One Writer's Process: Kathleen Ernst

History comes alive in the hands of Kathleen Ernst, the author of more than a dozen novels, including Hearts of Stone (Dutton, 2006), set in Tennessee during the Civil War, and her newest novel, The Runaway Friend, an American Girl Mystery, which takes place on the Minnesota frontier in 1854.

It was Ernst's love of history that led her to her first job after college at a living history museum in Wisconsin called Old World Wisconsin. Ernst says it was “the best training ground for an historical writer imaginable.”

While working at Old World Wisconsin, Ernst began to write historical fiction as a hobby. Soon her “hobby” grew into her first published novel, The Night Riders of Harpers Ferry, and then to a second, Retreat from Gettysburg, which received praise from School Library Journal for the way Ernst “masterfully combined factual events with a powerful plot,” as well as for her exemplary “research and attention to detail.”

Ernst admits she may take many years to research, write, and revise her novels.

“Some authors need to know exactly what is going to happen in their novels before they start writing,” says Ernst. “I can’t work that way. I start with a general idea and wade in.”

Both approaches, Ernst admits, have advantages and disadvantages.

“Sometimes outliners are reluctant to make changes because they have such a clear vision in their minds,” she says. “And waders like me sometimes end up writing themselves into a corner and have to delete sections that don’t work.”

Ernst relies on her friends in a monthly writing group, which she has participated in for more than a decade, to let her know when her work needs further revision, and she, in turn, helps them.

Recently, she was kind enough to take a moment to share her thoughts on writing with Wordswimmer.

Wordswimmer: If writing is like swimming...how do you get into the water each day?

Ernst: Swimming is an interesting analogy because I've always described myself as a "wader." I do not outline. I've tried. Can't do it. Instead, I start with an image and wade right in. I've written entire novels (including mysteries) that way, never knowing exactly where I'm going. But for me that works.

Once a novel is underway I get into the water each day by reading and revising what I wrote the day before. That usually gets me going.

Wordswimmer: What keeps you afloat...for short work? For longer work?

Ernst: For the most part--passion! I love watching stories unfold, learning what happens. And as I tell my students, writers must enjoy the process. No, not every minute--we all have bad spots. But sometimes I meet people who hate writing but love the idea of holding their first book in their hands. That's a hard path to travel.

Wordswimmer: How do you keep swimming through dry spells?

Ernst: I have a couple of tricks. I rarely get really stuck, but if I do, I get up and do something else. Sitting and staring at the computer screen doesn't help anything! I do laundry, go for a walk, run errands. Usually whatever problem I'm having continues to percolate on the back burner of my mind. The answer to whatever I've been struggling with will ultimately pop into my brain. Letting go, giving a project over to my subconscious, is part of the creative process.

Also, because I write historical fiction almost exclusively, I can turn back to research when I hit a dry spell. Usually by digging deeper, I come across some "aha" moment: Oh, that's what my character needs to do next!

Wordswimmer: What's the hardest part of swimming?

Ernst: For many years I wrote as a hobby. Now that I'm selling novels, I sometimes sign a contract for an unwritten book. When I'm getting started, that often causes a few moments of panic when I can't think of anything and can feel the deadline looming. My strategy--and this would work anytime--is to remind myself not to worry about writing the whole book. All I have to do is write the first sentence. That leads to the first scene, and the first chapter. Someone very smart (I think it was Doctorow) once said, "Writing a novel is like driving at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." That describes my process pretty well.

Also, it can be difficult to keep a novel focused when days get so busy with the business of writing--correspondence, phone calls, updating my website, writing teacher guides to accompany my novels, etc. For the past couple of years I've been taking occasional week-long retreats, where I hole up somewhere and simply write. I often work 12-15 hours a day, and make amazing progress that way.

Wordswimmer: How do you overcome obstacles, problems, when swimming alone?

Ernst: I've been learning patience. My recent book, Hearts of Stone, took eight years to sell, with many revisions along the way. My best work often comes after years of writing, letting it rest, returning to it, letting it rest again. Taking a break from a manuscript draft--and I mean a break of at least several months--helps me come back to it with a fresh eye.

Also, I don't always swim alone. I have a few trusted writer-friends who critique my work before I send it out. We've been working together for years. They know me, and we speak the same language. They find problems I miss without ever trying to change my work into something it's not. Then, when it's the best I can make it, my agent usually has more suggestions.

Wordswimmer: What's the part of swimming that you love the most?

Ernst: Hmmn, hard call! I love traveling to do research. I love meeting readers at libraries and schools--especially kids, who get so excited about books and writing! And I also truly love the process of discovering a story. I never have to drag myself to the keyboard; my problem is usually dragging myself away to cook supper.

For more information about Kathleen Ernst, visit her website: http://www.distaff.net/

And to read more interviews with Kathleen, visit:
http://nancycastaldo.blogspot.com/2007/10/interview-with-author-kathleen-ernst.html
http://coffeecrampmagazine.tripod.com/id129.html

Where the River Ends

The other day Kathleen Bolton at Writer Unboxed, one of my favorite blogs on writing, described the difficulty of drafting the final chapter in her current work-in-progress.

She had reached the end... but wasn't sure exactly how the story should come to its conclusion:

I mean, I have a vague idea of how it should end (hopefully leaving the reader slavering for more), but I’m waffling between an upbeat ending or something more artistic (e.g. sad)...

Bolton asked readers what they wanted from an ending, and here's how I responded:

What I want from an ending is to feel as if the tumblers of a combination lock have fallen magically into place, opening a door into my heart.

