Forrest Pritchard, Author of “Gaining Ground” Interview

When you write about chickens, you belong to a certain type of community. The people in that circle are concerned about clean food, farming, and being good stewards of the earth.

I had started hearing some buzz from the chicken people about a new book “Gaining Ground” written by Forrest Pritchard. It is self-described as “A story of Farmer’s Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm.”

In essence, it’s about all kinds of good stuff.

And not only that, the foreword was written by Joel Salatin (and if you don’t know who that is, you need to look him up. Right now.)

Hmm, I’m always intrigued by buzz and so I got a copy of the book. Written as if he were your best bud sharing a cold beer with you on the back porch, I immediately knew that this book was worth all that buzz. It’s written by a guy who’s been there, and who really cares (with a sense of humor) about what he does. Here’s an example of the writing:

“After the hot-water bath came the “plucker.” A drum-shaped-clothes-dryer-type of machine, studded with hundreds of three-inch-long rubber “fingers,” it sent the scalded carcasses spinning in a mesmerizing free-for-all of steam, feathers, and flesh. Remarkably when the machine was turned off and the chickens tumbled to a clumsy stop, the birds were picked entirely clean of feathers and undamaged in any way. The person who invented the chicken plucker must have had a fascinating imagination.”

It’s that sense of “this is the work that’s needed, so this is the work I do,” that shines throughout this book making me love it. He’s one of us.

I contacted Forrest to let him know I was going to review “Gaining Ground” for my chicken blog. One thing led to another and when I mentioned this writer’s blog, Forrest graciously answered some writing specific questions on how his book came to be.

Please enjoy.

Had you published anything before this book?

Yes. Like many writers, I dreamed of being published in well-regarded literary magazines, and sent my poems and short stories to all corners of the country over the years. Suffice to say, I could paper my walls with those tiny 3×5 inch rejection letters literary magazines send out! But over the years, I’ve had the good fortune to have an editor or two see the merit in some of my work, and occasionally publish one of my pieces. But just like in farming, I’ve certainly had my share of droughts.

 

Running a farm is pretty much a 24/7 job, when and where did you find the time to write?

I spent four years writing the manuscript, then another intense eight months working with my editor after I signed with Lyons. Fortunately, I’ve got a great farm manager (a former apprentice who I trained years ago) who ran the farm when I needed to hide in the library for days at a time. Long story short, my first priority was to make sure the farm would be okay. Then, I took a leap of faith, and poured myself into the writing. 

 

At what point in your farming experience did you think, “this would make a great story?”

Great question. I started the book in 2008, and put it down in 2009, after about 25,000 words (the book is roughly 95,000 words). I didn’t stop because I didn’t believe in the story, or the characters. But I recognized that I didn’t have a clear articulation of my message, a coherent understanding of what I was feeling deep down. It took a couple more years to fully understand that this book is about more than just our farm; in a broad sense, this is the story of farms all across the country, about their struggle with commodity prices, the creation of generic, anonymous food, and the economic shortfall of this system. When it finally dawned on me how important it is to explain the human story behind our food, then suddenly I was off and running again.

 

Your tone is very conversational, like you’re talking to a friend at the bar, did that voice come naturally (do you hear it in your head when you write?)

I’ve had lots of practice… I talk to customers every weekend at farmers markets! When you’ve been asked as many questions as I have, you start to think about farming a little differently, and put a lot more thought into your responses. People want sincere answers, and can spot a phony from a mile away. I hope that some of that sincerity translated onto the page.

 

Why did you choose a memoir over a “how-to” book?

In general, books about farming seem to fall into two distinct categories: experienced farmers writing “how-to” books about production, and journalists writing “how they did it, and how it’s different” style books. Gaining Ground falls squarely in the middle, telling an honest story of borderline bankruptcy and agricultural disillusionment, while offering realistic solutions and hope for the future. Suffice to say, after seventeen years of farming, we’ve been there and done that! Nothing reveals that quite so well as speaking from real-life experience.

