www.inkthinkerblog.com — Here’s Part 1 of my three-part interview with writer Devon Ellington.
Devon, you’ve shared that you write under half a dozen names in a wide range of genres and styles. What prompted you to diversify in the first place, and how did you end up with six pen names?
Frustration with marketing people. I should be more diplomatic in the answer, but that’s the unvarnished truth.
For three years, I worked for an art book publisher here in New York. In the marketing meetings every week, too many great book ideas were rejected because the marketing department said, “I don’t know how to market that.” That’s their job. If they “don’t know” –fire them and hire someone creative enough to do so. Marketing departments have far too much to say about the books that are contracted, when it should be the editors. I think readers are being underestimated – there’s a need for a wide variety of stories.
Also, if you like to cross genres, write on a variety of subjects, and write a lot, the way I do, if you stick to a single name and are not a best seller immediately, the marketing people ghetto-ize you.
In talking to readers at conferences all over the world – readers will give writers the leeway to experiment and cross genres. Even if they don’t love what you’ve done, they’ll appreciate and understand that you need to stretch. But the marketing department panics.
Pseudonyms give you freedom. You can experiment. And, if there’s something you want to try completely anonymously – not let ANYONE know of your experiment – it gives you safe space in which to create completely unfettered.
I feel that some of my established writer friends always feel their publishing company reading over their shoulder as they work, and that can curb creativity. There’s always room for honing the work – no one loves a good editor more than I do – but in the initial creation process, you need complete freedom.
By using different names, you can basically do whatever you want. I’ve always had problems with authority – this is yet another way of getting around it!
How many projects do you typically have going on at one time, and how many personas does that involve?
Completely depends on the contracts I’ve booked. Sometimes it’s only two or three; sometimes it’s as many as a dozen or more. For instance, right now, I have three large (2500 word) articles due at the end of August, along with 25 short (100 word) articles. These are paid, contracted work. I’ll also be coughing up some travel articles that come out of the various trips I’m taking in the next few weeks, and doing a few horse racing articles for FemmeFan. I want to finish writing the first draft of the novel Real, typing the first draft of Shallid¸ and finish the edits on the sixth draft of Clear the Slot. And I’m combining research for a variety of projects in my travels. August is a little busy.
On top of that, I need to start hustling gigs for September and beyond, especially in the area to which I hope to relocate in the next few months.
Looking back at [the projects I listed], it’s work under only three of the names. If I add in some of the short stories impatiently waiting for revision (doubtful this month), it would be four.
How do you keep that many projects straight?
The characters are all very distinct in my head and heart. They keep me sorted out. And each pseudonym has a distinct voice, which also helps. Something written as Ava Dunne couldn’t be mistaken for something written as Christiane Van de Velde, for instance, because the voices are distinct. There are some similarities, because it all comes from me, but the narrative cadence is different. Within that, if I do my job properly, each character is also distinct.
Do you ever experience writer’s block? How do you handle it?
Not block as much as resistance, and that’s usually if I’m overtired or strung out from a day on set or in the theatre. The longer the hours the previous day, the more hours I need to restore myself and be able to write. I used to force myself immediately after a day on set; now I cut myself some slack to rejuvenate. I do yoga, take a walk, read a fascinating book, go to a museum. I find staring at paintings restorative.
As far as writing on the days when I just don’t feel like it – if I’m on deadline, I sit my butt down on the chair and do it. Part of being a professional is relying on your craft when the art has fled for the day. Writers who only write when they feel like it aren’t going to craft a career, unless they’re extremely brilliant or extremely lucky. And, in my observation, the brilliant ones usually have a strong grasp on the craft.
If I’m not on deadline, I give myself the day off to read or take a drive or go to a museum. I always carry a notebook, so usually sitting in a park or staring at a painting will get something going again.
I don’t set a fixed day off for myself – I like to have the flexibility of giving myself time when I need it.
I think many times “writer’s block” is an excuse when writers don’t feel like working. There are two choices – to push through or to give yourself a day off. If you find yourself “blocked” for days or weeks at a time, there’s something else going on. Should you be working on a different project? Are you completely on the wrong track with this project? Is something else going on in your life that needs your undivided attention first? I think blocks are the psyche’s way of telling you that you’re not dealing with something that needs attention.
How do you keep the creativity flowing?
I’m interested in almost everything except math and anchovies. I don’t understand the concept of boredom. I can’t wrap my head around it. The world is an interesting place. In my opinion, you have to be a distinctly dull and dis-engaged person to be bored. There’s always something that needs or wants attention, and pretty much anything can be an inspiration if you let it.
Next up: Part 2 — Balancing Act
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