interview with Carrie Ann Lahain

Carrie Ann Lahain is a writer, editor, revision coach and book reviewer.  Her other interests include British comedies, rescuing Dobermans, and frugal living.  She has recently published The Ways of Mud and Bone.  Carrie Ann lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

You have stated that narrative gives life order and creates meaning.  Can you tell us more?

When I was a little kid, instead of going out to play when company came, I’d listen to the grown-ups talk. They’d tell old family stories, say, how inevitable it was that X would end up in prison, since when he was only six, he and some friends slipped into a neighbor’s house through an open kitchen window and ate the contents of her refrigerator. Now, we know that life isn’t as simple as that. A childish prank does NOT predestine someone for a life of serious crime. But this is the narrative that the family spun for itself, and so it became its own kind of truth. 

Human beings may live in the present moment, but meaning only exists in hindsight.  We look back at unending lists of  events and string this one with that one, and fit them into patterns that bring us peace or understanding. We need to know the WHY of it all, and if the required context is not apparent, we’ll create it.   Why the marriage failed. Why the promising talent died on the vine. Why the lover of trees and lakes lives in a desert centered around a cluster of casinos.

What does writing mean to you?

Freedom to be myself. It’s a great profession for a studious introvert. It allows me to follow interests and passions in a way that my easily overwhelmed nervous system can manage. It’s also a way for a shy person to connect with others--other writers, other readers. I’m terrible at small talk, but I can speak to a perfect stranger for hours about books.  

You studied anthropology to Masters’ levels.  Has this had any influence on your desire to write or how you write?

Anthropology focuses on the individual in her culture or environment. So, I’m sure that’s where I get my interest in character over plot. There’s also a concept in anthropology called participant-observation. Basically, the anthropologist must participate in and experience the culture she’s studying, but at the same time keep her intellectual objectivity. It’s sort of looking at life through a lense that alternately narrows and widens. That’s an awful lot like writing. The writer inhabits her created world, but she also steps back and sees it full cloth and tries to draw meaning from it.  I don’t know whether I learned this way of observing the world through my academic work, or if I’m just a naturally nosy person and that’s why I gravitated toward anthropology as a discipline. 

The downside of this approach is that there’s a danger of the work coming off TOO observed and subtle, not warm enough. I’m always having to go back and check the emotion in my scenes. Creating characters with rich interior lives doesn’t mean anything if the reader can’t connect with them.

What inspired the writing of The Ways of Mud and Bone?

I was about to be married when my best friend informed me that her new boyfriend had to skip the wedding. Apparently, he was going to spend the weekend in a trench in some farmer’s field re-enacting a great battle of the First World War. I became curious about the time period. It’s not one that’s covered much here in the US. We were only involved for the last year or so, but, as I discovered, it was a year that changed our society profoundly. I still can’t understand why we ignore it--except perhaps that it was overshadowed by the Second World War.

At the same time, I was having my annual re-read of Little Women. I do that with some books--become obsessed with them and then obsessed with trying to figure out WHY I’m obsessed. The book concerns four sisters living through the American Civil War. This time around I found myself wondering how the March girls’ lives might have been different if they’d lived a few generations later and didn’t have to spend the war quietly at home waiting and praying. In The Ways of Mud and Bone  some of my girls go into war work, some stay home. All of them are forever changed by the experience.

How did you teach yourself to write?

There were very few writing courses when I went to university. I think I took two writing workshops. The rest of my instruction came from books and actually writing. I wrote dozens of truly terrible stories, a bunch of mediocre movie screenplays, and at least one clumsy and long lost (thank goodness) novel.  Most importantly, I read. Widely. Critically. At times my reading seeped into my writing--I’d be reading Mrs. Dalloway  and suddenly these long, floaty streams of consciousness would show up in my mystery short story. And then I’d read Jane Austen and my diction would step back two centuries. But, through all of this experience and experimentation, my own voice began to reveal itself. I must say that I was a little disgruntled that it wasn’t sharp and snappy, but rather muted and well-mannered.

From literary fiction to a paranormal YA series – is there any common ground?

Absolutely. Literary fiction is a difficult animal to nail down, but there are at least two clear attributes--close attention to language and strong focus on character development. Both of these can be right at home within the context of a genre “formula” such as mystery, romance, horror, etc.  Now, that doesn’t mean a literary mystery or literary fantasy will garner the same number of readers as the more standard genre work. For one thing, they tend to be a lot longer and more complex. Think of Umberto Eco’s brilliant The Name of the Rose.  Elizabeth Kostova’s take on the Dracula myth in The Historian. Or any of P.D. James’s mysteries. These are meaty books. They’re also great examples of mystery, or in Kostova’s case, horror.  Someone reading for pure light entertainment probably won’t be prepared to devote the time and energy it takes to appreciate such intricate work. And that’s fine.  If we all loved the same books, things might get ugly at the public library!