 

The pacing in your memoir is fantastic, chapters end with cliff hangers, you start the book off with a crisis, how much work went into the actual organization of the experiences?

 Thanks! As an English major, I was one of those kids who actually read (cover to cover) every book that was ever assigned to me. No Cliff’s Notes for this farmer, ha ha. I think the master story tellers (let’s throw out Homer, Shakespeare and Eudora Welty as a broad samples) reveal so much about tempo and character development, that careful readers begin to absorb the lessons intuitively. Why do we like suspense? Why do we try to figure out the mystery ahead of time, and feel rewarded when get the answers right? Why do some books make us laugh, or cry? Answering these questions is akin to explaining why art “matters.” We simply fall in love with certain books, and that’s that.

 

How many drafts of the book did you create?

I write everything in longhand, then transpose it onto the computer. In all, I probably wrote three different drafts, comprising about 200,000 original words, which were pared down to 95,000. I think it’s so much better to write extra, extra, extra, then cut, cut, cut. 

 

You have to milk cows, collect eggs, and farm the land, how’s that book marketing thing going?

It’s going very well! I’ve got more than a dozen farmers market book signings lined up, and am always interested in more. Do any of your readers have suggestions about which markets I should visit?

 

What’s next for your writing?

Several ideas. I’ve got a really fun photograph-centered farming book that I think people would really dig (pun intended). We’re such a visual society, and I’d like to include more images with the writing. But don’t worry… I’ve still got a story or two up my sleeve :^)

***

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

 

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Book Review: Goal, Motivation and Conflict

Typically, if a book is not available in Kindle format, I don’t read it, but this book got such rave reviews from my fellow writers in the New Hampshire Chapter of Romance Writers of America, that I borrowed it from the chapter library to see what all the fuss was about. Two chapters into the book, I knew I had to purchase my own copy. It was so chock full of great information, I was just itching to whip out a highlighter and start underlining.

It took me a while to chase down my own copy.  I found it on Amazon, but it was only available via third party sellers and they were asking $65 when the cover price was $19.95  It finally occurred to me to go directly to the publisher. Bingo! A few clicks, a credit card and five days later I had my very own copy in my hands. I’ve been through college and graduate school and never have I been this excited to mark up a book.

Dixon breaks the plot of a story into three main parts. Goals, are what the characters want. Motivation, is what drives your characters and conflict, is the tension that prevents your characters from achieving their goals. She uses the movie The Wizard of Oz to demonstrate her concepts throughout the book. The common reference point makes it easy to assimilate her points. She gives you concrete structures that you can use to analyze your own work.  There are charts you can recreate and questions to ask that can help you flush out your story’s GMC.

Dixon is a successful romance writer, but the book is not romance focused. Her process is applicable to all fiction. Along with The Wizard of Oz, she cites examples The Fugitive, Star Wars and Casablanca and talks about mysteries and even non-fiction books.

It was an amazing book but I did find, my muse was a tad bit intimidated after I finished reading it.  My brain was all excited to have a logical structure to build, my muse basically stuck her tongue out and walked away.  All is not lost.  We struck a deal where The Muse gets to spill her guts and then she can take a few days rest while The brain organizes everything into the structure.  The Muse really appreciates being first

The opinions express in this piece are my own and I was not compensated in any way. It is also worth noting that my fellow NHWN writers may or may not agree with me, but I will happy loan them my well marked up book if they want to read it.

P.S. A little birdie told me that Ms. Dixon might be coming to New England to offer a work shop in the spring of 2014. I’ll share more as I have confirmation of dates and details.

Goal, Motivation and Conflict 

Debra Dixon

Gryphon Books for Writers

©1996

Lee Laughlin is a writer, wife, and mom, frequently all of those things at once. She blogs at Livefearlesslee.com. Her words have appeared in a broad range of publications from community newspapers to the Boston Globe. She is currently at work on her first romantic fiction novel. 

