Writerly Wednesday with J. Lynne Moore!

Today is another amazing chance to feature a writing friend of mine on AZ Pascoe: the incredible J. Lynne Moore! So, welcome all and sundry, back to our next edition of Writerly Wednesday. Like Claudia & Jennifer Worrell, J. Lynne Moore is an online writing compatriot; we’re all in the same incredible online writing group… And we’re all featured in that group’s 2018 anthology!

1. Hello and welcome! Before we get started, we’d love to know a little bit about you—the person behind the writer. Where are you from, what do you do for work, and what are some of your interests (outside of writing, of course!)?

Hello and thanks for having me. To start, I’m from Small-town Suburbia, located south of Chicago. During working hours, I’m a reading interventionist for a middle school, although I have worked with students of all ages throughout my career. During home hours, I’m Wife to an adoring husband and Mother to a sweet and sassy three-year-old daughter. Outside of writing, my other passion is travel. My husband and I have traveled all over the world and our daughter has already traveled across four states as well as overseas. Other than that, I simply love books. I aim to read about thirty a year and am a member of the Lovely Literacy Ladies Book Club.

2. We do love to hear about people who love books! When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Who was your ideal future J. Lynne Moore—was writer on the list, or did that kind of sneak up on you?  

There was a short time I wanted to be a vet, until I realized that the job didn’t simply entail cuddling adorable animals all day. But no, pretty much since I was in second grade, I’ve wanted to be a published writer. My friend and I would play a game we dubbed “Author” all the time in the early to mid-elementary years.

My first lightning bolt of inspiration was when I was in first grade. It was the principal’sbirthday, so my teacher gave us each an assignment to make a card that answered the following question: What is a good thing about getting old? I contemplated this deeply before drawing a stick figure in a bathtub and writing “you don’t have to worry about getting wrinkly in the bath because you’re already wrinkly.” The next day, the principal visited our classroom and sought me out. Although I was scared to hear my name come out of his mouth, my fear was quickly replaced with pride when the principal laughed heartily and declared how clever I was.

My next lightning bolt is a sad one. When I was in second grade, my 2-year-old cousin drowned in a pool. To deal with the shock and grief, I wrote a poem about it and gave it to a friend’s mother to read. She started crying right in front of me.

Both of these experiences proved the power of words to me. Words make people feel things. Authors shape people’s views on life. Even at a young age, this fascinated me. I knew I wanted a writer’s life early on.

3. It sounds like words have served an incredibly important purpose and provided some crucial (and heart-wrenching) lessons to you during your life. Knowing then how powerful words are, do you think reading is important to writers? How has reading played a role in your development as J. Lynne Moore, the writer?

My mom always read to me as a kid, but I was actually a writer far before I was a voracious reader. I loved creating, as most kids do, I guess. However, I feel like I didn’t perfect my craft until I became a book worm.

I think it’s important to read as a writer, notice what other writers are doing and use them as models for your own writing. I think I started to do this in middle school when I read The Giverby Lois Lowry. For such a short book, there’s so much plot and characterization packed in. The other book that stands out in my memory is The Catcher in the Ryeby J. D. Salinger. I loved the stream-of-consciousness narrative feel of that classic. I’ve definitely returned to those two books multiple times in regards to my own writing.

4. Those are two wonderful books! And both very well-known… but what’s astonishing is just how many books there are in the world & how we can find one we absolutely adore that no one else knows about. So, pick one book that you think is seriously underrated—why?

Have you heard of a book called The City of Thieves by David Benioff? Yeah, I hadn’t either until I read it a few years ago for my book club. What an amazing read! Although I feel like there is an overload of World War II and Holocaust books out there, this one stands out as unique. I love books that take place over a short period of time (a week, in this case) and yet so much happens in terms of character development and plot. Relationships build. Empires fall. It’s so, so good.  

Also, I think middle grade and young adult lit sometimes gets flack for not being literary enough or whatnot, but I’ve read so many books meant for young people but that are deep and apply to all ages. One of the most recent and memorable books I’ve read is Ms. Bixby’s Last Dayby John David Anderson. It’s about three boys who plan out a perfect day for their teacher who is ill in the hospital. Of course, everything goes wrong, but it is such a funny, sweet, heart-warming story.

5. Those both sound like beautiful books; dammit, more for my reading list! (It truly never ends.) Those two books (in fact, all four you’ve mentioned so far) are very distinct from another. Do you have a favourite genre to read? If so, what about that genre makes you return to it over and over? 

