Kristine Anderson will be the featured “Meet the Author” presenter for Georgia Writers Museum at the Grove Event Center, 252 Swint Avenue SE, in Milledgeville on June 11, 2022, at 10 a.m. She will be presenting her new book, “Crooked Truth.” Following the book talk, Visit Milledgeville has arranged a Trolley Tour of the Central State Hospital campus at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Kristine, what was the origin of your plot idea for Crooked Truth?
As a writer, I’m always listening for people’s stories. While we were at a family picnic in South Georgia, I heard a compelling story about a local family from an elderly relative. The more details I heard about this middleaged couple who had a son with Down Syndrome in the 1930s, the more the story took hold of me. I had been working with a young boy who had Down Syndrome, and I knew how loving children with this condition can be. It was disturbing to hear how the child in the story had been tormented by his older half-brother. It was even more disturbing to hear the story involved a fatal shooting.
Tell us a bit about your writing process.
Like Stephen King, I usually start with a situation and then pull in characters. As my plot develops, I do a chapter-by-chapter outline, but it’s loose. And I typically change and add characters and events as I get to know my characters’ needs and motivations. I enjoy writing dialogue and developing a theme. I do a lot of revising, and participate in a critique group. I use a laptop and write every morning. I’m a slow, deliberate writer and probably do too much editing of my early drafts.
You have been a writing teacher at the college level. What are mistakes first-time writers frequently make?
>One mistake I think many beginning writers make is underestimating the time, energy, and old-fashioned hard work that’s required in writing well.
What, for you, is the most difficult part of the writing process?
The most difficult part is the early drafts and endings. I had two endings for “Crooked Truth” before I wrote the one that seemed right for the characters and situation. Writers must really know their characters to pull together a credible ending. Please note, I didn’t say happy.
What is a piece of advice you have gleaned from another author that you consider most helpful in your work?
Read everything you can in your genre, both bad and good. And get your butt in the chair. You can’t wait for the muse to come down to inspire you. As King says, the muse is really the guy who lives in the basement. Writers must do all the grunt work and dig him out.
Tickets for the “Crooked Truth” book talk are $8 per person; $25 for the book talk and trolley tour. Space is limited; register online with Georgia Writers Museum or www.georgiawritersmuseum.org.
-Contributed