What do you think are the most challenging aspects of editing someone else’s work?

Identifying the story the author is trying to tell and helping them whittle away everything else. Words come so hard, and they mean so much, the idea of cutting them can cause writers real distress. Most of my work is keeping my clients focused on the big picture, the story they’re trying to tell, so that the changes they need to make don’t loom so large.

If you had one tip to give to an editor, what would this be?

My specialty is content/structural editing. I always try to give the writer some options to choose from.  Whether it’s plot, pacing, characterization, nine times out of ten there is more than one way to address the issue. I’ve found writers are more willing to make needed changes when they have a couple of potential fixes to consider.

As for line editing and proof reading, I make sure leave a lot of time between content edits and proofing. It’s easy for an editor to become so familiar with a manuscript that she can’t catch those small, insidious line errors. Frankly, your best girlfriend is likely to do a better job proofing your manuscript than the editor who’s been poring over it for the past three weeks. 

You work as a revision coach.   What sort of writing issues do your clients most often bring to their sessions with you?

It depends. For a while, I seemed to specialize in eighty-year-old men writing their life stories.  They didn’t have much in the way of craft experience, especially the ability to string together life “episodes” into a unified narrative. I helped them to focus on the most pivotal experiences and let go of the more general details. What I loved most about working with these clients is that point--and it always came--where the writing lapsed from past tense into present, as if they’d been transported back in time and were reliving the event. In a way, I regretted having to wake them from that dream.

With more experienced writers, the biggest issue tends to be an embarrassment of riches. There’s lots of good stuff, but it doesn’t all necessarily belong in the project. My job is to remind them that good writing is never wasted. The cut scene, character or sub-plot still exists and may find a home in another work. Even if it doesn’t, it was a valuable part of the creative process.

What it always comes down to is remembering that working on the actual manuscript is only part of my job. There’s a writer, too. He or she has hopes and fears. We have to be detached, certainly--the saggy bits have to go. Only save some compassion for the human being who might love those run-on sentences and under-developed scenes.

You volunteer with the Doberman Rescue of Nevada.  Tell us more about why you became involved with this.

 I grew up with Dobermans. They’re loyal, intelligent and incredibly sensitive.  When I moved to Las Vegas from New York,  I moved with a parrot, Pomeranian and my elderly Dobie. When he passed, it took a while before I could face getting another. I found out about Doberman Rescue of Nevada through an online search. I began fostering an old guy. He clearly didn’t have much time left, but even old dogs deserve secure homes, right? So I became a foster failure and adopted him. He only lived two months. But they were good months. In the meantime, I began making home visits and performing reference checks for the organization. I enjoy knowing that I’m helping to secure the best possible homes for these beautiful dogs.

Charlie, my current Doberman, is another cranky senior citizen. He’s also the biggest baby I’ve met in a long time. The Chihuahuas walk all over him. Literally.

Having admitted to liking British comedy, what do you consider to be the main difference between this and American comedy?

This is embarrassing. I’m fascinated with British television. Especially the comedies. The writing is wonderful. The focus is on these amazingly well-developed characters, and everything else evolves from that. Also, I love how many of the actors look like real people. They could be neighbors or co-workers. Here the emphasis is on pretty pretty pretty. Nine out of ten of ours could be fashion models--or were models earlier in their careers. That’s not the case with British shows. 

What has prompted your interest in frugal living and what are the benefits (apart from the obvious financial ones)?

This is complicated for me.  I’m not naturally thrifty. I’ve learned the value of fiscal moderation. Eventually, I came to see that money is great, but that time is the most valuable commodity in the universe--your balance only goes down.  I’m frugal because I like being in charge of my time. It takes a lot of bad writing to get to the good stuff. And bad writing takes time! Thank goodness for my husband. Mike doesn’t mind taking on the care and feeding of a might-be-something-one-day writer.

What are your future writing plans?

I’ll be releasing my second novel through Createspace in May.  Knife Skills is the outcome of another of my literary obsessions--Mansfield Park. Though you’d have to know the original really well to see influence.  It’s the story of a young chef named Molly Price raised by her aunt and uncle on their vineyard. When Molly discovers she has a five-year-old sister in foster care, she’s  forced to re-connect with her troubled parents and come to terms with her insecurities about her place in the world .

How can readers connect with you?

I love connecting with readers and fellow writers through Facebook  www.facebook.com/CarrieAnnLahainAuthor , Twitter @clahain, and my website/book blog www.carrieannlahain.com