Frequently Asked Questions about Writing
With Answers from Sohrab Homi Fracis
Dear creative writing students and readers:
Thanks so much for giving my writing so much of your attention: it's an honor and a pleasure.
Great questions! -- Sohrab Homi Fracis (http://www.fracis.com)
Q.: WHEN DID YOU START WRITING?
A.: Well, let's see. That would be some time during late 1988, when I was still a computer programmer-analyst but in the process of realizing that I didn't enjoy my work and couldn't envision doing it day after day for the rest of my life. I had begun to read again--something I'd gotten away from since childhood and undergrad days in India--and wanted to try my hand at writing too. So I began work on a novel and after a while found an FCCJ evening creative writing workshop to which I could take my early chapter drafts and learn the craft.
Q.: WERE YOU EVER DISCOURAGED?
A.: Oh yes, very, at more than one juncture. But I never quite allowed it to still my writing hand, and that's important to remember. There was an early phase of sending out story manuscripts and receiving impersonal form-letter rejection after rejection. But I persevered and eventually started to receive personal, handwritten notes and sometimes even typed letters. That too gets old after a while, but the trick is to re-evaluate the piece, revise/improve it, and send it out again, believing that eventually it will find the right home. The same applies to an entire book ms. I had to persevere past the discouragement of failing at my early novel attempt, even though excerpts were published. And I had to persevere past the repeated rejection by agents and editors of my next project, the book of stories you've been reading, even though several individual stories had been published. After three years of trying, I had eventually moved on to a third project, when I finally received the wonderful call in 2001 from the director of the University of Iowa Press, letting me know that no less than the oldest and greatest university workshop of them all, the Iowa Writers' Workshop, had selected my ms. and as a result I would see my dream come true in one of the nicest and most unanticipated ways possible. So always keep going! The easiest and surest way to lose any game is to give up before it's over. Instead, hang in there and do everything you possibly can to improve your chances: that's the way to turn it around.
Q.: WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST SIGNIFICANT SUCCESS?
A.: Well, the first story acceptance/publication is always an important and encouraging milestone. For me, that moment arrived in the form of an acceptance, in either 1991 or 1992, of an excerpt from my early novel-attempt, by Other Voices, the literary magazine of the University of Illinois at Chicago. "The Reader" was published in the Fall 1993 issue. Recently, it was reprinted online at Writecorner.com, where you may still read it if you like, unchanged from the original, still a bit raw and amateurish but kind of nice anyway. And a German translation of it will be appearing next month in Ort der Augen, a literary magazine in Germany whose name literally means Place of the Eyes.
Q.: IN "TICKET TO MINTO," WAS THE STORY "FALLING" BASED ON A REAL EVENT?
A.: Yes, we saw that poor girl fall in front of our eyes, when we were students at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), and it was a sight and an experience that eventually needed some working through on paper, many years later. There were three of us, really, who went to her help, and none of us spoke Bengali. A fourth, Bengali friend later came along on hospital visits. But for the purposes of "story" I needed just two, one of whom could speak the state language, hers.
Q.: CAN YOU RECOMMEND WRITINGS DONE BY OTHER WRITERS FROM INDIA?
A.: Sure can:
The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. (Booker Prize.)
A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth.
Swimming Lessons and other stories from Firozsha Baag, by Rohinton Mistry.
Cracking India, by Bapsi Sidhwa.
If you have to read just one, go with Roy's book: brilliant. And if you're intimidated by the 1300-plus pages in Seth's sprawling book, try his earlier, remarkable novel-in-verse, The Golden Gate, composed entirely of original, witty sonnets. It's set in San Fran, of course, and, by the way, contains not a single Indian character.
Q.: WHAT IS YOUR ROUTINE FOR WRITING?
