Susan Kaye Quinn

Susan Kaye Quinn
Interview for OMNIFIC

Young Adult fiction author Susan Kaye Quinn is proud to have Omnific Publishing offering her debut novel, Life, Liberty, and Pursuit. Although she scribbled lots of stories when she was a young adult herself, she left writing behind to pursue degrees, jobs, and her husband. Recently, she was drawn back into writing by an urge to share her stories with her niece, her kids, and all the wonderful friends she's met along the way. In honor of the release of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit on June 8, Susan has agreed share a little bit about her writing process and the publication of her first book.

Omnific: What is your writing process like? How long does it take you to write a book and where does it fit in your schedule?

My writing process keeps evolving; I don't think writers ever stop learning about the craft. When I was writing Life, Liberty, and Pursuit, I wrote 1-2 chapters a week, revising them along the way. Now I prefer to write an entire first draft of a novel and then do a series of revisions. Either way, it takes me about 6 months. I have the luxury of writing while my kids are in school, with only the cats and the internet for distraction.

Omnific: What about editing? How did you go about editing Life, Liberty, and Pursuit?

Life, Liberty, and Pursuit was the first novel I wrote, and although I love the story, I never intended to publish it! But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to submit to Omnific, once I heard about their new publishing venture. I knew Life, Liberty, and Pursuit needed some serious revisions to be publishable, so I went into a cave for a month and did nothing but revise, sleep, and eat. Sometimes the sleeping was optional. My husband will attest to that.

Omnific: Did you know how Life, Liberty, and Pursuit would end before you started writing, or was it more of an organic process?

I thought I knew how Life, Liberty, and Pursuit would end, but I was wrong. The original ending was sappy and not at all empowering the way story ends now. In fact, with every novel I've written it seems I have to write a really bad, sickly sweet ending first, before I can go on to write the powerfully good one. Something about my writing process demands that I envision the way the story shouldn't end, before I can compose the right ending.

Omnific: Tell us about the main characters in Life, Liberty and Pursuit.

Eliza is a smart, ambitious girl on her way to Princeton on scholarship, but she doesn't really know what she wants out of life. David has found his way out from under his father's shadow by joining the Navy, but still has a nagging sense that he'll never measure up. They're two serious young people finding their way in the world, not at all the types to fall in love with a stranger on four day cruise. They struggle to balance their yearning for each other with their desire to find their callings in life.

Omnific: Where do you find your inspiration and your most interesting story ideas?

The idea fairy? No.

This is a fascinating question, and probably the one most frequently asked writers. And there's really no one answer to it.

My stories come from everywhere and nowhere. I draw upon my life experiences as an engineer, scientist, and mom. I use my kids' lives, my friends' love stories, and my family's background as fodder. I love to do research. For Life, Liberty, and Pursuit, I followed a young sailor's blog for a while, where he talked about his experiences in boot camp. I was also lucky to have a fluent Polish speaker in my critique group, for David's Polish quotes.

And then I just make stuff up. I ask What if …? and the ideas come out, wrestle with each other, and eventually tangle up into a story.

Omnific: Many established authors have said that reading books is the best research you can do when you want to become a writer. What are your favorite books and authors? Do you have a favorite genre?

I love reading, and read voraciously in my youth, but don't have near enough time to read now.I'm tugged between wanting to read and wanting to write, and writing usually beats up reading in a violent contest of wills and wins. That being said, reading is essential for keeping up with what is new in your genre. My favorite genres are science fiction and kidlit (including middle grade and young adult). I love that kidlit is almost genre-less: it includes everything from real-life escapades, to romance, to high fantasy and science fiction. My current absolute favorite author is Scott Westerfeld: his voice, range, and storytelling skills are masterful! Uglies and Leviathan are fantastic.

Omnific: What is your best advice for aspiring writers?

First, if you want to be an author, you need to sit in the chair and write. It sounds silly, but it is the single biggest thing that keeps aspiring writers from reaching their goals.

Second, don't stop writing until you finish the story. Again, that sounds trite, but the vast majority of aspiring writers will get bogged down in the middle muddles, or become terrified of that climactic ending, or endlessly fiddle with the first half of the book and never finish it. It is terribly important to finish a novel before deciding you want to be a writer.

Revisions. Revisions. Revisions. Typing "The End" is only the beginning of the process. Revisions will take twice as long (probably more) as the writing itself.

And finally, get thee to a critique group, or find a like-minded writer in your genre and offer to swap critiques. Learning how to give and take critiques is an art form in itself, but is the surest way to improve your writing.

Allow yourself to complete a novel—and let others to critique it—and you will be on your way!