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Review of Your Book Starts Here by Mary Carroll Moore

Your Book Starts Here: Create, Craft, and Sell Your First Novel, Memoir, or Nonfiction Book

by Mary Carroll Moore

Reviewed by Lisa J. Jackson

(This review was first published in the Fall 2012 issue of NH Writer, the newsletter of the New Hampshire Writers’ Project.)

In Your Book Starts Here: Create, Craft, and Sell Your First Novel, Memoir, or Nonfiction Book, Mary Carroll Moore shares her years of experience teaching her “How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book” workshop. But this is not simply a workbook of exercises. It is so complete, detailed, and instructive that I see it as a classroom in a book.

The twenty-five chapters are divided over three sections—planning, writing, and developing—and are meant to be read in whatever order applies to your current project. Dedicate some reading time, because once you start the book, it’s hard to put down. There are numerous exercises to try, questions to ponder, and tools you can adapt to your own work.

Moore’s conversational style keeps the reader involved, much like a teacher engaging students in a classroom. She poses questions and expects the reader to work out the answers. For example, she asks, “What kind of writer are you, most naturally? A concept, event, or image writer?” She also gives numerous examples from past students, touching on novels, memoirs, and nonfiction writing. I felt immersed in a conversation with other writers eager to discover new tips, tricks, and ways to make the story come alive on the page.

One tip I found riveting was how to change your Inner Critic into an ally. Many writers deal with damaging self-talk, but Moore has suggestions on how to turn the unhelpful voice into, at a minimum, a silent presence. One method that she used for her memoir, when a particular memory refused to get on the page, was to write a letter to her Inner Critic. In her writer’s notebook (which she recommends all writers have), she thanked the Inner Critic for keeping her safe over the years and described how she appreciated its role. “Then,” she says, “I asked it kindly to step aside, to let me write this chapter. I explained why I needed to write it . . .”

When she finished the letter, she closed her notebook and went back to her desk. The Inner Critic was silent, and the chapter flowed onto the page with ease. The inner voice is usually our subconscious. Meeting the voice head on—to get to the issue and acknowledge it—can help us move forward.

Moore’s book is full of sharing. She not only speaks from experience but details those experiences in a way that builds a bond between herself and her reader. For instance, she talks about the idea of writing for one person, since most writers tend to “begin writing for themselves only.” At first she didn’t believe in this advice, which she learned from reading Kurt Vonnegut’s work, but after publishing several books, she saw how it improved her own writing. And I believe her, since I felt she was talking to me, one person, as I read.

It’s worth repeating: Your Book Starts Here is a writing class in a book. Having a copy to refer to and mark up can help you continually improve your craft. The appendix alone can keep your muse entertained and curious for months, because it includes Moore’s favorite books about acquiring writing skills, getting ideas, healing via writing, editing and revising, publishing, engaging the creative process, and more. This is not a book you read once and put on a shelf. It’s a reference that offers insight, exercises, and real-world examples for all stages of your book writing project.

 

Lisa J. Jackson is a New England-region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She is a Great Leads editor for New Hampshire Writers’ Project and a Granite State Ambassador. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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Wild – huh?

 

I just finished reading Wild – the book by Cheryl Strayed about her hiking the Pacific Coast Trail in an effort to find herself after her mother’s death. Trust me, I love a good “finding yourself” story, but this one wasn’t one. I love to hear how some events or an experience changed someone’s life. What lessons they learned and how they adjusted their moral compass as a result.

 

And while Wild was well written and certainly entertaining (although there were definitely parts I could have lived with out – the insertion of a menstrual cup comes to mind) it left me at the end saying “Huh? What just happened?” It wasn’t the book that was flawed as much as it was the ending.

 

In literally the last few (3 total) paragraphs of the book she ends her hike and fast forwards to a husband and children and 9 (nine!) years later. All of which left me a little confused.