Realistic stories. Literary has always been my go-to, even as a young child. I actually didn’t like fantasy or Sci-Fi until I was an adult. But I was a strange, serious kid. I sought out books and movies that would make me cry. One of my favorite movies was called The Cure, which was about two young boys becoming friends, one of whom has AIDS. Throughout the movie, they went on adventures to try and find a cure. Yeah… I watched that religiously in like fourth grade and cried every time.

6. Oooh literary. There’s something so powerful about literary fiction! But it’s fascinating to me that you’ve come to reading sci-fi and fantasy later in life; I’d argue the switch is normally the other way around. But on that note… is this genre also what you prefer to write? And, if not, is there a particular genre you tend towards in your own writing?

Thank goodness for writing contests like NYC Midnight, where you are given a genre to write in. I probably would have stuck to straight-forward realistic fiction for the rest of my life if I hadn’t been forced out of my comfort zone. I feel like even if you don’t end up being a famous mystery writer, it’s important for you to dabble in mystery, and fantasy, and steampunk, and everything in between. It’s important for writers to dive out of their comfort zones because in the end, it will probably make you better in your preferred genre. Every genre has something we can learn from.

7. I love the idea of dabbling and writing broadly and giving everything a go. In that vein, a lot of writers talk about specific kinds of themes they explore, and often these come from personal experience or passions in their personal life. What, if any, key central themes do you find recurring in your work?

Friendship is a huge one. Friendship and loss, both of which I have a lot of experience in. The dichotomy of human beings is another big theme in both my fiction and non-fiction work. People are rarely all bad and (I can safely say) neverall good. I like to explore that simple fact in my stories.

Finally, time has been a theme I’ve been stuck on since I first started writing as a kid. Peter Pan was my all-time favorite story. The idea that Pan was able to live outside of time lit my creative brain on fire. Most kids want to grow up. I wanted things to stay exactly as they were. In turn, I often write about characters who refuse to change until they are forced to.

8. What do you specifically avoid in your writing? 

Up to this point, I’ve stayed far away from writing about my past (outside of my journals), even in fictionalized form. Recently, a friend from high school passed away and this event has me itching to begin incorporating more of those experiences into my fiction. We’ll see.

9. What makes a great ‘villain’ or antagonist in a story? 

There has got to be something likeable about them, even if it’s how diabolically clever they are. They can’t be all bad. Consider the Joker in Batman. There’s a lot to like about that character. He’s multidimensional, which I love.

10. Likeable, multifaceted villains are definitely the pinnacle of story-telling, I think, because it’s so easy to just fob people off with the classic ‘baddie’ without any depth. Villains aside though, what’s one strange, funny, or weird aspect of your writing life that strikes you as a little zany and out of the box? 

Well, I’m responding to these interview questions while my three-year-old rattles on about her own stories and then pauses to tell me she farted. At this point, writing has to be fit into the small crevices of “down time” in my life, so I rarely have an extended period of time to write. However, I am a teacher and summer is coming, so that’s a huge plus.

11. I’m sure summer break will be a relief for some more undisturbed writing time! With that increased free time, I hope you’ve got some ideas up your sleeve to explore. Are you an ‘in the shower’ idea finder, or a ‘while I’m driving’ idea discoverer? Or something different? 

Ideas come to me at the worst times for sure. In the middle of a lesson at school, or right as I’m about to fall asleep. When I’m driving by myself or in the shower. A few years ago, a friend gave me a small voice recorder and I try to carry that around with me for those moments of inspiration. That doesn’t work for the shower though.

12. It’s always so good for writers to speak to, building communities with, and benefit from the advice of other writers. With that in mind, what’s the onepiece of advice you would give to other writers that has served you well in your journey so far? 

I would not be where I am today without my circle of writer friends. Find other writers you trust with your random thoughts, ideas, and drafts. Be open to their constructive criticism and understand that they are trying to help you learn from your mistakes. They are trying to help shape you into the writer you strive to be. These people have been invaluable to me.

Thank you so much for taking the time to introduce the brilliant J. Lynne Moore to us today… but now you’ve whet everyone’s appetite, we’d love to know more! Where can we find J. Lynne Moore outside of this blog: your published work and your social media profiles/web-page/blog?

I run a travel blog, It’s In the Journey. You can find me on Twitter @MooreJLynne and on Facebook at @JLynneMooreAuthor. I’m also a Goodreads author (www.goodreads.com/jmoore0618).

Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you enjoyed today’s interview! Tune back in next week for another edition of Writerly Wednesday and another incredible writer’s views on their craft.

–A.