A.: My routine, which is never too routine/fixed/dull/demotivating, varies according to what stage of a project I'm at--conceiving, incubating, researching, planning, drafting, editing, revising, querying/proposing/submitting, promoting--and also according to the nature of the project--fiction, non-fiction, short, long, requiring book research, requiring locale research, etc. When I'm at the drafting stage, I try to be patient and write the scene etc. as well as I can at the time, producing only as much per day as I can while still feeling satisfied by its intrinsic quality and direction. In other words, I don't belong to the school of writing that recommends suspending your mental editor and just letting fly, then coming back and "making it good." You do have to come back and make it better, yes, always, but you need to start off at pretty good, if you're going to deliver literary quality at the end of the process. I learned that lesson the hard way: the problem with my first novel attempt was that my first draft was mediocre, and no matter what I did afterward, I could never make it any better than "not bad, but not all that great." So as I used to say to my fiction students back when I taught, you can't say I'm going to start by making a Volkswagen and then I'm going to come back and turn it into a Mercedes. Just doesn't happen that way. You need to start with a rough or lower-model Mercedes. Of course, the semester-driven context you're in right now demands that you work/create/produce to certain schedules, and that's fine for the learning process. I certainly don't want to "block" any of you up. But if you become a writer, and that timeframe opens up into the rest of your life, do yourself a favor and never value production/quantity over quality. Draft smart, and revise or fine-tune repeatedly. There's no performance-time pressure here, as in the performance arts: take the time you need to generate a really good final product.
Q.: WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER GOOD WRITING?
A.: Well, you'll find that the more you learn about the craft and the art, the more demanding you are in what you read and write. I really need it all to come together, at a literary level, for a book to hold me all the way. I'm attaching the Word file of the feedback sheet I created for my workshop students--you'll see that it's extremely comprehensive, for a one-page device. The categories on that one page accommodated pretty much every single kind of comment made, allowing the reviewer to go any place he or she needed to. So if you put it all together as a sort of literary-quality checklist, then I'm looking for fine characterization, original and plausible plotting, topnotch language, vivid description, authentic and engaging dialogue, a certain level of significance, pacing that holds the interest yet permits a solid texture, etc., all of it coming together in a wonderfully complex yet unified whole: so...the works. Form and substance, both. A tall order? Yes. That's why writing an original, literary book is one of the most difficult, challenging tasks to pull off. But don't let that intimidate you, just inspire and energize you instead. If you set the bar high and do everything in your power to attain it or come close, you may still not write the next great book, but you will surely write a better one than you would have had you been aiming low all along. Even really good books may have their flaws, but their high overall level of quality allows the reader to be unaffected by minor/trivial, essentially unimportant imperfections.
Q.: IS IT EASIER TO WRITE A STORY JUST ABOUT SOMEONE IN INDIA OR AMERICA. . . OR IS IT EASIER TO WRITE ABOUT INDIA AND AMERICA IN THE SAME STORY?
A.: Actually, either way for me the real difficulty has been that the locations/settings of almost all my writing have been at a distance from me, both in geography and in time. So there has always been the need to travel far and wide for locale research and then also to allow for the changes that have taken place since the times that in some ways--social etc.--permitted the events of the stories to take place. Of late, though, I will say that there are better chances of my being in some ways out of touch with the various details of life in India, so the more contemporary the plot, the less authenticity I can bring to an Indian setting and the more to an American one. And authenticity is very important, in the school of realism, so that's going to be a natural direction. At some point Jacksonville and Jax life will have more of a presence in my stories than the nebulous background presence it has had only in "Hamid Gets His Hair Cut" so far (the only clue was that the kid goes to Mandarin High--and that, too, I imagine exists in other cities). And that might bring along its own variety of difficulties. Writing, like life, is full of tradeoffs.
Q.: WHAT'S YOUR NEXT PROJECT?