 

Where’s the payoff? Where’s the application of what she learned to her life going forward? 

 

It feels like an editor somewhere said, “Okay, you’re done, you have enough word count. Bring it home, baby.”

 

Those who read this blog know that I’m a memoir junkie. It’s my most favorite genre. I love to hear how others have overcome, how they have persevered, and become stronger. I love to see how people cope with unbearable situations.

 

But the key is that you have to include that aspect of lessons learned in your story. If you write about a terrific experience (and let’s kid no one, the adventure that Strayed went on is worthy of a book) then you are obligated to your readers to not only bring it home but to weave those lessons into the story of your life so that we can benefit from your experiences and maybe learn how to cope ourselves if we come across a similar situation. Maybe if we read your book something will resonate in us and we won’t have to go on a multi-week trek to handle the death of our mother, or child, or whomever.

 

With memoirs, it’s not the journey that matters so much as it is the ability to learn from your mistakes and experiences in order to adjust and verbalize your life going forward. If you leave your readers hanging, or even worse, guessing about those lessons then you have not only lost your credibility as a writer, you have also lost your credibility as a memoirist.

 

***

 

Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

 

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

And yeah, when I write my memoir, you can remind me of this post if I blow it. 

 

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Favorite Writing Books

Lisa J. Jackson and I were talking about our favorite writing books recently. There are some books that I have read over and over again because I learn something new every time, and there are books that I have only recently found, but have gotten me excited to go to the page. Those are the books I buy rather than download to my Kindle because they sit on the bookshelves in my office like old friends ready to start a new conversation any time I wish. Lisa feels the same way about her faves, so we thought we’d share them with you.

Enjoy!

Diane’s List

1. Bird By Bird, by Anne Lamotte. This is the first writing book I reach for when I’m having doubts about myself as a writer or just need inspiration. It’s so funny and fun, and full of practical tips. It’s worth it for the poem by Philip Lopate on page 11 alone, but the concept of “Sh**ty First Drafts” was also extremely helpful for me when I started writing again as an adult.
2. Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest, by Christina Baldwin. This book gave me permission to journal–something I was compelled to do anyway, since the age of 11, but I always felt like I was wasting time until I read this book. It made me realize how valuable my journaling practice has been in my life. My thoughts go in circles when I am just thinking them, but there is something about the implied dialogue of journaling that allows my thoughts to move forward and resolve when I write them down.
3. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty. I think this little book is a very practical approach to a first draft. It’s humorous and quirky, and I turn to it when I need inspiration to just get the words on the page. It helps me let go of my perfectionism. I’ve only completed NaNo once (in 2008), but with this book I can take that challenge any month of the year!

Lisa’s List

1. Outwitting Writer’s Block and Other Problems of the Pen by Jenna Glatzer. I have this book so marked up with post-it flags that I can barely flip the pages. What initially caught my attention with this book is the word “Outwitting”. For some reason, that really appeals to me and then since it was a book for writers, I had to pick it up. I enjoy the conversational tone, the exercises, and just the fun I have each time I open this book. If the author’s name sounds familiar, you may be familiar with http://www.absolutewrite.com – Jenna is the founder and editor of the site.
2. File…Don’t Pile! For People Who Write by Pat Dorff, Edith Fine, and Judith Josephson. I don’t even know if you can find it any more, but it’s one I’ve kept for several years. The title says it all. I still have piles, but I feel they are more organized than before I read this book (and I’ve read it a few times to glean new ideas after I get a couple ideas incorporated into my life.)
3. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (book and associated journal book). I find this an awesome resource for consist journaling. When I first used the book, I also bought the companion book of journal pages – it was large and heavy and I loved writing on the pages. I filled 2 of the large books before switching to smaller notebooks. It wasn’t the same, but lighter and smaller notebooks are more portable! I admit I haven’t written morning pages in a while, but this is definitely a strong recommendation for spilling out the thoughts in your mind, especially first thing in the morning. Wake up, write to clean out the cobwebs and then have a productive day!
4. I also recommend Bird by Bird that Diane mentions above.

