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Q&A and Book Giveaway with Author, Yuvi Zalkow

“Even in my real life, I lose track of the plot.”
~ from A Brilliant Novel in the Works

That’s explains it, right, the life of a writer? We search for structure in our stories; we work to uncover the solid theme, running throughout, that will pull all those messy details together. We need to know how it all turns out. We get lost, make mistakes, back up and try again. Sometimes, all that happens on the page; sometimes it’s happening everyday with the people around us. Writing fiction isn’t so different from living life.

A Brilliant Novel in the Works, by Yuvi Zalkow, introduces readers to a man, named Yuvi, who is a writer struggling to find order in his life and in his fiction. Like most writers, he is easily distracted by the story lines of those around him, namely his brother-in-law and his wife.

Yes, the protagonist’s name is Yuvi. No, this isn’t a memoir. Yes, you might wonder what is truth and what is fiction. But, don’t let those questions distract you from the compelling tale of a writer in search of the perfect ending for his novel and a man struggling through the murky middle of his relationships.

I’m thrilled to host Yuvi on the blog today, where he shares a bit about his book, about taking risks, about creative therapy and his secret to success. I’m also excited to give away a copy of his debut novel. It’s so easy to enter: leave your name in the comments. That’s it. Random.org will choose the winner on Tuesday, September 18th at high noon. I love saying that, high noon.

Now, welcome Yuvi Zalkow!

CC: The way your book transitions between the (protagonist) Yuvi’s personal story to the stories he writes for his novel, illustrates so well the mind of a creative: we always turn to our art of choice to explore and examine bits and pieces from real life that confound us. I’m guessing the Yuvi in the book is a panster (when he wears pants, that is). What about you? Do you write with an outline, or do you close your eyes and let the words fall where they may?

YZ: First of all, nice way to work pantslessness into your question!…

I definitely start writing any story by just letting some voice or character explode out of me, without worrying about where it is all heading. For me, the first important thing is a strong voice. But I eventually transition into a writer who needs a rough outline to proceed. Towards the end of the first draft of this book, I began sketching out how I wanted the next draft to go.  Nothing too elaborate, but a list of 10-20 connected steps roughly describing the shape of the story and the arc of the key characters. This book had virtually no plot in draft one. I’m not saying that the published work is a plot-heavy story, but it definitely has far more of a shape than draft one. Drafts 2 to 1,000 (ish) were mostly about shaping the story and taming this loud voice into a decent story. For instance, it took a lot of time to figure out exactly which of (protaganist) Yuvi’s personal stories should go in the novel and where exactly they should appear. I did a lot of shaping and editing and trashing in those later drafts.

CC: Throughout the novel, Yuvi takes risks, most of which leave him in precarious positions or in the middle of conflict. But, finally taking the right risk is what leads him to The End. Much, if not all, of writing takes courage. While writing your novel, was the biggest chance you took?

YZ: Wow. I’m getting nervous to answer this question already 🙂 The scariest thing for me — and I realize this may not be quite what you mean — is that step of giving a trusted friend/writer/mentor/reader my whole manuscript for the first time. I remember there was a point where I was thinking: do I show the public the steaming pile of a manuscript or do I hide it and forget about it? I had already read the individual scenes aloud in a writing group but no one had seen the thing as a whole piece of work. This novel is a very personal one (as you can quickly imagine upon reading it) and I felt very exposed to let others see it. I was terrified that they would say: “You’re crazy. You’ve got nothing comprehensible here. Give it up!” I think it takes a lot of courage/strength/risk/stupidity for a writer to take their work out in the world and say, “Yes, I want to see if I can make my words affect other people.” Particularly if you’re doing something that doesn’t follow some well-known standard. As it turned out, as messy as that draft was, my friend could see the power of what I was *trying* to do, and she helped me get closer in achieving it.

CC: I love the videos you make that spotlight all the different facets of the writing life (like tips for time management or the secret to everything). How does working in two different mediums, print and video, keep your creativity in balance?

