Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, I’m going to share about my work-in-progress today, having been tagged by Jeri Walker-Bickett for something called The Next Big Thing. First, a girl can only hope. I’d even be thrilled with The Next Moderately Well-Received Thing. Second, can I get in trouble for using the phrase “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah?” I’m developing copyright paranoia. Anyway, thanks to Jeri for getting me to play. This promotion idea originates from the SheWrites website, and what follows are my answers to ten interview questions. At the end, you’ll find links to other authors I’ve invited to take part.
What is the working title of your book? It’s Crazy for You, but I definitely envision a title change. I like the working title, but there are too many things out there already with the same name. If anybody has any snappy ideas, please send them my way. If your idea gets used, I’ll pay you what Nike paid the graphic designer who came up with the swoosh, which is enough to buy one-third of one pair of Nike runners. You’re welcome. (But seriously, if something comes to you in a flash, I’d love to hear it. Love to.)
Where did the idea come from for the book? The content is my life (as per next question). The idea to actually put it all out there, even the cringe-worthy, came when I realized that as the child of a mentally-ill parent, I have a lot to share with people in terms of survival, self-care, forgiveness and the mother-daughter bond. My mother was my custodial parent from the time I was one, but she wasn’t diagnosed until the age of 73, which meant that for the first chunk of my life, I thought she was cuckoo-bird crazy, but didn’t understand that she had a mental illness. And nobody talks to teenagers about mentally-ill parents; when I identified that an education gap exists there, I decided I would go out and speak to them. It’s one thing I wish somebody would have done when I was in high school—it would have got the wheels turning a lot sooner.
What genre does your book fall under? Memoir.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? It’s always so fun to contemplate stuff like that. For Ellen, my ferocious and paranoid schizophrenia-afflicted mother, Annette Bening. Leonardo DiCaprio would be a good fit for my alternately dweeby and charismatic father, Norman. I’d love to see Michelle Williams as the young version of my older sister, Julie, and Cate Blanchett for the time when Julie is in her late 40s. Geez, I don’t know who I’d pick to play Julie and me as kids; that will have to be left to the casting director. Finally, for my teens and early 20s phase, I’m going to say Ellen Page, and at the end of the movie, when I’m in my 40s, I’m thinking Laura Linney. How’s that for an ensemble with mad talent?
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? A promising young figure skater leaves her mentally ill mother in order to salvage her own life, but when she’s presented with an opportunity to reconcile decades later, the onset of dementia means her mother may not remember her.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? It will be represented by an agency (note how I’m speaking like it’s a done deal—this is a result of years of visualization and manifestation study and training, however I will not refuse offers of pixie dust to help make this happen.) I am beyond thrilled that I already have agents who have asked to read the (partial or full) manuscript, so that’s a great first step.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? I’ve had a bit of a weird process for this book. I initially planned to make it half memoir and half schizophrenia information book and spent the first bunch of months doing research. Then, while in a writing class, the instructor said to me, “Don’t think that your story isn’t strong enough to stand on its own.” That sent a little shiver down my spine, and I decided to go full-on memoir (I’m happy that the speaking part of this project will fulfill my goal of sharing more information on mental illness.) When I finally sat down to write, even though everybody says “don’t edit as you go, just get the first draft down and then go back for rewrites,” that model didn’t work for me. I changed the book’s structure and rewrote the first three chapters early on in the process, and then continued to do rewrites while my critique group’s comments were fresh in my brain. So, to make this long story short—pun intended—by the time my “first draft” goes out to literary agents in the early part of 2013, I’ll have been working on it for about 20 months.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? There are two that come to mind. The first is The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok, and, even though I will never say this to a literary agent (because it’s already been said by other writers a hundred million times), The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.
Who or what inspired you to write this book? When people started saying things to me like “how is it that you’re not drug addicted and standing on a street corner?” it got me thinking (although my spiritual overseer knows I had my fair share of screw ups along the way). One goal of sharing an experience like mine is to make it easier for the next person who is trying to navigate a similar situation. I began to view myself not only as a story teller, but also an educator, and my gut started screaming, “Write the book!” In fact, the first time someone called me an educator, I had such a visceral reaction—because it rang so true—that she then asked, “What, do you have a hairball?”
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? The book has its heavy moments, obviously, but it can also be very funny. A person can’t survive what my sister and I survived without having a sense of humor about it. Also, anyone who has an interest in the sport of figure skating will get some nifty inside looks at that world as several scenes are set around competitions, including one where I compete against a wee Tonya Harding and another where I skate at the Canadian Nationals.
Now it’s my turn to tag some of my favorite fellow authors who I know are cooking up good stuff. I’ve linked their names to their blogs, and they’ll be publishing answers to the questions next week: Christine Nolfi, Terri Guiliano Long and Tess Hardwick.
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Love it & the movie sounds fantastic! And I like the title “Crazy for You”…plus the mix of heavy/humor aspects in the story – feels like some true life lessons will be shared with your goals!! You Go, Girl!
Hugs to you, Kelly. Thank you!
I too like “Crazy for You,” though given its family memoir theme it might be good to have something suggestive of that in that title (not that I know what that would be). “One Big Happy (then Happy scratched out) Crazy Family”.
