Gordon Jack On The Election As Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can come to us like a lightning bolt, through the lyrics of a song, or in the fog of a dream. Ask any writer where their stories come from and you’ll get a myriad of answers, and in that vein I created the WHAT (What the Hell Are you Thinking?) interview. Always including in the WHAT is one random question to really dig down into the interviewees mind, and probably supply some illumination into my own as well.

Today's guest for the WHAT (What The Hell Are You Thinking?) is Gordon Jack, author of Your Own Worst Enemy. He always wanted to be a writer. In third grade, he put that on his “What I want to be when I grow up” list, just behind astronaut and professional dog walker. While working towards this goal, he had jobs as an advertising copywriter, English teacher, librarian, and semi-professional dog walker. The Boomerang Effect was his first novel. He lives in San Francisco with his family.

Ideas for our books can come from just about anywhere, and sometimes even we can’t pinpoint exactly how or why. Did you have a specific origin point for your book?

I was inspired to write Your Own Worst Enemy by my editor from Harpers. We were talking about my next book and she said, “Why don’t you write about a high school election?” and I said, “You mean, like the movie Election?” and she said, “Yes, exactly like that.”

I love the movie Election and wasn’t up for writing another bit of fan fiction (My last book The Boomerang Effect is a rip off, I mean homage, to a P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves and Wooster novel.) I decided instead to write a novel about an overweight teen cast on a humiliating sitcom, which my editor hated. Maybe I should write about a high school election? I thought. When I asked my editor about it, she loved the idea and that’s when I started writing Your Own Worst Enemy.

Once the original concept existed, how did you build a plot around it?

The reason I didn’t want to write about a high school class election is because they’re kind of boring (at least at my school). Only a few people run and there’s never really much drama. The trick, I found, was to make the teens as competitive and immoral as some of our politicians. So, I modeled the three candidates in my book after Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump. Once I did that, the writing got way more interesting (and therapeutic after the 2016 presidential contest).

In the early drafts, the plot revolved around a love triangle, which I know sounds weird for a political satire. Brian’s dilemma of working for Stacey but being in love with her opponent mirrored my own conflicted feelings of supporting Hillary but secretly loving Bernie. I felt like Hillary had the most experience to be president, but Bernie had all the energy and radical new ideas.

I didn’t introduce my Trump stand in until much later when I realized the book wasn’t as funny as I wanted it to be. Tony became my Trump character and Kyle his Steve Bannon. Tony wants attention but doesn’t really want the responsibility. Kyle helps him tap into the part of the electorate that’s being ignored and weaponizes people’s anger. Hilarious, right?

Have you ever had the plot firmly in place, only to find it changing as the story moved from your mind to paper?

That’s what I call writing. Does this not happen to other people?! What’s their secret?

Do story ideas come to you often, or is fresh material hard to come by?

Well, that depends. Coming up with ideas isn’t too hard, but coming up with good ideas is a challenge. For example, I’m working on a story now tentatively titled, “My Future’s In The Toilet” about a teenage girl who walks into a bathroom stall at prom and comes out at her 20-year-high school reunion. I love the concept, but I’m having a hard time making the story more than a series of brief encounters where the main character learns about her friends’ embarrassing secrets.

First drafts suck. I know they’re supposed to suck, but that doesn’t make them any easier to write. Whenever I’m writing a first draft, I’m reminded about how bad a writer I am and I don’t like being reminded of that. It’s not until the 3rd or 4th draft that I begin to see my genius again, until I show it to someone and they tell me I suck and to keep revising. The story evolves and changes significantly the more I work on it. Who knows, by the time you read this “My Future’s In The Toilet,” could be about a dog that saves a small town from a tornado.

How do you choose which story to write next, if you’ve got more than one percolating?

I usually go with whatever character I want to spend the most time with. I imagine I’m hosting a dinner party with all the people in my head (I never invite Fred though because he drinks too much and chews with his mouth open). The person I want to sit next to is usually the story I want to write because I’m interested in this character and what’s going on in their life right now. If that person turns out to be an insufferable bore, I’ll find an excuse to leave the table and start loading the dishwasher, which is what I usually do when I’m procrastinating with writing.

I have 5 cats and I usually have at least one or two snuggling with me when I write. Do you have a writing buddy, or do you find it distracting?

If by writing buddy you mean strong coffee and Pop Tarts, then yes, I have a few writing buddies. I find it hard to compose anything without them.

Learn more about Gordon Jack and Your Own Worst Enemy by following all of his stops on the blog tour, and enter to win a copy!