YZ: To be honest, right now the two mediums keep me creatively IMBALANCED. It’s really just a lack of time. The videos take loads of time and eat into the writing. Since I have a day job and a family, I’m struggling with doing everything right now. But I love doing them both… it’s so much fun because they both are creative endeavors that use very different parts of the brain. Writing is harder. The videos are therapy in a way. I’m scheming up a few ways to do them both in a more balanced way because I hate to let either go. But I haven’t struck a balance yet. Regardless of the (im)balance, each medium has connected me to fabulous people (some as nuts as I am) and I’m thankful for that.

CC: What are you reading these days?

YZ: Wow. I haven’t been reading a whole lot of published books lately — between preparing for my book release and reading my friends’ manuscripts in various writing groups, I’m pretty underwater. But I read THAISA FRANK’S latest collection of stories ENCHANTMENT. Beautiful stories.. And I listened to the audiobook of the fabulous YA novel THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. And I also listened to the GODFATHER on audiobook because I love the movies (I & II) and I wanted to see (or in this case, hear) how the book was structured. Hmm… I think I’d like Marlon Brando to play the role of Yuvi in the movie version of my book… Though Al Paccino will also do. What do you think? Surely you must have also pictured one of those two as you read my book… 🙂

CC: Since this novel is about a writer struggling to write a novel, I wonder if, maybe during a middle-of-the-night rewrite, your Muse or Genius (or perhaps your wife) revealed some secret to success? In other words, do you have any advice for writers on the rise?

YZ: My secret to success is to be skeptical of any secret to success that is delivered with too much confidence. Thanks so much for chatting with me, Christi. In an online world where there is a lot of writing about writing, you really stand out with great insights into the craft and into the writing life.

CC: Thank you, Yuvi!

For all you readers and writers, don’t forget to leave your name in the comments for a chance to win a copy of his great novel! You can also check out more of Yuvi’s work on his website (where you’ll find his I’m a Failed Writer video series), follow him on Twitter, or subscribe to his page on Facebook. Read two other great interviews with Yuvi, as well, on Laura Stanfill’s blog and at The Surly Muse.

Yuvi Zalkow writes and worries in Portland, Oregon. His stories have been published in Glimmer Train, Narrative Magazine, Carve Magazine, and others. He is working on a second novel (about one Jew obsessed with napkins and another Jew in the Klan). He recently received an MFA from Antioch University, which makes him feel official.

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Surrender the Pen

Right after you bring that crazy busy week to a close, just as you head out of town with family, as soon as you think to yourself, No chance for writing, I’m sure, there you are, surrounded by inspiration and ideas, gifted with little pockets of time. That was me, last weekend: deep in the north woods, working hard no to worry about the book I wanted to finish reading and the interview questions I had to write and the blog post I needed to draft; thinking, if I won’t have time to write, I might as well forget it. I might as well enjoy every minute of this last vacation of the season. It was then that creativity started popping up everywhere, and time expanded so I could scribble more words into my notebook than I expected.

The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.
~ Julia Cameron

Birch Tree Kingdom

Three days in the woods is ample time for kids to create a whole world under a canopy of birch and pine. The path leading up to the Kingdom was lined with twigs and moss and gave way underfoot, slightly, hinting at the years it took to form and the relief in (finally) being discovered. There were birch bark crowns for everyone (taken from a fallen soldier), designated guards, and a store that ran on a strange stick-bartering system. I took mental notes. I drew from their free-spirited imagination.

Campfire Revelations

We burned only one camp fire over the weekend, and I’m glad I didn’t skip the opportunity to sit in the circle. Besides the chocolate, graham crackers, and monster-sized marshmallows, camp fires are where stories are told, where people and real-life events spark a writer’s mind with scenes for “that novel” or idiosyncrasies for characters barely developed. I made s’mores, listened intently, then ran inside and wrote down those ideas. Because, bits and pieces of different conversations often come together to form whole, made-up stories.