A.: In the years I spent trying to place Ticket, I had already begun work on a book of literary philosophy, The Game against Death. Its concepts grew out of several "lit. theme" courses I had created and taught, wherein, no matter what the theme was, every third or fourth story my students and I encountered turned out to deal with the underlying, universal conflict of our mortality. Having lost my own parents, and wanting to steer the class discussions in more positive directions, I began to look for and find various kinds of resolutions to that conflict built into the text or subtext--ways in which we can and do beat death, so to speak, or live on after we die. Anyway, the end result was a 500 page ms. that I've been trying to place and, of course, encountering some difficulty in doing so. In the meantime, I've begun work on a novel, which might turn out to be perceived by agents and editors as a more marketable prospect. Or not. Who knows, given my track record so far :)
Q.: IF YOU WERE STUCK ON AN ISLAND BY YOURSELF, WHAT THREE BOOKS WOULD YOU WANT WITH YOU?
A.: Hmm... That's a nice quandary. Let's see. My answer to this is going to be a bit pragmatic, not really a recommendation of books that I already admire. Knowing that I'm not really into re-reading stuff, I would probably pick works that have a heck of a reputation but that I haven't been able to get around to, because of length etc. I would probably take the chance to read at luxury the multi-volume, classic literary memoir, Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust. I might also take along a richly annotated edition of James Joyce's daunting novel Ulysses, knowing its reputation for being a difficult yet hopefully rewarding read. Both these choices would not only involve prolonged first reads, but would also, being richly detailed and nuanced and open to interpretations, reward multiple visits. And then I'd probably take along a multi-volume set of translations of the ancient Persian epic (comparable to Homer's Greek epics, but far less well-known) the Shah Namah or Book of Kings, by the Persian poet Firdausi, so I could delve in detail and depth into the legends of my ancient ancestry, a few of which I am familiar with, for instance the one in Matthew Arnold's brilliant epic poem Sohrab and Rustum inspired by only one of Firdausi's myriad episodes. The full Shah Namah might not only provide extended reading while I sit around on my poor island-bound ass, but I might also work on deriving from it a contemporary collection of ancient Persian tales. So picking for double-duty and even triple-duty seems like the way to go.
Q.: WHAT'S YOUR GENERAL ADVICE TO WRITING ROOKIES?
A.: Well, you've gotten some along the way. I'll briefly repeat a couple of those principles and add some more advice:
1. It's a lifelong learning process and a very challenging endeavor, so perseverance is paramount.
2. Don't compromise on quality for the sake of production. Take the time you need--it's available.
3. Continue to do some of the things you're already doing--reading books on craft, attending writers' conferences & networking, forming writers' groups to workshop your mss. and get a "reader's perspective" of your work, joining MFA programs, etc.
4. Don't look to TV shows or Hollywood movies for models and inspirations; they're mostly derivative and compromised by an overriding desire to make money, hence they cater to the lowest common denominator in search of cheap popularity.
5. Look instead to the more remarkable parts of your experience (not just firsthand, but also second-hand/observed and third-hand/heard/read) and your sense of the real world (quite different from MTV's Real World, eh?) for your raw material. That will improve your chances of producing something original and of having some in-depth understanding of it to apply during the writing process.
6. Be willing to be gutsy with your material and your treatment of it. Pondering what people/readers might think of you for writing xyz can be a very inhibiting and even defeating factor. Your primary consideration should be "whatever's best for the story."
7. Read mainly the best, literary stuff--not to be derivative of it, but to get a felt sense of its quality, what it feels like when reading something really good. As John Gardner writes in The Art of Fiction, if you don't do that, you'll only be able to aim for the "lesser effects" that you are familiar with from mediocre writing.
8. Then do your best to make your own writing measure up to the best stuff and to deliver on the "highest effects" or that basic feeling you got when reading something really good. Have a professional approach toward that end: if delivering on authentic setting requires that you get off your ass in front of that PC and travel for some research on location, do it. Or if you need to hit the library to learn some more about your subject matter, delay your urge to write until you've done your research. And, finally, subscribe to a professional writers' journal--the best one is the inexpensive bi-monthly Poets & Writers--for constant, current advice and input on what it means & takes to be a professional writer.
