, but I finished on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving just to prove it could be done. Well, how many people do you think that start out in that program and writing their 50,000-word novel? Well, there tend to be a lot of people who do succeed, and a lot of people who start out and have all the excuses for why they can't finish it, and some of it is, they just don't have the complete idea. They don't have the characters talking to them. Others, they realize it's a lot more than they can chew, and others have Thanksgiving dinner to make. Yeah, to tell someone to write a novel is a lot different than I have this story that I have to tell. I don't know how well that can work being told as a school project or something, write a novel. In today's world of publishing, all of the big authors, the James Pattison's and the John Grishams and that top of the iceberg, the publishers want one novel a year. They want them coming out on a regular basis. And you could do that. Well, back then. With your ability to write quickly, a little inspiration in that ability, and you could be writing for Random House one book a year. I have to admit my muse has left me. For the moment. Yeah, it may come back. Do you have any suggestions or advice for aspiring authors? I would say if you've got that story in your head and you've got characters talking to you, write it down. I think a lot of the hindrance most people run into, because I ran into it, is they don't think they can write, or they don't think they can write enough. And I would just say just start writing. If it goes someplace, great. If it doesn't, at least you try. Yeah, you've learned. And you may find... You can go on the websites and people can tell you all the oh, you have to sit down and write for an hour. But it's much more of a... You have to learn your style. And once you find your style, it'll work for you. It's a very difficult task. And once you decide to do it, it's really hard. It's hard, hard work being an author. I remember at our second book launch for Kim and my book Dead in Good Company, one of the participants, one of the essayists in the book at that launch asked me perhaps the most interesting question that I've been asked since doing this. And he said, John, if you knew what it was going to take, because now you're at the other end of the process, what was it going to take when you started this project? Would you have done it? And wow, that's because we worked on it 17 months. We had a bunch of well-known authors, including Alan Dershowitz and Hank Philippi Ryan and Pulitzer Prize winner Megan Marshall. And as soon as you commit to it, you realize you don't want to embarrass these people. I don't want Alan Dershowitz chasing me down the street saying, what the hell did you do with my name? So I don't know. I couldn't answer that question. If I knew how hot it was going to be, every day was gut-wrenching and, oh, are we doing this right? Is this going to happen? So maybe it's better that you don't know what's coming, that you just dive into it, follow your instincts and hope for the best, because it really is very hard. Writing is very, very difficult. And if you're doing this just for yourself, that's another whole aspect, because I was just doing this for myself. I had to write this down. I think it's very different for somebody who wakes up one day and says, I'm going to be a writer. Right, yeah. And hotter than they think. Yeah. And a lot of those people start out and in short time they realize, you know, I'm not going to be a writer. Right. You know, writers have to be writers. Yeah. For all the authors that I know, they have no choice. They have day jobs, but they have to write. And they're good at it. And they have something to show the world, a story to tell. And they have to do it. And they love doing it. It's a love business, the book business. I have always felt. Yeah. And I would say that it's the people who have to write are the better writers and that the people who decide, well, I can write a novel. How hard can it be? And that's when they discover how hard it is. And because they don't have that drive, the language they use, just their general writing in and of itself, isn't at the same level. I mean, they may be well trained and I'm not saying that they had a bad education. It's just they don't have the heart. It's like listening to somebody who sings. And you can have somebody who can sing technically beautifully. And then you can have somebody who can sing. Technically. And then, but really puts their heart into it. Which is really the better singer? Yeah, without passion, nothing in the arts really happens. The only time I know of an author that worked in Senior Moment, the Mass General Surgeon years ago, I can't remember his name, I hate when that happens, but he read a couple of books and he said, I can do that. And he ended up writing a bunch of great books, best sellers made into movies. I'll remember it as soon as this is over. But he did start out that way saying I can do that. How hard can that be? He didn't have a passion for writing, but he was a great surgeon and driven and he did that. But for most of us. Okay, there's flukes. There are flukes. Yeah, very rare though. The flukes are rare. But mostly if the passion isn't there, if you don't have to do it, you're not going to do it. Yeah, and the other issue is with, what is it they say, 3 million new titles coming on every year because of self-publishing? Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing. Yeah, you really have to worry about it. And you can't be worried about how well it's going to sell. There are people who get their books on the Amazon and say, Jesus, it's been on the Amazon a month and I haven't sold anything. Yeah, who knows? Well, you've got to do your marketing. Yeah, that can't be a principal thing. And you learn that quickly. And unfortunately, because of the way the market is, that you write your book and then you spend what you would otherwise write your next book, marketing your first book. Yeah, but that's okay because you like it. And you'll get good feedback along the way and there will be people who like it and people who have suggestions and it matters to authors. That's what matters. Yeah, so it's not easy. Yeah, there are very few James Paterson's and John Grisham's end up. Yeah, and they don't even write their own books anymore. In that world, yeah, now they have franchised like card dealerships. But it's an amazing thing. But that's the world we're in today. But still, it's a worthwhile thing. And if you get a book to happen, you publish a book, it's a great thing to hold the book in your hand that you've done. Because you know all the work that's gone into it, you know how much time it's taken and it's coherent and it matters. And the other thing you can do is you can just print it all out on eight and a half by five and a half and get it comb-bound and you're holding your book. Yeah, so it's a great feeling. It keeps you doing it, which is what we've found anyway. So this is, yeah. So I hope as time goes by that you'll have other finished books, any of these seven that you mentioned, manuscripts or however many that you'll pick a couple of them out and say this is worthy of finishing and this one's worthy of finishing and sometimes when you put something away for a while and then come back to it, you file, wow, there's something to this. I mean that happens with playwrights all the time. Great Broadway playwrights wrote shows long ago that they put in a draw because it just didn't resonate. They become big successes and then they take out that old chestnut and rework it a little and that becomes one of their best works. Yeah, because after you've completed something and then you can go back to that and you can see essentially what was wrong with it, why it didn't work and then now you've got some way to polish it. Yeah, which you've learned from the other things you've done. So that's why putting, it's good that you put them away for revision at some later time because you never know one. That will be the thing that inspires you. And then most authors will tell you that nothing is ever finished. That's right, not in that world, absolutely. There are so many authors that I've been involved with and they've finished a story. It's been published and some have said, Jesus, if I had to do over again, the ending would be a little different or I would have added this but there has to be a time when you say, this is it, this is how I'm ending it. So this has been a great experience, sin, learning about your writing quest. Thanks so much for joining us and speaking about your book and writing experiences and thank you viewers for joining us to find out about sin and her gilded attempt to write fiction. It's been inspiring. And I'm John Harrison and this is Conversations with Great Authors and hope to see you next time. We have a full slate of authors that we plan on bringing in to speak to you about their writing life. Thank you, sin.