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You Are the Villain

One of the things I always tell aspiring writers is to remember not to make their villains unsympathetic. As tough as it is to swallow, everyone has a reason for being the way they are. Even the most reprehensible character (and people in real life) have traveled a path to become who they are. Note that I say reason - not excuse.

Recently while teaching a writing workshop I stumbled onto a truth you won't hear very often.

Everyone knows we are the heroes of our own stories. This is true. Whether you're having a good cry in your car - yes, you were at fault in that fender bender but you just have so much going on right now - or calling to check in on that friend who is down on their luck, we are usually doing the right thing... or at least if we do the wrong thing, we have justification.

Perspective is key in these situations. The person you just rear-ended most definitely isn't feeling that narrative about how stressed you are right now. They've got bills to pay, and by the way that wasn't even their car - that was their mother-in-law's car - and you just made their life a shit show.

Much like in books and movies, the audience's sympathy is going to be with the person they were following right before the crash. Are they in the car with you? Or the person you hit? Their sympathy will lie with whoever's POV they are in, because they've already identified with them and understand the circumstances that led up to the crash - or the impact of the fallout.

In real life, we are always the heroes of our own stories. It's our narrative. We know the ins and outs of every moment that has made us into who we are today. It shapes our perspective and determines where our chief sympathies lie.

How is this a writing tool?

While standing in front of my class and talking about the hero perspective we use in our daily lives, I suddenly realized the flip of that - every single one of us is also someone's villain.

That's right. You're the villain in someone else's narrative.

Think about that.

If you want to use it as soul-cleanser, go ahead. That's up to you. I'm looking at it from a writing perspective. I know more than a few narratives where I figure in as the villain, and I'm sure there are plenty I'm blissfully unaware of.

If you know yours, cool. If not, give it a second.

I'm confident that in your version of the narrative you are not the villain. Much like our fictional counterparts, you have a reason for whatever action (or inaction) that cast you in that role. I doubt you have to stretch yourself to come up with a sympathetic angle.

Apply this same thinking to your fictional villains, and you will have believable, three-dimensional, sympathetic, dynamic, interesting characters populating your pages.

Just like a real person.

Top 5 Mistakes For First Time Queries & Making Yourself Write

First of all – if you haven’t already realized this I’m going to say it again – we all generally hate ourselves when we sit down to write. I’m currently holed up in a hotel room working on this podcast instead of writing, because it seems I have completely forgotten how to.

I’ll remember, maybe after a nap, but I have the luxury of knowing that I will remember how to write. I’ve been here before, in this doubtful place with a blank screen and a cursor staring at me, a gulf of indecision and inadequacy opening up inside.

I’m sure that feels familiar to you if you’re a writer, but like the listener posing the question on Twitter, you might not have that resource to fall back on – knowing that you have done it before, and will again. Eventually.

Maybe after a drink.

Or perhaps petting the cat.

For an hour.

Also, I have to pee.

This is called procrastination. Writers are excellent at it. It’s an answer to our problem of fear – being afraid of failing. We can’t fail at something we don’t actually attempt, can we?

You also can’t succeed.

Making yourself write is most definitely the way to put it. It truly is a forced endeavor, at times, and often I meet aspiring writers who feel like they aren’t writers because it’s such a struggle, because they have to force themselves to do it.

For example, just last night in the elevator with writing friends I squared my shoulders right before the door opened on my floor and said, “Okay, I’ve got to go write.”

To which one said, “Don’t do that to yourself.”

Yep. In an elevator full of traditionally published, successful authors, absolutely everyone – including myself – was in pain just at the thought of writing.

If this is you, take heart.

But Mindy, if it’s truly a passion, truly a love, truly a creative instinct and drive – shouldn’t you want to?

No, not necessarily.

I absolutely love my boyfriend. I don’t want to be with him every moment of every day. That’s emotional work.

So is writing.

Work, hard work, work embroidered with your soul – work that someone else might hate, work that – when shared – feels like disrobing, an intimate moment. If you don’t want to do it, the best thing to move yourself is to ask yourself why?

Is it because you are afraid of failing?

Realize that you might. Then ask yourself if you’re okay with never trying.

Is it because you aren’t feeling inspired?

Me neither. Writing is not (usually) a disembodied fever dream that flows from your fingers. Those moments do happen, but they are rare and I don’t question them, or dissect how they came to be for fear of killing it through observation.

I’ll add that those fugue state words are often ones that need a lot of heavy lifting after the fact – serious editing to – in some cases – inject logic into what they are trying to convey.

On the other hand, those tedious paragraphs that took me hours to deliver? They don’t need a lot of polish because I spit on each word and gave it a serious side-eye before moving on to the next one.

