Author Interview with Author Pamela Hobart Carter – Part II

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      What impact does your timed writing practice (with two different groups in Seattle) have on your writing?

Timed writing practice is the opposite of writer’s block. Writing to the clock, allowing the writing to be ugly and/or raw, and writing with company keeps my pen moving and words falling onto the page. If ever I’m feeling stuck, I know to give myself a time-frame, to sit, and to write until the alarm sounds. Practicing timed writing keeps me optimistic. Practicing timed writing with a group transforms my solo activity into a social one and has given me community.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a novel about color, art, and creativity. My novel’s heroine protects art and color in her beige-dominated world where Color Rules restrict. It’s a mess and it’s going to take me a long time to arrive at a first draft, and I’m having a blast.

The poem I’m wrestling with is “All Lines Dissolve” which features a goddess and waiting.

And I’m hoping for a couple of play readings this year.
Final Words of Wisdom
Wisdom is a big ask! Are final words of randomness okay? (Elena says, YES!)

When I’m scared or too serious, I remind myself:
No one is making me write. I do this because it is a good time.

I can make it anything I can imagine, and I can imagine much. (Elena says, those are very wise final words.)

Elena Hartwell

Author and developmental editor.