While fiction is born from imagination and creativity, many authors explain how they came to the stories they create through lived experiences. This is definitely true for Blair Fell, author of The Sign for Home, whose work in the deafblind community taught him about nuances, details and issues facing that community. This debut novel takes readers on a journey through a fascinating community and the lives of compelling characters.
In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews Blair about his writing process, the importance of research and the value of participating in a writing group. He discusses his background as a playwright and television writer, and how he transitioned into writing novels. Plus, Blair offers advice for writers, emphasizing the need to just write, join a writing group, and prioritize writing amid perpetual other commitments.
In this episode, Lynne and Blair discuss:
Finding inspiration in your work and relationships
Researching and interviewing deafblind individuals
Finding an agent and a publisher
Writing a second book after a celebrated first book
Working through a horrible first draft
Motivation from setting deadlines and fear of disappointing others
Building a successful writing career
Why so many writers have a day job
Authors who find success later in life
Audiobook opportunities
Links and Resources:
John Lee Clark
Protactile movement
James Hannaham
Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta
Doug Stewart
Sterling Lord Literistic
Cloud Atlas
The Silver Linings Playbook
American Dirt
“Take care of the sense, the sounds will take care of themselves” - Alice in Wonderland
Writing group with Marian Fontana & Louise Crawford
David Groff
PEN/Faulkner
Delicious Foods
Simon & Schuster
Where the Crawdads Sing
The City College of New York
Woman of Valor by Lynne Golodner
Find Blair Fell:
Website
TikTok
If you enjoyed this episode, you’ll like these other Make Meaning Podcast episodes:
Episode 152 – Ami Irmen – Character-Driven Narratives
Episode 150 – Lisa Peers – First Novels & Writing Friendships
Episode 145 – CL Walters – Young Adult & New Adult Fiction from Hawaii
Episode 143 – Annie Cathryn – Dreams Come True: The Friendship Breakup
Episode 139 – Desiree Cooper – Being “Genre Agnostic”
Episode 165 - Brenda Meller - Capturing a Piece of the Publishing Pie
Episode 164 - Patrick Hicks - Writing Hard Stories Beautifully
Episode 163 - Qin Sun Stubis - Writing Inspired by Long-Held Family Lore
Episode 162 - Elizabeth Conte - Doing Well as an Indie Author
Episode 161 - Ana Veciana-Suarez - Historical Literary Fiction
Episode 160 - Jonathan Whitelaw - Cozy Crime & Escaping into Writing
Episode 159 – April Davila - Meditation & Writing
Episode 158 - Suzanne Nugent - On Character Development
Episode 157 - Blake Kimzey - Creating a Writing Community
Episode 155 - Martha Anne Toll - Finely Crafted, Award-Winning Fiction
Episode 154 - Dawn Chalker - Writing What You Know
Episode 153 – Jewish Books, Jewish Authors
Episode 152 - Ami Irmen - Character-Driven Narratives
Episode 151 - Rochelle Weinstein - Writing Best-Selling Novels
Episode 150 - Lisa Peers - First Novels & Writing Friendships
Episode 149 – Anne-Marie Oomen - Writing through Family
Episode 148 – Woman of Valor - Katie Scott interviews Lynne about her debut novel!
Episode 147 – Diane Gottlieb - Writing Short & Writing Well
Episode 146 – Barbara Stark-Nemon - Tracing the Path of Historical Fiction
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