Author name: Pamela S. Wight
Genre: Fiction (romantic suspense, women’s fiction) and children’s picture book
Books: The Right Wrong Man, Twin Desires, Birds of Paradise; {In process: As Lovely as a Lie (fiction); Molly Finds Her Purr (picture book)}
When did you begin your writing career? Beginning my “writing career” is different than beginning my “writing” (high school friends tell me I wrote stories in class, which I don’t remember!). My first job out of graduate school was as a writer/editor for a feminist newspaper called “New Directions for Women.” From there I became a medical editor for a medical publishing company, Slack, Inc., and then the editor/writer of medical journals and books. I savored creativity, though, and finally began writing short stories in the creative writing classes I began to teach 30 years ago (and still ongoing in the Boston and San Francisco areas).
What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner? Oh, how I’d love to plan my plots. But my characters send me in all directions, and since they’re in charge, I’m a pantser.
What’s your working style – morning or late-night writer? I begin writing by 6 a.m., usually working on my blog or preparing lessons for the creative writing classes I teach. By 8, I’m ready to work on my next novel or children’s book. I break for exercise and household errands, then resume in the afternoon. But I always take a “reading” break during the day. William Faulkner said: “Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. . .”
Do you work at a computer or write long-hand? Most of the time I work at my computer; but I find that I love writing in long hand at times also. When I write in long hand I tend to not edit as quickly but to just let the writing flow. Then I edit the story or chapter when I type it into my computer file.
What gets those words flowing, coffee or tea? Green tea first, then an Earl Gray tea latte, then iced tea. I have my “tea routine.” :–)
Favorite book: My favorite book is generally the one I’m reading at the moment. Currently, it’s Louise Penny’s Kingdom of the Blind. If I’m not engaged with a book within the first two chapters, I drop it back off at the library (or delete from my Kindle). Too many great choices out there to be stuck in one that doesn’t create great characters/setting/description/plot. I don’t read horror or psychological suspense – I get too involved….and scared.
Favorite movie: Gone with the Wind
Favorite musicians: The Beatles, Beethoven.
Links:
Blog: roughwighting.net
Facebook: facebook.com/roughwighting
Instagram: instagram.com/pam94920
Twitter: @pamelawight
Awards/special recognition: My illustrated children’s book Birds of Paradise was a Finalist in the International Book Awards (for children’s literature); Certificate of Merit: Writer’s Digest Zine Publishing Competition.
I receive special recognition each time a reader picks up one of my books, reads it, and writes me (or writes a review) about how much she or he has enjoyed it. Makes my day!
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