Ask the Author: Elizabeth Sims
Answered Questions (12)
Elizabeth Sims
"Are you sure this is the right house?"
"Positive."
"Positive."
Elizabeth Sims
I never got through Gunter Grass's THE TIN DRUM when I was a teenager; am planning to give it another shot this summer. Not exactly what some might consider a beach read, but oh well. Also plan to get to Jim Thompson's THE GETAWAY, then Robert Polito's bio of Thompson, SAVAGE ART, because I've enjoyed so many of his novels. Helen Garner's TRUE STORIES is in the stack as well.
Elizabeth Sims
My father died in a lifesaving attempt that went wrong, and nobody knows what his last minutes were like. I intend to write a factual book about the incident someday.
Elizabeth Sims
As of early 2017, my most recent book is CRIMES IN A SECOND LANGUAGE. It's a novel about a retired schoolteacher who befriends, then joins forces with, her immigrant housecleaner to crack a crime ring.
The seed of the idea came to me years ago. My beloved aunt (a retired schoolteacher) in Los Angeles had a Mexican-born cleaning woman who couldn't speak English. They both got tired of asking a neighbor to translate, so my aunt offered to teach the woman English. The cleaner came once a week to clean, and she came another day each week to learn.
My aunt found out that not only did the cleaner not know English, she could barely read and write in her own language, having been taken out of school after the fifth grade in Mexico. She started teaching the woman other school subjects as well.
However, the woman's husband was NOT happy about his wife learning so much! And I wondered: what if that guy had some nefarious reason for not wanting his wife to become literate? And that gave me the idea to explore some ideas about crime, punishment, achievement, and all sorts of other things in modern-day Los Angeles. If you read it, I'd be interested to know what you think of it!
The seed of the idea came to me years ago. My beloved aunt (a retired schoolteacher) in Los Angeles had a Mexican-born cleaning woman who couldn't speak English. They both got tired of asking a neighbor to translate, so my aunt offered to teach the woman English. The cleaner came once a week to clean, and she came another day each week to learn.
My aunt found out that not only did the cleaner not know English, she could barely read and write in her own language, having been taken out of school after the fifth grade in Mexico. She started teaching the woman other school subjects as well.
However, the woman's husband was NOT happy about his wife learning so much! And I wondered: what if that guy had some nefarious reason for not wanting his wife to become literate? And that gave me the idea to explore some ideas about crime, punishment, achievement, and all sorts of other things in modern-day Los Angeles. If you read it, I'd be interested to know what you think of it!
Elizabeth Sims
I'm inspired by offbeat news stories I read. Also, when I read something about an artist who produces great work prolifically, I get fired up. "Imma do that too!" is what I say to myself. And just showing up and getting to work ALWAYS leads to something worth keeping, sooner or later.
Elizabeth Sims
I'm currently working on a few short stories, as well as laying plans for my next novel, most likely the sixth in the Lillian Byrd series. But I have so many plans for other stuff too! Gotta get back to it now...
Elizabeth Sims
Much of my hard-earned advice/wisdom can be found in my book YOU'VE GOT A BOOK IN YOU. But right here and now I'll say: Persist. And believe. Sometimes you have to choose to believe. You can do that. And it's good.
Elizabeth Sims
The best thing about being a writer is the feeling of creation! I feel the most alive when I'm writing.
Elizabeth Sims
I don't believe in writer's block, and I think writers ought to banish that term! In my instructional title, YOU'VE GOT A BOOK IN YOU, I talk about writers feeling 'dry,' but never 'blocked.' There's always a way to get through a dry spell. For me, that's just keeping going. Writing something new, even writing a snatch of something all over again. You'll find the flow if you just keep writing, no matter how bad your results might seem at the time.
Elizabeth Sims
Baucis and Philemon, from ancient the ancient myth of the same title. They were a loving, principled, generous old couple who were tested by the gods and got an A!
Elizabeth Sims
Hi Michelle! Great to hear you're finding YGABIY helpful. Here are a few options for you:
1) Keep writing the 'what-ifs' for a while and see if they kind of naturally point to a good starting place for your story.
2) Construct a basic plot using the three or four best of the 'what-ifs' and start from there.
3) Take a moment to relax, close your eyes, and consider all the what-ifs you've got. Your attention might be drawn to one or two especially. Give a shot to starting there. (Your subconscious might be trying to guide you.)
Is this at all helpful? The book will give you more to go on, as well.
1) Keep writing the 'what-ifs' for a while and see if they kind of naturally point to a good starting place for your story.
2) Construct a basic plot using the three or four best of the 'what-ifs' and start from there.
3) Take a moment to relax, close your eyes, and consider all the what-ifs you've got. Your attention might be drawn to one or two especially. Give a shot to starting there. (Your subconscious might be trying to guide you.)
Is this at all helpful? The book will give you more to go on, as well.
Elizabeth Sims
Hey, Lauren. Good to see you here on Goodreads. I suggest making a list of categories--even just a few rough ones, like characters, places, plot ideas, etc. Or you could make a much longer, more detailed list. Then create a new file or folder for every category. Then, without judging or working at it, go through everything and toss it into one of the 'category files'. That should help you see what you've got, and give your material some basic organization. From there you might get some ideas on form. Let me know if this helps, OK?
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