About Helen Winslow Black:
HELEN WINSLOW BLACK is an author, speaker, and advocate for the prevention of domestic abuse. She is a native of Glencoe, Illinois, and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the University of Chicago. She raised her five children in the Pacific Northwest and now lives with her husband in Portland, Oregon, and Buena Vista, Colorado.
What inspires you to write?
A really strong desire to connect with other people in the emotional sphere, because that’s where healing, wholeness and progress in life have their foundation. I firmly believe that fiction is the best way to share the joys and sorrows and earned wisdom of this wonderful life, because it lets your imagination loose and creates dialogue. A novel is a conversation between author and reader, and that energizes me.
What authors do you read when you aren’t writing?
As a teen and twenty-something I read hundreds of books a year, the pace slowed as I raised five children and began writing myself, and now as an empty-nester I belong to a book club that alternates between fiction and non-fiction, which means I’m reading SO many cool books that I never would have thought of on my own. So: who ISN’T my favorite author? I could give you pages, but I’ll be self-disciplined here. I’m heavy on British, American, and Russian classics of the late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth century…I love Doris Lessing, Willa Cather, Edith Wharton, Mark Twain, Dickens, Faulkner, Garcia Marquez, Richard Ford, Lawrence Durrell, Naguib Mahfouz, Sherman Alexie, Nadine Gordimer…as to current consumption, most recently I’ve read and loved “Deacon King Kong” by James McBride and “The Monkey Wrench Gang” by Edward Abbey, and I’ve reread Marilynne Robinson’s “Gilead.” It’s fascinating to reread books you read earlier at a different stage life. I highly recommend it.
Tell us about your writing process.
I’ve done a lot of formal academic writing, so maybe that’s why nothing about my creative writing process is formulaic! Both of my novels began when I was absolutely gripped by a scene and had to write it down. It just sprang full-blown. I was like, “Wow, this is cool. What should I do with it?” I let the idea germinate. I’m a slow, careful writer. I listen to my insides. I need to be entirely alone and preferably out in nature or at least staring out the window at the trees. Classical music sometimes helps the words start to flow. I write longhand—it’s a deeper, more real connection between my heart and my hand. When I have a few more scenes written it begins to hang together and arrange itself, and then I become more business-like, because I understand intellectually what I am doing, where I am going, and how I am getting there. So the process starts organically, and becomes more structured later on. My writing is ninety percent editing: I revise chapters six to ten times, and the whole finished book a few times too, with a long break between revisions of two or three months—that’s really helpful.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I listen to them. Even though these folks and the their complete little alternate universe are my own invention—to me, they are one hundred percent absolutely real, so I respect them. They lead the way.
What advice would you give other writers?
What you are doing is important. Never give up. And read—read a lot! Otherwise it’s like trying to play the violin when you’ve never heard music before. And not just one single genre, or only books published in the last two years! You stand on the shoulders of a vast company of authors, from the past to the present day. Get to know them in all their variety. It will help you find your own voice.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
I chose self-publishing because I reject the idea that gatekeepers and institutional hierarchies could stand between me and my audience—guess I’m an indie at heart! The digital revolution created new opportunities to platform creative content right around the time I published my first book, and print-on-demand has now made things even easier. Nobody is as invested in promoting your book as you are, and that includes a mainstream publisher who will have a latte-sipping intern write the obligatory press release, and then then pulp the remaining copies of your modest print run after your book tour—which you had to pay for yourself. As an indie author, I am in charge, and I like that not because I’m a control freak but because my book is my baby and should be surrounded only by those who will give it tender, loving care.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Mainstream publishers no longer have sole control, and this is absolutely fine. Have planes replaced cars? Have velcro straps replaced shoelaces? Have screens replaced real books made from trees? No! Every book can find its audience, and the more avenues to do that, the better. When I was a child there were five TV channels. Now there are, like, five hundred, and everyone seems to be doing just fine, thankyouverymuch. Where will this proliferation lead? I think personal, direct contact with authors will be all the more important and along with that, independent bookstores (especially ones in smaller metropolitan areas), because of their ability to draw enthusiastic readers to book chat/signings for local authors or indeed any authors. And I wonder if brick-and-mortar publishing houses may be forced to go more “boutique” in order to distinguish themselves as the go-to for particular genres, or utilize marketing techniques like subscriptions or preferred reader clubs or loyalty programs with special perks like insider events, in order to hold onto market share. Maybe they already do! In any case, it’s fun to speculate.
What genres do you write?: Fiction, non-fiction humor
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Helen Winslow Black Home Page Link
Your Social Media Links
Goodreads
Facebook
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All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