Q.: CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE IOWA SHORT FICTION AWARD. I ENJOYED READING TICKET TO MINTO. "FALLING," "HAMID GETS A HAIRCUT," AND "TICKET TO MINTO" ARE MY FAVORITES FROM THE COLLECTION.
A.: Thanks! Feel free to voice your opinions on the book's page at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com etc.
Q.: YOUR BIOGRAPHY SAYS THAT YOU LEFT A CAREER IN CORPORATE AMERICA TO PURSUE WRITING, AND NOW YOU ARE TEACHING AND WRITING, AFTER RECEIVING AN M.A. IN ENGLISH. DID YOU HAVE WRITING FICTION (AND BECOMING A PAID PROFESSIONAL) IN MIND WHEN YOU WENT BACK TO SCHOOL?
A.: Well, yes, I did, though rather naively I imagined I could break into book publication right away--I was working on a first novel at the time. Excerpts were eventually published and it did catch an agent's eye, thanks to its winning the novel contest at FCCJ's Writers' Festival. But the agent wasn't able to find a publisher for the book, and I began the long road of teaching semesters while painstakingly putting together stories toward the collection you've just read.
Q.: DO YOU CREDIT YOUR ENGLISH STUDIES WITH HELPING YOU WRITE STRONG FICTION, OR COULD YOU HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL ALONE, OR WITH A WRITING GROUP?
A.: Yes, indeed, English studies were integral to my growth as a writer. Reading and studying literature as well as formally studying the craft in creative writing workshops helped me to recognize literary quality and to lift my own fiction to a literary level. Had I continued on my own, I would have continued to try to reinvent the wheel with the lack of success described above.
Q.: WOULD YOU ALWAYS RECOMMEND HIGHER EDUCATION FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO WRITE FOR A LIVING? I'VE HEARD THE PROS AND CONS. I'D REALLY LIKE YOUR OPINION. I DESPERATELY WANT TO ENROLL IN A CREATIVE WRITING CLASS AT UNF AFTER COMPLETING THIS CLASS WITH PROFESSOR DENSON. I'VE LOOKED, AND I DON'T FIND THE UNF CLASS OFFERED.
A.: I think you now know my opinion: yes, absolutely. I'll take it a step further and recommend higher education for all people, no matter what they want to do for a living. Call UNF's Writing Program Center at 620-4035 and speak to its brilliant director, Dr. Kathy Hassall (whose name you may have noticed on my Acknowledgments page). Mention my name and your experience in Professor Denson's class. She will inform and guide you.
Q.: WHEN IS YOUR NEXT CLASS OFFERED?
A.: Unfortunately, after three LASIK eye surgeries left me with a lot of eye strain, I let the department know I could no longer teach full semesters and would be focusing (well, so to speak) on my own writing. But I do occasionally get invited to be a Visiting Writer in Residence for brief periods, as I was at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, last year. I'll be Artist in Residence at the Seaside Institute in January '06, but it's not a teaching situation. Do read my closing story, "The Mark Twain Overlook"; it's an eye-opener that has been taught in creative writing classes.
Q.: WHEN IS YOUR NEXT BOOK COMING OUT?
A.: Wish I knew :) It's written, though, and I've begun to approach press editors. It's a work of literary philosophy called The Game against Death that should definitely interest someone like you. And now I'm working on a novel.
Q.: HOW MAY I GET YOU TO AUTOGRAPH MY COPY OF TICKET TO MINTO?
A.: The best plan may be for you and any others in your class who would like the same to give your copies, inscribed with your names, to Professor Denson once the class is through with the book. He could pass them by me and return them, duly signed and personalized, if you wish.
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Thanks for the great questions and best of luck with your writing!
Well, I really hope all of that helps and I wish all of you much creative satisfaction and much success! Thanks again for making me a part of this,
Sohrab Homi Fracis
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