AO: Interestingly enough, my students as a rule don't have the same problem I had of not having enough plot, maybe because they're young. In fact, they tend to have very lurid plots. There's a real embrace of melodrama, so I find myself asking them to rein it in.
AC: That must be the impulse behind the "write what you know" adage.
AO: Exactly. Which is also dangerous because I want to encourage their imagination. I like the fact that they're writing this stuff that's sometimes very dark and dealing with these extreme situations. But I think that when students are starting out they think that the only way to access emotion is through dramatic events. I try to help them find ways to access the emotion inherent in more ordinary moments so that they can create more complex characters.
AC: How do you help them do that?
AO: I have a lot of exercises that have to do with observations of daily life. I have them observe someone at the local Dunkin Donuts, say, and construct a biography for that person. That helps them to see the world through the eyes of someone different from themselves, and helps them find the story behind an ordinary person. I also have them do a lot of eavesdropping on conversations. A lot of times their dialogue is on the wooden side, or there's a lot of speeches, and people saying directly what they mean, so I try to get them to listen to the way that ordinary people talk.
Another exercise I do involves a man and a woman going into a mattress store to buy a bed. They have to write a scene in which the couple only talks about the bed, but through the conversation, the real situation between the man and the woman is revealed without their ever saying it. That's another everyday life moment that they have to find the drama in.
AC: That's a great exercise.
AO: I forgot who I stole that from! Some angry person is going to see this on the web, and say, "That's my exercise."
On Marketing and Self-Promotion
AC: With regard to marketing both the short stories and the novel, what has worked and what hasn’t? I saw that you did a “Book Notes” for Largehearted Boy, and I know you did a book tour for your last book, but you said you weren’t sure you would do it again.AO: Largehearted Boy was really fun, and it's really taking off now. I think the web is a great tool for marketing that book publishers are only just beginning to capitalize on. I think readings are fun and I enjoy the social aspects of them, but if you're not famous, going on a book tour to a city where you don't know anyone and making an author appearance there -- I don't think that really works unless it gives you the chance to do interviews and get a lot of press. You really have to focus on taking advantage of the connections you have. I’m not a brilliant marketer, but it seems to me that some of the old ways of doing things aren’t working anymore.
AC: Book clubs seem to be something that can work.
AO: I met a woman at a conference last summer who does all kinds of author appearances at book clubs, and she really capitalizes on making connections with them…but she’s the kind of person who’s really into promotion and she’s very good at it. She’s gregarious and loves to talk about her book in an expository way, and she loves mingling with her readers. That’s a real skill. It’s a whole separate skill from writing a book. I don’t know if that’s something I could ever do, because I am shyer, but I admire her for getting out there.
AC: I think a lot of writers are writers because they like being in a room alone writing. That’s a really different personality from the self-promoter.
AO: I know! I was in Scotland last week and I went to see the writer A.L. Kennedy doing a comedy show. To me it was just amazing that anyone who is a writer would be able to take on this kind of performance aspect. I thought, isn't it terrifying enough to do the stuff that doesn't involve anyone standing in front of you watching? It was fascinating for me to see her take that risk, and she was really funny. You won’t catch me doing any stand-up! No worries.
