Conversations with Authors: Natania Barron
Natania Barron is a writer of the most imaginative type. With a BA in English/Writing from Loyola University Maryland and and MA in English Literature with a focus in medieval literature from University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Natania utilizes her studies by shaping tales of the fantastic nature. Whether her stories include “invisible soul eating birds or gunslinger girls or killer kudzu,” her writings of other world leaves the reader in awe. Natania’s debut novel, Pilgrim of the Sky, follows the adventures of Maddie Angler as she is launched into worlds much like her own (while also being exceedingly different) in search of her longtime boyfriend, whom she thought to be dead. Recently I had the chance to conduct an interview with Natania and discuss Pilgrim, her writing process and influences, and what is to come next from this author:
How did you get the idea for Pilgrim?
It’s a funny story, actually! At the time, my son was very young, and I was driving him back and forth to my parents’ house to be watched a few times a week. There’s a road on the way called Randall Circle, and I liked the sound of the name. And the circle got me thinking about loops and worlds and interconnectedness. So, the character Randall appeared first. Then I had to figure out how to write him into the story. I spent a lot of time driving, and that’s often where I get my best ideas (that and in the shower) and when it came down to putting pen to paper, it was just a matter of creating a framework for how it was going to work. I’ve always loved portal stories, like the Narnia books and Lev Grossman’s Magician series, so I wanted to do something in that vain. I also watched a series on string theory on PBS at some point, and that really got me going with the whole alternate worlds concept!
What is your “writing routine”? Do you have a sacred ritual that you must follow before big writing days?
I work full time, so writing time isn’t as plentiful as it used to be. I used to be a very disorganized writer, focused on word count and production over plot and focus. But now I’ve taken a big step back, especially in the last two years or so. I spend more time planning — even a rough outline is extremely helpful — and focusing on getting anywhere from 250 words to 2,000 words a day. There’s a range. I also write my first drafts out longhand now, which gives me an extra layer of editing between getting it from the notebook to the computer. I’ve found that my work is stronger now than it was, so even if I’m not hitting the word counts like I used to, the quality is better.
When it comes to sitting down to write, I scribble almost anywhere. I like sitting on the floor of my living room sometimes, or at my desk. Usually I’m accompanied by a cup of tea or a glass of wine, depending on the time of day!
Do you research/outline/write character sketches before you start working on a story? Or do you just write and see where it leads you?
Characters tend to fall, full-fledged, into my head. Like with Pilgrim, they just sort of show up. Often, it’s unbidden. With my new process it’s a matter of tracking their character arcs and filling in the blanks. They often surprise me, and there’s lots of reorganization when it comes to the outlines, but their motivations are always what dictate the story. I’ve always read for characters, and will follow a series well past the point of reason, if I’m attached to them. It’s a very similar process when I write, but I do work hard to make sure the plot part isn’t lost along the way, either.
What was the publishing process like for Pilgrim?
I am the Twitter generation! I’d submitted Pilgrim to one press and had the most confusing rejection of my life. They didn’t get what I was doing with the twinned characters and it was just baffling. They didn’t hate it, but they didn’t get it either. And I wanted to find someone who did get it. A good writer friend of mine then Tweeted about another small press looking for fantasy stories that just didn’t fit the mold, and I knew I had to submit. So I did. A few weeks later, I heard back from Kate Sullivan, the editor there, and while she had a few things that she wanted me to fix — mostly the presentation of Randy’s mental illness, which, admittedly, I did a terrible job of in the first draft — she totally got the book. Then, I was off! Working with Kate was one of the best experiences ever. She’s incredibly skilled when it comes to asking the right questions, and entire sections of the book opened up because she asked the right thing in the right place. She also challenged me on a line-edit level, and that really upped my game. Once the manuscript was set, we were off — I finished the first draft is 2009 and it was published at the very end of 2011.
Since all writers need to take a break sometimes (even though writing is awesome) what are some of the things you enjoy doing besides crafting stories?
