An Author Interview with Deirdre Swinden
author of Somnium
1. Tell us about you and your writing, be it novels, screenplays, or non-fiction. Do you have a book coming out or already released?
I’ve been writing as long as I can remember. I wrote odes to my dog, Charlie, and was the kid that delivered a blow-by-blow when asked “how was your day?” I somehow managed to watch Dracula (1979) when I was six years old and got hooked on being scared — so my writing dwells in dark realms.
After a successful career in communications, I decided to go back to college in 2020 and earned my MFA in Creative Writing. To my delight, my thesis novel, Somnium, was picked up by Crystal Lake Publishing. It’s a blend of psychological horror and science fiction where a glitch in dream advertising technology has resulted in lethal nightmares.
2. What is the first book that hit you emotionally?
Oddly enough, I think it was Stephen King’s IT. I read it when I was very young and the idea that the protagonists were about my age when they subdued a great evil stirred something in me. It was the book that made me want to be a writer, and I reread it often. Shortly thereafter, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale scared the living crap out of me, and I knew for certain that I wanted to write dark fiction with speculative and sci-fi twists.
3. What is your writing Kryptonite?
Lack of information — whether it’s about the characters or a piece of technology or science, my writing grinds to a halt when I don’t have enough information about something. Much of my work includes scientific elements, so I need to have a good understanding of the current theories and facts in order to extrapolate those ideas into something readers will find believable. Without that grounding, it’s very difficult to maintain my own — let alone a reader’s — suspension of disbelief.
4. Have you ever gotten reader’s block?
Oh yeah. After I completed my MFA, I had trouble focusing on stories for the story’s sake. I was editing it in my head, which gets very tiresome. I put down a few very good books simply because I couldn’t stop critiquing them as I read each line.
5. Do you write under your real name or a pseudonym? What do you think are the benefits and disadvantages of using a pseudonym?
Somnium will be released under my real name. I think in our current online world, a pseudonym can be a good thing, but it’s probably also very easy to find the real person behind the name.
6. What would it be if you could tell your younger writing self, anything?
Don’t stop writing! It doesn’t matter what agents, professors, friends, family or lovers might have to say about your work. As long as you enjoy the process, keep writing. Keep learning. You’ll get better just by doing, so don’t ever stop.
7. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
The $7.99 I spent on King’s On Writing. It’s a tremendous book on the craft and the internal need to write. I’ve also been on a few wonderful writer’s retreats recently — Writers in the Wild, led by Kristi Leonard and Go and Write! led by award-winning author Gerard Collins and Jane Simpson –I would definitely do both of those again. Giving myself the gifts of education, travel and time to write are the best uses of money I can think of as a writer.
8. How do you maximize your writing time?
I write whenever I can. Lunch breaks, early mornings, weekends. I even talk myself through plot issues in the car while I’m driving. Over the years, I’ve learned I’m a better writer in the morning, and a better editor in the evening, so I break down my time that way. Knowing where to put my effort based on when I have time has helped quite a bit.
9. What are three things you must have in your writing space to stay focused?
Music. I love to have music playing while I write. Often I’ll pair a particular album or artist with my work in progress and it will help me get into the world and get going when I sit down to write.
My novel notebook. I capture all of my ideas and plot flows for a novel in a single notebook. That way I have the research, the current plot flow and my sketched out settings at my fingertips when I’m writing.
A Diet Coke. What can I say — I’m addicted. If I have a full soda sitting beside me, I can get lost in the world without thought. I may not touch it, but it has to be there!
10. Do you normally think of the plot first or the characters first? Can you describe the process?
I get an idea for a scene first, and then build a few characters who take part in that scene. As the scene builds, I learn things about the characters and about the issues they’re facing and if it’s a good story — or something about it makes me laugh out loud — I definitely write it. My most recent novel idea initiated from a single line in the voice of a character who lives in purgatory. He got pummeled when an angle mistakenly fell, and it really pissed him off. I have no idea what the plot is as of yet, but I know I need to write that one.
11. How many hours a day do you write?
Depends on the day — usually I can find more time on the weekends, so I’ll write for about 2–4 hours. During the week, I can usually find an hour or so to write and/or edit.
12. What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?
I gave up drinking alcohol over five years ago — right about when I started writing creatively again. It was a time waster, and I didn’t want to waste any more time pursuing my dream of being a novelist. The hours I’ve gained have been poured back into my writing.
13. Do you believe in writer’s block? How do you deal with it?
For me, writer’s block is a lack of information. I try to pinpoint what I’m missing, and then research the heck out of it until I know it backward and forward and can incorporate or extrapolate information with ease while I’m writing. If I’m having trouble with character traits, I throw a little party for them in my head and see where it goes. Sometimes what they do or say can really surprise me. It gives me insights I didn’t have before that help me get writing again.
Bonus Q 1: Do you think writers should write books according to what readers want, or according to what they are passionate about?
I think it’s a bit of both. If you want to be market viable, you need to consider what an audience wants to read. That said, I firmly believe you should write the story you need to tell. Every author has a burning desire to say something about the world — so say it in the best way you know how. If you tell a good story, I think readers will enjoy it even if it’s not the “next hot thing” in the market.
Bonus Q 2: What are the most common pitfalls for amateur writers? Or, what are some pitfalls you wish you could’ve avoided as a beginning writer?
I think a lot of amateur writers have a tendency to believe writing is easy. Just put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and BAM! You’re a writer! Once they get started, reality smacks them in the jaw. It’s not easy to write a novel, and it’s even harder to write a good one. It’s a painstaking and often annoying process. But if you have a story to tell, write it. Find your voice and let the story flow. I think it was Robert Graves who said, “There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.” And every story improves on rewrite. If being a writer is a fundamental part of who you are, keep writing, because the only audience that really matters is you.
Author page: www.deirdreswinden.com
Crystal Lake Publishing: https://www.crystallakepub.com/
