Fighting Prose Interview with Tara Wine-Queen!

Welcome to my in-depth writers series Fighting Prose. Where I talk to authors in the industry on what their process is like and what it takes for them to keep on creating, through all the odds.

Tara Wine-Queen

is my interview this week!

How long have you been writing?

As long as I can remember! I've always loved writing stories.

What's your favorite genre to read? Write?

I like variety, but the genres I read most frequently would be fantasy and sci-fi. When it comes to writing, I've mostly done contemporary realistic fiction, but the books I'm working on now diverge from that: one is fantasy and the other is sci-fi.

How do you get in the mood to write?

Soul-stirring art in any form: music, movies, books, what have you. Great stories, pieces which reveal to me my own humanity, a couple of lines in a song that pulls at my heartstrings - those are the things that make me want to create myself.

How do your characters come together?

I generally have an idea in my mind of who they might be when I start off. I begin by answering a series of questions about them, kind of solidifying details and filling them out, trying to shape them into people I would like to meet. And then, if I'm really lucky, they'll still be who I imagined them to be by the end of it all, but sometimes characters take paths of their own. They become shaped by the story in ways that you might not foresee on the outset.

How do you get your ideas?

A surprising amount of ideas come from dreams. Music, too, is a big inspiration. I'll find a song I love and become obsessed with it, and I'll want to know more about the person who would sing that song, who would experience those emotions, so I'll write about them to be able to spend more time with them, to get to know them.

Who do you admire in the writing world?

Admiration comes from personalities, mostly: Stephen King, Patrick Rothfuss, Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman, Zadie Smith, Diana Gabaldon. I just like the way they human, but the writing's not bad, either.

If you're not busy writing, what are you busy doing?

Wife-ing, mothering, and teaching, primarily, and then stuffing every spare bit with good music and books and movies that I can.

Have you always been creative?

Definitely! I was always writing growing up, but I was also very involved in music and theater. I think, though, if you would've asked my peers what I'd be famous for when I grew up, if I were to be famous for a thing, it would've been singing. When we did superlatives at the end of our eighth grade year, I was voted Most Creative, so I at least have historically given off some sort of creative vibes.

Have you ever had writers block? If so, how did you get out of it?

Writer's block sounds like such an overcome-able thing, like a sickness you can be treated for, but when I experience it, it's more like my spirit is feeling low, and in its lowness, it is incapable of creating the beautiful things I want to create. I never know what's going to pull me out of it, but finding ways to force myself to write something - anything - usually helps.

When you sit down to write, is it easy or hard? If it's hard, what makes you keep showing up?

It depends on the level of love I have for what I'm writing. Even though I love a character and the story on the whole, I might not want to really do the work of writing a scene that is boring to me but necessary to the story. Then it can feel hard, but it always feels good when it's done, so that's important to hang on to.

For a writer starting out what advice would you give them?

Have to the courage to commit and to learn by doing. For so long, I was afraid to start because I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it perfectly, the way I wanted. I knew I would have a thousand other responsibilities and that those very important things would be pulling at me, and I was afraid to start because I wasn't going to be able to devote my whole life to it like I'd want to. Eventually, though, I realized that no set of circumstances is going to be perfect: I will always be a wife, mother, sister, aunt, etc., and I will always have responsibilities that rightfully take up my time and energy. So I was just going to have to work through all of that and learn as I went. You can, too.

What is your dream writing location?

Scotland. That would also be my dream breathing, sleeping, and eating location, too, though, so perhaps that should be considered.

In reference to your books, what question do you get asked the most?

Have you had a miscarriage, or have you lost a child?

If you could bring one of your characters to life who would it be? Why?

Probably Denver from the time travel book I'm working on now. He's a lot of fun and fearless. We could all use a friend like him.

What do you think makes a good story?

Something inside of it has to connect with something inside of you. I love beautiful language, but I can do without it as long as there's truth in the lines. I know it's not this way for everyone, but for me, great work is a story that's going to inspire very strong feelings. I want to cry over it, from grief or recognition or relief or joy, and I want to grow from it.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

I just knew I wanted to create, which I know now comes from my need to connect over the things which make us human. Teacher, writer, singer, activist - I wanted to do good for people, with people, by people.