Being artistic is a huge deal in my family. Besides writing, I’m a musician and a painter. I’m also the amateur chef in the house and I never turn down an opportunity to bake a cake! I love going for long walks and listening to great music. I think of it all as research for what I write. I want to learn to do as many things as possible.
What are your writing tools? Are you a pen and paper person, a laptop worker, do you have special software like Scrivener?
So I use a Midori notebook, which is the Japanese styled notebook that you can add sections to (lined, unlined, etc.) and a fountain pen. First draft goes there. Second draft goes in Scrivener, and I work it chapter by chapter. Then I move it to Pages or Word, and finalize things. Getting the words out of their spaces really helps me notice things I might otherwise forget. For years I just used Scrivener, but I think a lot was lost because I just couldn’t get my head out of the story.
When did you start considering yourself a writer?
I always considered myself a writer. Even in second grade, I wanted to write 9 page stories when the assignment was 2. I loved to tell stories, and even little lies, to get people to like me. When I was around 12 I started rewriting huge parts of Stephen King novels with myself in them (talk about a Mary Sue). But when I got to college, I decided I had to be serious about my writing, and I stopped writing speculative fiction and tried my hand at poetry and literary fiction. It never really fit. I had my son relatively young — at 25 — and having him made me look really hard at my output. Writing outside of fantasy had never felt right. So after my son was born I started writing weird stuff again, and I sold my first short story right out of the gate. It was a small affair, but it had long legs, and gave me a boost of confidence. I think we writers all suffer from imposter syndrome sometimes, but lately I’ve felt it less. I’m always working to improve the process and write better stories, and I think so long as that keeps happening I’ll always be a writer.
In your opinion, what is more enjoyable: plotting a story or creating characters?
Oh, the characters. I’m drawn to them like a bee to honey. Right now, I’m writing a novel set in 1914, sort of Downton Abbey meets Narnia, and the characters are almost all women — they keep surprising me, and sort of showing up halfway through my days with snippets of scenes. For that book, Glassmere, I’ve done more plotting, but it’s always character-centric.
Who are some of your influences? Which writers, which books, TV shows, movies?
I had an abiding love for fairy tales as a kid, and that soon opened up fantasy literature to me. Madeleine L’Engle was my first big influence, and actually Maddie Angler in Pilgrim is named after her. Then came C.S. Lewis, and a long, abiding obsession with the Narnia books, so much so that a teacher told me I had to start reading something else. I remember being left behind in class reading The Horse and His Boy because they’d called everyone to lunch and I’d not noticed. Tolkien came soon after, when I was about 14, and while I don’t think I write much like him or strive to, I did start wanting to create worlds as deep and thoughtful. Stephen King filled up most of my teen years, and especially his Dark Tower series influenced me to write weird west fiction — much of my short story stuff is in that vein. These days I read widely, and not just in genre. D.H. Lawrence, Edith Wharton, E.M. Forster, those three really taught me a great deal about characterization and language. China Mieville, Nnedi Okorafor, George R.R. Martin, Greg Keyes, Jeff VanderMeer, and Joe Abercombie are some more recent influences, writers who just snag me and don’t let go. As for TV, I’m a big fan of Firefly, Battlestar Gallactica, Game of Thrones, those kinds of things. But I watch far few shows than I used to…
What are some of your upcoming projects?
I just finished my first vampire story for an upcoming anthology, and that was really exciting! I’m also going to be in the Swords v. Cthulhu anthology, the sequel to Shotguns v. Cthulhu that I was in a few years ago. I was really excited about that one because I got to use some of my graduate school research as a backbone for the story, a Carolingian romance called Fierabras. Additionally, I have a novella due in October, which will be a first for me. It’s much more in the traditional fantasy genre, and it’s been a while since I’ve delved there.
To learn more about Natania Barron visit her website at http://www.nataniabarron.com/ and to purchase Pilgrim of the Sky visit Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Pilgrim-Sky-Natania-Barron/dp/1936460092
