Michelle Berry is the author of three books of short
stories and five previous novels. Her short story collection
I Still Don’t Even Know You won the 2011 Mary Scorer Award for Best Book Published by a
Manitoba Publisher and was shortlisted for a 2011 ReLit Award, and her novel
This Book Will Not Save Your Life won the 2010 Colophon Award and was longlisted
for the 2011 ReLit Award. her writing has been optioned for film and published
in the UK.
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does
your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My first
book, a book of stories called, How to Get There from Here, changed my
life because it made me suddenly feel like a real writer. I had published quite
a few short stories before the actual book but holding a compilation of my
stories in book form with my name on the cover was astonishing to me. I thought
everyone would finally realize that I was a writer. I would be able to tell
people what I do by referring to “the book.” And I thought that would give me
more drive to write. I felt this way for quite a few of the next books that
were published too – each book confirmed writer status, I guess-- but I would
say that at this point the joy, the feeling of success, the wonder at the
creation of a book is more about the process and less about the actual object.
This book feels good because of the years I spent writing it, editing it,
thinking about it. Because of the support of the background people -- the
editors, publishers, publicists, etc.. Seeing it on publication day, in my
hands, feels amazing, but it’s definitely not what defines my writing. What
defines my writing and me as a writer is the process of actually writing.
2 - How did you come to fiction first, as opposed to,
say, poetry or non-fiction?
Some people are extremely
talented and can write in all different forms -- but I can’t. I’ve tried
writing a kids’ book. I tried poetry when I was younger. And I realize I don’t
have any talent when it comes to those things. I think that in order to write a
novel or stories you have to be obsessed with novels and stories, you have to
read them, study them, understand the techniques that go into writing them --
what works, what doesn’t work. I have spent all my adult life doing that for
novels and stories -- I’m not sure how I would have the time to study poetry,
non-fiction and kids’ books too. I would love to write some sort of memoir, but
I realize that I would need a few years of studying the form of memoir before I
could make a serious attempt at that. Maybe a fictional memoir would work?
3 - How long does it take to start any particular writing
project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do
first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or does your work come
out of copious notes?
The answer to this depends on
what project you are talking about. Sometimes things start with a bang,
sometimes things move slow as a slug. I usually start with a sentence and,
actually, try not to start with an idea or theme. I just put one sentence down
and see where it takes me. If that sentence works and creates a scene in my
head, I might finish a book -- if it doesn’t, I move on. I usually get to about
page 100 and then I do my outline. This is when I finally figure out what the
book is about. I do outlines in different ways -- sometimes with sticky note
timelines and a corkboard, sometimes just dot-notes on a sheet of paper beside
me, sometimes a white board full of photographs and lines connecting
everything, sometimes nothing if I can keep everything together in my head
(which is usually not the case). First drafts are often close to their final
shape (or final until an editor gets hold of it) because I edit copiously as I
write. If I’m starting on chapter three one day, for example, I’ll start again
at chapter one and continue until I get to chapter three and then move a bit
forward from there. It’s a slow process.
4 - Where does a work of prose usually begin for you? Are
you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger project, or
are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
Again, it depends on what project
I’m working on. Interference started as a bunch of short stories that I then
pushed together with segues and it then morphed into a novel. But usually, I am
either writing short stories or a novel, not both. And I tend to write in one
long line and then during the editing process move things around and play with
structure. I guess I think of my writing as some sort of pottery: start with a
lump of clay and then pull that into something that looks a bit like the object
it’s supposed to look like, and then shape it, twist it, mold it, score it,
glaze it, fire it, etc.. and hope it comes out looking good. This is the same
for stories and novels with me.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your
creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I enjoy doing readings when I’m actually
doing them. But I tend to get nervous and stressed before I do them, so the
lead up is horrible. And I do have to say that when I’m done doing public
events, I always overthink what has happened and only notice the things I’ve
said that didn’t make sense. Public events are counter to the creative process
for me because they make me stressed, but they are also part of the creative
process because when I talk to people who read my work it makes me both
confident and humbled. Readers also make you understand your work, which is a
fabulous thing. So, it’s a love/hate relationship, I guess.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your
writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your work? What
do you even think the current questions are?
Hard question. I guess I’m trying
to think about human relationships and how people communicate with each other
and how we try to live. I guess I’m thinking of pain and sadness and happiness
and love. The current questions in the world today are massive, I can’t even
begin to tackle those, but I hope my characters are portraying ways of thinking
and ways of living that make a reader think about and connect to the world I’ve
created. I’m studying human life in my writing, I guess, and trying not to
preach, just trying to show.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being
in larger culture? Does s/he even have one? What do you think the role of the
writer should be?
A writer should be open to things
and should be watching the world around her. Our role should be to raise discussion,
I guess. To make people think. To make readers empathetic to other ways of
life.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside
editor difficult or essential (or both)?