Two weeks ago I talked about word vomits – getting words out while not overly considering quality. Quantity is the aim in a word vomit. You’ll clean it up later.

What I’m talking about right now is a dry heave – painful excretions of each syllable. And – much like a real dry heave – less to clean up.

Are you not writing because you have other, more pressing things in your life?

Is it your family? Valid. Is it your friends? Valid. Is it your day job? Valid. Is it Netflix? Is it your bladder? Is it an excuse?

Are you not writing because you don’t know how?

Answer – do you read books, watch TV or movies, or go to plays? Then you know how. Do it.

Are you not writing because when you put down five words they look so small on that white page?

Put down five more. That’s ten. Do it.

Are you not writing because someone told you there are rules and a right way to create a novel and you’re afraid of doing it wrong?

They’re wrong. Do it.

You probably picked up on the refrain – do it.

That’s the best possible advice I can give on writing. You just have to do it. When I first started writing, I would put myself in front of my laptop and say, “Alright Mindy, make some shit happen.”

If it helps to swear at yourself – do it.

This question came from Facebook, a poster asked me to share some common mistakes for first time query-ers and submit-er’s.

Can do.

First – don’t bulk email query. Many agents prefer a personalization in queries they receive – a reason why you are querying them. This will definitely get their attention, but I do like to stress that it’s not a necessity. I landed mine with the simple, Dear Ms. Ranta, followed by a hook. But what they don’t want to see is a BCC in their email, knowing that they were just hit with a query that not only wasn’t personalized – but the writer didn’t even bother to send it to them as an individual. What’s worse? Not BCC’ing, so that everyone can see who else got the email. It’s like getting a prom invite that says, also, if you say no, I’ve already asked Sherry, Jana, Emily and Darlene, so, no pressure, but also don’t feel special, kay?

Second – don’t respond to a rejection. A simple thank you for your time is fine, but also unnecessary – hopefully that was your closing line in the query or submission, anyway. Most rejection responses are inherently defensive in nature, border on passive aggressive – or, are flat out aggressive. I’m going to assume you are smart enough to not do any of those things, and move on to the next point. Let’s be honest – why are you responding? Because there was a minor compliment in the rejection and you want to hear more about what’s working in the manuscript? Of course you do – but, that’s also not the job of this agent… that’s the job of your agent, yes. But this person isn’t your agent – they just rejected you. You’re asking them to do their job for free… nobody likes that. And again – why are you responding? Because you are hoping that your response will be so eloquent and beautiful or witty and moving that they change their minds. That’s why you’re responding. They’re not going to. Move on.

Third – DO follow query and submission guidelines. Yes, I know. They are hoops you don’t want to jump through. It’s arbitrary. It’s annoying. It’s not part of your creative process. When I first started doing the processing at my library job, one of the things that the woman who held the position before me did was handwrite the barcode on page 25 of every single book. That’s ridiculous, I thought. I’m cutting that step out. Then a book came back to the library with the dustjacket (therefore, the barcode) torn off. I couldn’t return it. I didn’t know whose it was. I couldn’t put it back in the system. Oh… so this is why she did that. Guidelines and processes exist for a reason. It may not be obvious to you why they exist, but it’s not arbitrary, and it’s not a game to see if you’ll do it right, only to buzz you out if you don’t. Going rogue and doing your own thing is cool on the creative side, not so much on the business side.

Fourth – Don’t slam someone already established in the industry. Yes, you may think you are a better writer than they are, in fact you might actually be. It doesn’t matter. They are successful for a reason – one that you haven’t figured out yet. Maybe they had an awesome hook, or a high concept plot. Maybe a frantic bidding war made that book sell for way more than what you deem it worth. Maybe you just don’t like them, personally. Doesn’t matter. Publishing is small, and if you are trashing a writer on Twitter, their agent will see it. And you might want to query them.

Fifth – Don’t tell an agent or editor in a submission that if they pass they will regret it. It will be the biggest mistake of their lives. You are a genius who is breaking down creative walls and history will remember them for being the person who held their sledgehammer for them. Quite frankly – don’t be a dick. Flip side – Don’t tell the agent or editor that this is your first novel, that you don’t really know what you are doing, that if they pass you will understand, because honestly, it’s probably pretty bad. In other words – don’t sell yourself short. Yes, these queries DO happen and either way, you’re presenting yourself as someone they don’t want to work with – the diva or the needy.

Hope that helps – some of these things are obvious, I know, but you’d be surprised how often they happen.

As always, if you have a suggestion for something you’d like me to address dealing with writing, publishing, or questions for me in general – feel free to ask! Email me at Mindy@MindyMcGinnis.com or ask me on Twitter.