Hmmm, you know, I think you’re on to something in that a subtitle could be a great way to mention that… Thanks, David!
Sounds like a fantastic read, Laura.
I’m loving this ‘Next Big Thing’ chain. It’s great to read about the stories behind the books – no pun intended here either x
Thank you! It’s so fun imagining who could play the movie roles. I picked all Academy Award-nominated actors, LOL! Look forward to reading your post about your next novel, Suzie.
Hi Laura,
It all sounds great to me and will look forward to reading more…I know your Dad would be so proud..:)
Thanks for your support, Mari Ann. Hugs to you.
It’s great to hear that you are going the route of full-on memoir as your story will definitely be able to stand on its own. The title “Crazy for You” does remind me of that Patsy Cline song. If I ever write a memoir about my bipolar mom, I would title it “When Your Mother is Crazy.” Not very imaginative, but hey…
I think there are enough songs with the word ‘crazy’ in them to be able to do soundtracks for both of our books! Thanks, Jeri.
I am intrigued. I want to know more. I hesitated to comment due to feeling nervous around authors and others as my grammar may not be at it’s best, but I had to say something. I am interested in the story itself and also, forgive me, I had such a different perception of who you were as a teen in school. I always thought I was alone in a suffering world of mental illness in the family and other issues such as addiction, neglect and so on. I will be buying the book as soon as it is on the shelf and a ticket to the movie when it is released.
Isn’t perception a funny thing, Debbie? Another working title for the book was actually “Faking It.” As kids, we were all trying so hard to fit in and be cool, we didn’t want to show our vulnerability. And we do tend to feel alone in our suffering, which is why I am committed to this project, to help ease that feeling among others. Sorry to hear that you were having troubles, too — that sucks! — and thanks so much for your comment. Never hesitate to comment, this is my blog and so it’s a supportive, welcoming environment because I said so! 🙂
Thank you, it means a lot to me.
Love the title, Crazy for you! Perfect! And I’ll be the first on in the move theater when it comes out – great job, Laura!
Thanks, Mary. It’s always so nice to see your name here. I realized I hadn’t subscribed to your blog, so did that earlier today!
I cannot wait to read it! I loved hearing about it! It sounds like it is going well!
The next month is going to be killer, Jodi, but I’m telling my beta readers that they’re getting a full manuscript draft in mid-November!! Thanks for keeping me going. xo
“Dancing in the cuckoo’s nest” is the name of a Scottish country dance that popped into my head as I read your blog. Good luck with the writing, Laura!
Ooooh, I kind of like that one, Rachel! Thanks for sharing.
You know what’s funny? I’ve always thought Julie looks like Laura Linney! But the actors you’ve chosen would all be perfect, Annette Bening, heck yeah! 🙂
Oh my gosh I just read the comment thread, and the title “Faking It” is amazing. Seeing those two words was like a knock in the teeth for me, because that’s what it was all about for me growing up with a “crazy” mom, faking it every step of the way, pretending that everything was fine just to fit in with everyone around me who I perceived to be “normal”. That’s a powerful title.
Julie does kind of look like Laura Linney, hey? But I want Laura Linney for me! Julie will have to settle for Cate Blanchett, who has more of the big sister vibe to me, maybe it’s her composure?! Heh heh heh. And thank you so much for the feedback on the title. It was actually a literary agent who came up with that one in the class I took last year. I’m going to keep it on my list. The degree to which we (kids with mentally-ill parents) hide our pain so we can fit in is quite astounding, and we even talk ourselves into believing it, I think. When my wonderful social worker first told me that ‘things weren’t normal,’ I remember even feeling some surprise that someone else out there could identify that. Thanks for reading, Estelle, and hope all is well on your end. xo
Sounds like an amazing story. Can’t wait to read it!
Thanks, Diane!
I loved learning more about your memoir, it sounds fascinating. Hope the querying goes well; nice to know I’ll have someone to talk to who understands! (An aside: I checked out your travel map and I’m way jealous that you’ve been to many countries I’d love to go to. I’ll be checking out your W. Africa book — I lived in E. Africa as a kid/teen.)
Hey Julia! Where did you live, exactly? One of my critique partners is working on a novel about growing up in Kenya. It’s loosely based on her own experiences there. She lived in Nairobi in the late 70s, I think. And for sure, lean on me if you ever have the querying blues. Have you ever attended a conference and pitched? It’s another approach to consider, and I think gives a higher batting average with regard to requests for materials than straight email queries.
Thanks for stopping by and do let me know what you think of Tro-tros. I’m sure there will be plenty of things in there that resonate.
How did I miss this the first time around?! I must have been overwhelmed at work and perhaps I wasn’t smart enough last year to be subscribed to your blog.
I’m so happy to read about your writing, Laura. Your writing is accessible because you write with honesty and openness, humour and insight. Given the journey you’ve been on through since childhood, you have so much to share. I know I’m going to learn, laugh and cry when I read your book.
Congratulations on getting so far. You are amazing. Huge hugs!
Jo-Anne, I enjoy being on this writing journey with you ever so much! Thank you, hearing this from you today was just the boost I needed. Hugs back to you!