Paula Schmitt and I had the honor of interviewing Elizabeth Brundage, the author of The Doctor’s Wife, for Mom Writer’s Talk Radio, and she was fabulous, so we were thrilled when she agreed to also be profiled in the magazine.

Elizabeth has a strong background in writing which includes a Master’s in Creative Writing and a stint at the American Film Institute. I’m sure you will see why we were so excited to hear what she has to say...

MWLM: How do you juggle being a mom and a published author?

EB: It's hard to juggle being a mom and a writer, and I'm always waiting for one of those balls up there to drop on my head – splat!  Family comes first – always.  I try to work every day in the morning after the kids go to school.  In the afternoon, when they're home, it's their time.  Then there's the dinner to make, homework to do, and bedtime.  It's a lot.  I get into bed at night with a stack of books on my table, hoping to read for an hour, but I usually fall asleep after two or three pages out of sheer exhaustion.  Reading is very important for a writer.  To answer your question, being a mom is the hardest work of all.

MWLM: Do you have a specific writing style?

EB: As a writer I appreciate all writing styles, but in my own work I try to construct the prose so that it economically reveals character while moving at a fast pace.  When I say economically I mean it in the poetic sense – in the way that a poem is both economical yet richly evocative – that the adjectives you choose must be used sparingly and must hit the perfect emotional pitch for the scene – and that the choices you make about a particular character, i.e., his/her habits, mannerisms, world view, interests, fears etc., must resonate again and again throughout the book.

MWLM: When did you first consider yourself a writer?

EB: When I was ten I knew I wanted to write.  The idea was confirmed in high school, when I published my first poem in a small literary magazine.  In college, I had a burning desire to tell stories.  I started writing fiction at 25, after several years focusing on film and poetry.  When I wrote my first story, I felt like I had finally found the right medium.  Writing a novel is hard because it's a huge period of time in your life where you're focusing on one project, and that can be difficult.  There are many days when you just can't do it.  There are days when you feel like the work is going nowhere.  It's really a very difficult and personal journey, and only you can dig your way out.

MWLM: Do you write based on a schedule?

EB: I write mornings from 9:00 a.m. to about 12:00 or 1:00 p.m.  Three good hours a day is all I usually get.  If you are working during the day, try to keep the ideas alive in a separate consciousness if you can.  On your lunch hour, try to make some notes.  Often, I am only able to write notes and then, sometimes days later, I refer to those notes and find a way back into the work.

MWLM: Do you ever get writer’s block? And if so how do you overcome it?

EB: Writer's block happens when you are just too busy in your regular life to think about your characters.  You are an overbooked airline, there are just not enough seats to take you to where you need to go.  What should you do?  Walk there instead.  It takes a lot longer, but think of all the things you'll see on foot that you wouldn't have seen in the air.  Wait.  Enjoy your life.  Give in to soccer practice.  Talk to the other moms and dads.  Hang out.  Get your hair done.  Get a pedicure. Take a long walk.  Talk to friends at length on the telephone.  Stop rushing.  Take a nap in the afternoon if you can.  Make a fire in the fireplace.  Have a glass of wine when the house is suddenly very quiet.  Notice the moon when you're outside walking the dog.  Go swimming.  Kiss your spouse more than necessary.  Buy a new sweater.  Eventually, the work will come back.  It's always there in your head.  You have to give it time.

MWLM: One piece of advice you would give to a mom writer?

EB: Stay with it.  It's like giving birth – or those first few days of raising an infant.  Sometimes you feel like you just don't have it in you.  You can't do it.  You're just ready to say "this isn't for me."  I say be patient.  Trust yourself.  Let it evolve as it may.  Forget about publishing – it's not what you think it is – and it's not why you write.  That would be like saying the only reason to raise a child is so that they grow up to be a doctor or lawyer.  You know what I mean?  Of course that's crazy. 

We raise children because we love being mothers, we want to raise good citizens of the world.  That's the same reason we write.  We want to tell good stories.  Focus on yourself – who you are down deep – and what is meaningful to you.  What you are trying to say?  What do you want to say to people?  And why you?  Why are you writing?  What is it that makes you do it?  If you can't find an answer, don't write.  Do something else.  Ask yourself: what is it that makes you NEED to write?  Look inside and figure out what makes you different and unique – your vision of the world – you have to own that vision.  You have to be proud of it.  This can take some time.  It's hard. Everybody else seems to be so sure, but not you.  That's okay.  The confidence will eventually come, but again you have to trust yourself and your vision.  Look at the landscape in your head.  What do you imagine there?  And how can you translate those images into prose.  Everyone has their own unique voice.  You have to get very quiet sometimes to be able to hear it.  Once you do, then, gently, you begin.

Alana Morales, has a degree in Psychology and is a certified teacher.  She taught high school English for six years before staying home with her two children and becoming a freelance writer. Her syndicated column Family Business, which is about being a WAHM, appears on over 13 online sites as well as her local newspaper. Her first book, Domestically Challenged, is due out in 2006 with Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, Inc. You can read more of Alana’s work and get information about her book at AlanaMorales.com.