A Southern Writer Never Kisses and Tells. Or Does She?

A Southern Writer Never Kisses and Tells: An Interview with Mindy Friddle

Somewhere in a plant-choked garden in South Carolina, journalist-turned-novelist Mindy Friddle is planting some succulents in an old, broken-down cowboy boot. She’s also thinking about characters and scenes for her next novel, giving them space to roam around in her head. Mindy Friddle is the real deal, folks: a bona fide Southern lady and a talented writer to boot (pun completely intended).

WordHustler sat down with Mindy to get a feel for her writing experiences, her personal writing style, and why you have to talk to everyone about your project (answer: because it may just land you your dream agent).

Read on to explore the magical world of Mindy Friddle’s fertile mind!

WordHustler: How did you get your first big break? I know you have a journalism background- what was the first thing you ever published?

Mindy Friddle: I began writing for my college newspaper, and I found I really took to writing features as opposed to hard news.  As a senior in college, I also wrote a poem and had it published in the college literary magazine. I loved the process of writing that poem– figuring out the ideal word, concentrating on imagery. When I graduated, with a very marketable degree in philosophy (ha) I took a job as a newspaper reporter for a tiny weekly newspaper. I covered everything–town council, school board, and business, but still gravitated toward writing features and columns.

A couple of years later, I was in graduate school working on a Master’s and getting certified to teach English, and I took a class with James Dickey and a prose workshop. From then on, it was a matter of mustering the courage to write fiction. I yearned to do it, even in the face of rejection. I wrote some stories, had them turned down, wrote some more, and finally, when I started with an image of a decaying homestead for my first novel, The Garden Angel, I was on fire.

I worked on the draft, revised, wrote some more for several years. The story had a momentum of its own. I love when that happens! My first big break– well I was blessed to have several: the first chapter of The Garden Angel won an award in my state, and was published in the Charleston newspaper. That was a clipping…my first. Enough to send in a query to an agent, which I later did. A second break– going to Breadloaf Writers Conference, where I met Julianna Baggott, whose first novel Girl Talk, was coming out, and who struck me as an immensely talented writer and generous person. She’s a friend now, and when I asked her–a stranger really, then–if she was pleased with her agent, she had glowing things to say about the agency, and encouraged me to contact them, and to mention that she sent me. To make a long story short, I queried the agency, sent in my lone “clipping” and the first three chapters. They agreed to work with me.

WH: I know you are an accomplished book reviewer as well as author. What kinds of books are your favorite to review? More so, what type of books are your favorite to read?

MF: I love reviewing books I’ve enjoyed. In fact, I won’t review books that I didn’t like or didn’t connect with for whatever reason. It’s subjective–taste– and life’s too short not to praise books and share them. I’m an eclectic reader and often recommend books on my blog, Novel Thoughts (http://mindyfriddle.blogspot.com/). Some of my all time favorite novels–this is a very partial list: Ironweed by William Kennedy, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, every novel written by Ann Tyler, The White Hotel by DM Thomas, The Hours by Michael Cunningham, The World According to Garp by John Irving, Norwood by Charles Portis, Veronica by Mary Gaitskill, Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, Amy and Isabel by Elizabeth Strout, Nobody’s Fool by Richard Russo…and lots of Southern faves: Jill McCorkle, Lee Smith, Allan Garganus, Josephine Humphreys, Carson McCullers, Kaye Gibbons, Eudora Welty, Michael Lee West–Crazy Ladies, love it– Fannie Flagg. On and on.

WH: Now for the part everyone wants to hear about: how did you land an agent? Was your first book, The Garden Angel, finished at the time? How many agents did you approach before landing one?

MF: I touched on this a little with the first question, so let me elaborate because I think it’s important to take heart about this, and realize there’s a variety of ways to land an agent. It only takes one agent to take you on, one person to fall in love with your stuff. Some writers I talk to query a long list of agents, and find someone that way, others are approached by an agent after they’ve published a piece–especially in a literary magazine. I found my agent, indirectly, through a writer’s conference. As I mentioned, I befriended a writer who was pleased with her representation, and so I had a client’s name and recommendation to include in my query as well as my “clipping,” so that helped get it read pretty quickly. Judith, my agent, asked to read the entire manuscript. It wasn’t quite finished, so I sent her what I had. She liked it, and had others in the agency read it. She worked with me about a year until I finished it.

WH: How long did your agent take to get you your book deal at St. Martin’s?

MF: She sent it out to about a dozen houses, and St. Martin’s took it in about 3 weeks. I think. That’s pretty average. Sometimes a manuscript will get editors bidding on it within 3 days, slobbering and gnashing their teeth…that’s a dream come true. I think that happened with Joshilyn Jackson’s terrific novel, gods In Alabama. They were bidding like crazy…sometimes it takes months and months for a manuscript to be bought. I don’t think I would have had any fingernails left if it had taken a year.

WH: What is it like working with an editor? Is it hard to let someone else into your creative process?