Essential. Absolutely. An editor
is the only one who knows your work as well as you do and can push you to make
it the best possible creation. I’ve been very lucky with editors. They don’t
seem to be pushy, which is amazing, they are like therapists -- the sounding
board. They suggest changes that always make my work better. Jen Sookfong Lee
and Paul Vermeersch at Wolsak and Wynn have been incredible. Paul fixed the
opening for Prisoner and Chaplain, gave me suggestions to make it punchy and
alive. Jen Sookfong Lee suggested so many things for Everything Turns Away –
to tighten it, structure it better, give some characters more depth or loosen
up on some characters. Editors are the gods of the publishing industry.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not
necessarily given to you directly)?
Funny, I would say the best
writing advice I’ve been given has actually come from me – ha ha – I probably
heard this somewhere but I can’t remember so I’m taking credit for it. When you
are stuck somewhere in your novel, print the entire thing out and transcribe it
from the beginning again – just type it all out again – and as you do that,
edit it, add to it, delete parts of it, etc.. Physically write the novel again
and again. This works for me, maybe not for others, and has helped me when I’m
stuck and feeling like giving up. It’s the process of actually using your
fingers, doing physical “labour” (typing) that helps you feel like you are
working again and helps move you forward with your work.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres
(short stories to the novel)? What do you see as the appeal?
I can move between those genres
quite easily. I feel that I know the structures of novels and stories so well
now that I know when I’m writing one or the other. I can feel it in the arc of
the piece I’m writing, in the character development, in the plot -- where is
the climax? Are the characters slowly or quickly fleshed out? I don’t think
I’ve ever been writing a short story that became a novel or a novel that became
a short story. It’s one or the other once I’ve started.
11 - What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or
do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
Because I was running my
bookstore for 5 years and not writing, I had no routine for a while. But now
I’m that I’m free of the store I try to write a bit every day. Usually I need
peace and quiet in the house, maybe some low volume music on, and all my chores
done (which never happens!). I also like to be alone in the house and, with
COVID-19, that has been impossible. I used to have more of a routine when I was
just teaching online and writing. I had days of the week that I would focus on
writing. But everything has been so up in the air for 5 years now (and because
of COVID-19) that my routine has gone out the window. I do a lot of creating in
bed at night staring at the ceiling fan. I’m too lazy to write things down so I
tend to forget most of what I’ve imagined, but probably some of it sticks.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or
return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Reading. Definitely. When I can’t
write, I read. And when I find a book that inspires me and makes me remember
why I want to write, then I start writing again. Lately this has been happening
with good TV programs too -- limited serials that have brilliant writing and
can make me jump up and start working again.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Coffee. My parents always have a
cappuccino in the morning and an espresso in the afternoon and our house always
smelled like coffee. It’s a lovely smell.
14 - David W. McFadden once said that books come from
books, but are there any other forms that influence your work, whether nature,
music, science or visual art?
I think books come from
everything around me. Exercise, cooking, music (for sure!) and visual art. I
think writing comes from moving your furniture around, from travelling, from
drinking a beer. Books come from your pandemic puppy trying to catch a
butterfly. The whole world is books and books are the whole world.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for
your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
Way too many to count. I have
been so lucky in my life to know many many writers. They all inspire and
influence and encourage me in so many ways. Their writing has brought me pleasure
and awe. My colleagues never cease to amaze me. And the writers I don’t know,
the ones I only know through words on a page, have helped me find a reason for
my work.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Everything. I haven’t done enough
in the world, in my life. I’m constantly mad at myself for not taking advantage
of my position in the world. I’d like to travel more. I’d like to help people.
I’d like to listen more. I’d like to just be a better person.
17 - If you could pick any other occupation to attempt,
what would it be? Or, alternately, what do you think you would have ended up
doing had you not been a writer?
I can’t imagine picking anything
else. I have tried retail (owning my bookstore) and there are parts of it I
loved, but a lot of it was just not me and really put a damper on my creativity
and my time. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a vet or a doctor -- but my brain
is not very good at retaining scientific information so that didn’t work. I did
temp work all through university and didn’t like it at all. I’ve taught for
many years, of course. I’m just glad
that I can be a writer right now. I can’t imagine what else I could be.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something
else?
I wasn’t good at anything else
and once I started taking writing seriously, I realized that I wanted to do
nothing else.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the
last great film?
Book: The Sound of a Wild
Snail Eating, by Elisabeth Tova Bailey and Klara and the Sun, by
Kazuo Ishiguro. Not film, but TV, The White Lotus, Somebody,
Somewhere.
20 - What are you currently working on?
A new novel. And I’m messing
around with stories that have a bit to do with the pandemic -- not sure where
they are going, but we’ll see.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