Or maybe what I want to feel is a door clicking softly shut, but not before revealing one last glimpse into the character’s heart… as his or her struggle, which began on page one, comes to a conclusion that feels both surprising yet inevitable.

Inevitable because the ending will have grown out of the choices that the character has made along his or her journey, but surprising in that the reader won’t be able to predict it.

The key to unlocking the ending of your book, I suspect, is in your character’s heart… and in the emotional arc of the story that began with the first words that you put down on paper long ago.

And I’ll bet the key to your ending will appear in your hand the moment you close your eyes … and let go of the ending that you think should appear… and allow your character the freedom to discover his or her own destiny.

So, I was thinking about endings when I finished reading two novels this past week.

The first book, Rules by Cynthia Lord, is a touching portrait of twelve-year-old Catherine's struggle to come to terms with her younger brother's autism.

It's a struggle that takes its toll on her life as she tries to make friends with her new neighbor without the embarrassment of her brother doing things--dropping his pants in public, opening doors without knocking, chewing with his mouth open--that she's come to dread when he's around.

And the ending brings a certain relief to the reader (as it does to Catherine), coming after her painful recognition that no matter how many rules she might make, nothing will change her brother from being who he is... and that she has to accept him (and people's responses to him) as part of her life.

The book's final scene shows Catherine and David gazing into the aquarium, where a toy wizard stands on the gravel despite Catherine's rule: No toys in the fish tank.

At the beginning of the book Catherine would have gotten irritated at her brother's inability to follow the rules. But now she is able to laugh.

The tiniest knock comes, and my door creaks open. David stands framed in the light from the living room. "No toys in the fish tank."

I slide my slippers on and follow.

In the aquarium a toy wizard stands on the gravel, his wand raised, mid-spell. Standing beside the castle, he's so big only his pointy shoe would fit through the tiny castle door.

Oops! Wrong spell!

And instead of a fierce dragon to slay, a huge, curious goldfish mouths the end of the wizard's hat.

I can't help but laugh.

"'"What are you laughing at, Frog?"'" David asks, worried lines cutting his forehead.

I touch the tiny frog stamp on his hand and show him mine. "'"I'm laughing at you, Toad," said Frog, "because you do look funny in your bathing suit."'"

David smiles. "'"Of course I do," said Toad. Then he picked up his clothes and went home.'"

"The end."

Tomorrow I'm going to tell Mom she has a point about David needing his own words, but other things matter, too. Like sharing something small and special, just my brother and me.

Kneeling beside David, our arms touching, our faces reflect side by side, in the glass.

I let that be enough.

The image of the two children kneeling side by side, touching, powerfully bridges the emotional distance that Catherine has had to travel over the course of the story. It's not necessarily a surprise ending. But it does feel inevitable, like a door whooshing shut, leaving just the slightest echo behind to linger in the reader's ear.

In the second book, Hearts of Stone by Kathleen Ernst, fifteen-year-old Hannah watches her father march off to join the Yankee troops and finds her heart turning to stone as his death is followed by her mother's. And another piece of her heart turns to stone when she loses her best friend, Ben, who won't speak to her after his father joins the Confederates.

With her younger brother and twin sisters, Hannah takes to the road, leaving behind their home on Cumberland Mountain for Nashville. She's hoping to find her aunt there instead of staying home and letting the Preacher separate the children and send them to different families.

But Nashville only brings more grief, hardening Hannah's heart even more. Once there the children discover that their aunt, too, has died. And after a harsh winter--the children barely able to survive by searching for cigar ends to resell--Hannah's younger sister dies, too.

In Nashville, though, she meets Ben again, and they manage to overcome their separate grief to join together as survivors and return home.

The final scene of the book shows Hannah and Ben lingering by a river on their way back to Cumberland Mountain, hoping to rebuild the homes that they left behind at the start of the story.

I let his words and wondering pour right down inside until that empty place in my chest filled up and spilled over, all the while searching the bank for a stone. Finally my fingers closed around a good one: flat, about the size of my palm. I heft it, turned it over. Just right.

"Let's do a double," Ben suggested. "See whose goes the farthest." He chose his stone, and we perched on the bank, ready. The late sun skittered bright on the river. "Go!" Ben shouted. Those stones went dancing across the water, into the sun, out of sight.

Again, this wasn't a surprise ending, but it had the feel of inevitability, like the line of a circle coming round to meet the point where it had started.

The reader begins to feel that sense of closure strongest, not only watching the children toss the stones across the water (as if tossing the stones of their hearts away so they can feel alive again), but listening to Hannah describe her chest, empty for so long, filling up again and spilling over.

Two different books, two different endings... each satisfying in its own way.

What about you? Can you turn to the ending of a favorite story... and explain what makes the ending so satisfying?

How do you feel as the story comes to a close?

Why do you feel this way?

Can you point to the words or phrases that draw out these feelings in you?

Share your thoughts about endings with Wordswimmer when you get a moment.

If you'd like to read Kathleen Bolton's post on endings at Writer Unboxed, visit:
http://writerunboxed.com/2007/08/27/corny-endings/

For insights into how Cynthia Lord wrote Rules, take a look at this interview:
http://cynthialord.com/pdf/rwt_interview.pdf

If you'd like more information about Cynthia Lord and her work, visit her website:
http://www.cynthialord.com/

And to read about Kathleen Ernst and her work, visit her website: http://www.distaff.net/