What are your go-to writing books?

 

Diane MacKinnon, MD, is currently a full-time mother, part-time life coach. She is a Master Certified Life Coach, trained by Martha Beck, among others. She is passionate about her son, her writing and using her mind to create a wonderful present moment.  Find her life coaching blog at http://www.dianemackinnon.com/blog.

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Starting Over

Starting a new book is like learning to drive manual transmission: it’s all about getting into first gear. And even though a writer may have cruised along in fifth to the end of any number of novels before, each new one is like learning to drive all over again.

I’ve been jack-rabbiting, stalling, and crawling forward on a new book for some time, now. Mostly, I’ve been taking notes for my current project while I’ve rewritten and finished two other novels, one published and one currently with an agent. So now it’s time to take all those notes and ideas and relearn how to coordinate the clutch and the gear stick and get writing again.

            I have developed a process. First, I play computer Solitaire until I see spades in my dreams. Then I clean cupboards. Sometimes, I snap at my love ones, and other times I dissolve into tears. Eventually, I start walking. A hundred or so miles later, I overcome my resistance enough to sit down at my desk. That’s when I pull out my driver’s manual: Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit, originally published in 1938, republished in 1987, and still filled with timeless advice.

For one, Ueland writes as if she’s talking to you personally, and when you’re locked in the solitude and – yes, loneliness, sometimes – of trying to channel an entire fictive world, it’s wonderfully comforting to have a down-to-earth companion by your side.

Next, Ueland believes everyone can write; she should know: she taught writing to all-comers for years, and gives examples of how good writing arises not from education or erudition, but from the writer’s inner truth and honesty – the world observed from her point of view. Ueland believes that everyone is talented and has something to say.

Ueland also says the imagination works slowly and should be given room to roam. “Resign yourself tranquilly to doing something slow and worthless for at least an hour.”  This alleviates some of my guilt and self-loathing about playing computer Solitaire.

Just like life happens while you’re making other plans, Ueland is a big believer that the “little bombs” of imagination burst while you’re doing other things, like “sewing, or carpentering, or whittling, or playing golf, or dreamily washing dishes.”

Ueland says, writing “is just talking on paper.” Long before Natalie Goldberg taught us about Writing Down The Bones, Ueland advocated  free-writing. Before Julia Cameron wrote The Artist’s Way, Ueland instructed us to write daily without looking at what we had to say. Don’t get me wrong: Goldberg and Cameron have done us wonderful service, and encouragement to write bears reiteration. There is something especially encouraging, however, about this strong-minded, mid-Western woman from the last century speaking these plain truths.

With Ueland’s encouragement, I’ve been able to sit down again, find my voice, and start over. I’ve succeeded into first gear, and have just shifted into second: still moving slowly, but definitely moving forward and thinking about my characters and narrative so intently that the fate of my other novel hardly matters. For the moment, that book is finished. All that matters now is the one unrolling before me. As I gather speed and shift up, all I can do is keep my eyes on the road.

Even with experience, this is harder than it sounds. But I have learned that writing a novel is like a long car-ride. There may be breakdowns, detours, road construction, and accidents. But there may also be chance meetings, beautiful vistas, and unexpected adventures.

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure where I’m headed. I could get lost; I may have to backtrack; I may even drive past my exit and have to delete pages and pages of text. This is okay. My experience has taught me faith in perseverance. It’s perseverance that fuels the novelist – eventually – to “The End.”

Deborah Lee Luskin is the author of the award-winning novel, Into The Wilderness, “a fiercely intelligent love story” set in Vermont in 1964. She is a regular Commentator on Vermont Public Radio and teaches for the Vermont Humanities Council. Learn more at her website: www.deborahleeluskin.com

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