MF: Not at all. Editors–the ones I’ve had experience with– are so very good at zoning in on the weaknesses or the questions and issues that need to be addressed in revision. It’s amazing what a gift good editing is. A good editor will tell you something that can be FIXED, and it’s like turning the lens on the camera, and you see how to focus. Granted, there are probably editors out there that would tell you something you’d think was wrong, bad direction–but they’re probably not the ones who are acquiring and investing in your book.

WH: Do you have any say/input over your book covers?

MF: Funny you should ask. St. Martin’s has been terrific to work with on this point. And in fact, when they solicited my input, they ended up using my photographs on both covers! For The Garden Angel, an earlier version of the book jacket had a porch that I thought was too pristine for the story. So they asked for some examples to illustrate. I went out and took some pictures around my neighborhood of some “arrogantly shabby” porches to capture a sort of ruined finery look. They ended up using the porch photo in the cover.

For Secret Keepers, they were considering using a vintage seed packet on the cover but the concern was it would look too fusty and old-fashioned for the contemporary tale. So again, they asked that I send some photos of some ideas. I sent in some links to websites I thought captured the “rescued garden” mischief of the book, and included a few photos from my own garden. They sent a jpg of the new cover, and when I opened it, there was a photo I took– the pair of succulent-filled boots on the cover are on my front porch.

WH: Your second book, Secret Keepers, just came out. So let me be (possibly) the first annoying person to ask if you are working on your next book yet?

MF: Yes. I’m drafting a novel. It will be good to get back to it after a couple of weeks blog-touring and book touring.

WH: What is your preferred writing method? Do you have a certain writing spot/technique?

MF: I write on a Mac laptop at a desk in a spare room. The window looks out on bird feeder. Sometimes when I need to step back and get a big picture, I’ll use a flip chart and colored markers to sort of sketch the plot as it has evolved– using different colors for different characters. I’ll use index cards, too– I keep the character bios on them and notes about scenes, and then I’ll use them to keep track of scenes…what happens when. I’ll lay them out like cards, and move them around.  This is in the revision process, not the initial drafting. For the first draft, I try to keep the portal open, and write without revising or polishing. Editing comes in subsequent drafts.

WH: I know you are an avid gardener. Do you feel that gives you a writing release?

MF: Yes, it definitely provides a physical way to get out of my head. Nature is tranquil and healing–that’s something I cherish. It’s a theme that is in both novels. You might say nature always ends up as a character in my work.

WH: What are three things you’d advise aspiring writers to do?

MF: Write regularly. Set up a schedule for yourself. Write at least three times a week for two hours or more each session. Commit to a schedule.

Write the first draft at a steady pace with a daily word count goal–1,000 words, for example. For the first draft: Don’t get up from your desk until you’ve met the word count goal. On the other hand, be kind to yourself.  Even if it’s wild sentences, or you find yourself on a tangent, write your 1,000 words, and don’t judge just yet. You’ll develop a habit of writing on schedule, and you’ll at least have something to revise down the road. After 4 or 6 months, you’ll have a big, baggy monster of a first draft…and you can put it aside for a while, and then jump back in to figure out what the story is, and cut away and revise, revise, revise. Think FLOW with your first draft. Keep the portal open.

Also, with your first draft– resist the temptation of re-reading and polishing those opening pages. Some writers may work this way, but I think for many of us pushing through to the end is the best way to handle a first draft. You will be resistant to changing the opening if you invest too much time and energy in it. That first chapter or two will be reading better and better, but the fact is, the opening may eventually need to be discarded or moved. Save polishing for later.

WH: What are three things you’d advise aspiring writers to NEVER do?

MF: Don’t feel you need an MFA or any kind of degree to write, unless you want one for its own sake.

Don’t focus so much on outcomes as the process. Being published is a noble goal, but if you don’t love the process of writing– well, there are probably other things you’d be better off pursuing. Of course, you can still love a process that’s frustrating at times and just plain HARD. The key is to show up for your writing schedule with nothing more on your mind than to see what happens on the page that day.

Don’t forget to schedule reading. A LOT of reading. A book every week is a good start.  Listen to books on podcast or in the car. Read on a Kindle. Join or start a book club. Attend readings. Seek out fellow writers and virtual communities of writers.

WH: Shameless plug alert: Do you think WordHustler is a valuable resource in helping writers successfully get their work out there, professionally and effectively?

MF: Absolutely!  Really, writing can be isolating and the business side can be puzzling, discouraging, and time consuming. Organizing submissions can seem like a job in itself. Anything that makes submitting your work easier and more efficient is a blessing.

Take it from a real lady: dig in, write your masterpiece, and then it’s time to shine. Why not send your heartwarming (blood-curdling? fantasy-inducing?) tale to a fantastic literary agent like Lescher and Lescher or a publisher like Houghton Mifflin’s Children’s Books? With talent, preparation, and a little bit of luck, the gods of Alabama (and everywhere else) may be smiling on you soon enough!

Good luck!