5 Takeaways from Jamie Pacton’s Q&A For Print: A Bookstore
Bask in her wisdom
Jamie Pacton’s latest novel, The Vermilion Emporium, is set to be released on Tuesday, November 15th. In anticipation of her latest work, she sat down with her friend Noelle Salazar to discuss the book and her writing.
I attended the virtual event and had a great time watching Pacton’s eyes light up as she talked about her beloved characters and hearing the energy in her tone as she described the joy she got writing the book.
Pacton’s energy is contagious and makes you want to read The Vermilion Emporium ASAP. I know I’m counting down the days until the book is released.
The best part is how relatable she is. She describes overcoming challenges every writer can relate to, and I found some great takeaways from the session.
1. Find a writer friend you trust to be with you every step of your writing journey.
In the Zoom session, you could feel the love and admiration Pacton and Salazar had for each other. They described sharing struggles along their writing process with each other, exchanging manuscripts, and sharing feedback.
Without having someone to share your feelings with and get feedback from, writing can be a frustrating, lonely endeavor.
Find a friend you trust and be there for each other. You will enjoy the process so much more.
2. It is natural to be unsure or fall out of love with your idea. The Magic will come back.
100 pages into The Vermilion Emporium, Pacton was stuck. She sat at a stalemate for months, debating whether to continue writing this particular story. Ultimately, she decided to keep going, and luckily she did or she never would have gotten to the magic that is her book today.
Similarly, Salazar re-wrote her latest book, The Flight Girls, three times. There were a lot of elements that fought her. For example, she would often forget she was writing fiction and slip into a different writing style.
She also struggled with scenes that dug up past trauma. Yet, she prevailed and published her novel.
Now, she gets to have cool experiences like the time she was recognized in Barnes and Nobel. She had a conversation with a fan who gushed about how much she enjoyed the book and how much the book means to her.
When you spend hours immersed in your created world with your characters, chances are you’ll lose some of the excitement for the story you had in the beginning.
You may run into unexpected issues.
You may consider throwing in the towel and abandoning your idea for a new one.
Keep writing, and over time that magic will come back. You will fall in love with your story again.
3. Everyone has writer’s block at times. Keep writing to overcome it.
This advice may seem contradictory. If you have writer’s block, how can you write? Yet, encouraging yourself to keep writing despite the setback is the best thing you can do for yourself. Pacton recommends waking up and telling yourself to write for at least 15 minutes. Chances are, you will enjoy writing so much that 15 minutes will turn into a longer writing session.
I run into writer’s block constantly. Whenever I sit down and force myself to write, I have a blast. Even if I write something unrelated to the project I’m currently working on, it helps me to generate more ideas and continue with my project.
4. See the world through your characters’ eyes.
Pacton loves that some stories are like walking through a curiosity shop. You get to find them, and it’s magical. She hopes to capture a real sense of discovery and wonder in The Vermilion Emporium. To create this, she allowed herself to walk through the curiosity shop as her characters would.
Use this technique in your writing, and watch your work become alive.
5. Don’t be afraid to use tropes.
Pacton and Salazar both excitedly expressed how much they love tropes in stories. The Vermilion Emporium is chock-full of some great ones.
One of the tropes she uses is insta love. She describes this as the connection she first had between her and Salazar (aww). Another trope she uses is a ball scene, while a third is there’s a wise old witch who runs the curiosity shop.
There are more tropes, but she held back on sharing them to let the reader discover them on their own.
Tropes are fun, help guide your writing, and readers tend to love them. There are endless new ways to approach old ideas. Don’t be afraid to play around with tropes in your writing.
If you’re interested in purchasing her new book
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This article is part of a series inspired by Kristina God’s article, “Hot and Important Awareness Days to Write About in November 2022.”