Endings

Like the last few pages in a good book, the sunset on the final evening brought the rush of fun to a quiet, satisfying close. I had just walked the path of Birch Tree Kingdom when I turned and saw the shades of pink riding along the water and sifting through the clouds. The boat turned over, hunkered down for the winter, was the final image I noticed.

In that moment, I realized the whole weekend had been one long and unplanned artist date.

Artist Dates fire up the imagination. They spark whimsy. They encourage play. …[Art feeds] our creative work by replenishing our inner well of images and inspiration.
~Julia Cameron, on juliacameronlive.com

Sometimes, letting go of the work is as important as doing the work.

What surprised you this week and sent you running to your notebook?

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Favorite Lines & This Month’s Writing Prompt

Saturday marked another hour with my writing friends at the retirement center, reading stories and laughing about gaps of knowledge between generations. There was a story read about a young woman, and letters to a soldier overseas during World War II, and V-mail. “What’s V-mail?” I asked, to which I got the same reaction I gave my niece once when we stood in the library and she dared to say, “what’s a card catalog?” Mouths fell open and someone said, “Oh. You’re so young.”

We have fun around the table.

And, what I love most about meeting up with these folks each month is their excitement at being there, even when, as I found out, last month’s writing prompt proved more of an obstacle than inspiration. Maybe there were too many choices. Maybe the prompts weren’t quite clear. Maybe they just didn’t click. Sometimes prompts are like that, but writers tackle them anyways.

And, that’s exactly what they did: they wrote anyway.

Favorite Lines

One of my favorite phrases came from a woman who’s been writing flash fiction. In her piece, she described an apartment ever so briefly but quite clear: with landlord-tan walls and scuff-board floors. That’s all I needed to see an exact image. Another favorite line came from a different story, written by a gentleman in the group, about a visit to an attic: You knew right away from the musty, stuffy smell, that you were about to reach the third floor destination. That’s immediate recall for me, the attic smell that lures you to the door and begs you to step inside. We talked about that, too, about how certain descriptions like that do more for a piece (and the reader) than just saying something is “old” or an apartment looks  “run down.”

We meet again in September at a time when we will be crossing into Fall, waking up to crisp mornings and watching the sun set a little too soon in the evening. This month’s writing prompt focuses on two quotes, by Natalie Goldberg and Russell Baker, and asks us to look back, then, on the season of summer.

The Prompt

Memoir doesn’t cling to an orderly procession of time and dates, marching down the narrow aisle of your years on this earth. Rather it encompasses the moment you stopped, turned your car around, and went swimming in a deep pool by the side of the road. You threw off your gray suit, a swimming trunk in the backseat, a bridge you dived off. You knew you had an appointment in the next town, but the water was so clear. When would you be passing by this river again? The sky, the clouds, the reeds by the roadside mattered. You remembered bologna sandwiches made on white bread; you started to whistle old tunes.
~ Natalie Goldberg, Old Friend from Far Away

This paragraph from the introduction in Natalie Goldberg’s book on writing memoir not only talks about the way we remember, it also hints at summer. It’s late August. Three hours north of here, the leaves show signs of weathering. The tomato plants in my garden have grown wiry, so that nothing is left on the vine but a few remnants of (what could have been) prime fruit. My kids won’t turn any more tan or earn one more freckle; the sun sits too low on the horizon. Swim goggles have been broken or lost; one last romp at the pool leaves my son red in the eyes and full of heavy yawns. It’s time.

Time to move on to what comes next. We let go, of cool June nights and unbearable July days, of too much time at the pool or not enough days spent at the lake, of excitement in new endeavors and grief in goodbyes to a close friend. We move on, but memory stays with us.

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
~Russell Baker

Tell us about one summer when the suffering was worth it. Or maybe it was a summer when the suffering ceased.

* Photo credits: alvimann and melodi2 on morguefile.com.

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