My Interview with Christine Adler, past president of WFWA
This month, I interviewed Christine Adler, past president of the Women Fiction Writers Association. Christine discusses her latest work, her writing process, & the wisdom she gained along her journey.
This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Christine Adler, past president of the Women Fiction Writers Association. During our conversation, Christine discussed her latest story, her writing process, and the wisdom she gained along her journey. From her generous volunteer work to navigating the publishing industry, Christine shares invaluable insights and inspiration for writers of all levels.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today, Christine. I’m so grateful for WFWA connecting us and I appreciate your time. It’s been so nice getting to know you, and I hope readers will enjoy a peek behind the scenes and hear about your writing journey and the amazing volunteer work you do via the Women Fiction Writers Association.
I compiled some fun questions for you to answer, and if you’re ready, we’ll dive right in…
1. How would someone describe you? I’ve been called organized, steady, and rational. Kind of makes me think of a boring Jane Austen character, ha, ha.
2. When did you become a fiction writer/author? I’d written poetry and non-fiction for a few years, but I decided I wanted to write a novel just after I finished my graduate degree in Creative Writing in 2006. Since then, I’ve written three novels and raised two children to adulthood. Maye now I can get the books published.
3. What did you do before you became an author? Were you always writing? Like a lot of women I know, I’ve had many lives. I started out in academic administration, moved to corporate admin, and my curiosity and technical aptitude helped organically move me into tech support in the early 1990s. I worked my way up to Help Desk Consultant before having my first child and left corporate shortly after that. But yes, I’ve always been writing—diaries as a child, journals as a confused young adult, and then a blog about motherhood. Having kids gave me the kick I needed to seriously try writing.
4. Can you talk about any special skills that you have? What is it that makes you unique in those skills? I love editing. Writer friends think I’m crazy because many hate editing, but I struggle with the creative aspect of writing a story. Maybe because I wrote non-fiction for so many years, inventing characters and motivations out of thin air is my biggest challenge.
Editing is easier and more fun for me because I’m looking at the mechanics of a story and whether they work. It’s why I love the mentorship program at WFWA—give me a fresh new story and I’ll tighten that baby right up!
5. What was growing up like in your family? My extended family was pretty big (11 first cousins) and we all lived near each other. On the one hand, it was great because it felt like having a lot of siblings, and there was always someone to play with when Mom threw us out of the house for the day. But as an introvert who just wanted to be left alone to read, it was a struggle sometimes.
6. Was writing encouraged? How did that lead you to where you are today? My mom was always reading. We had built-in bookshelves in our living room that were filled to the brim, and when I was a kid, she signed up for the Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club. Each night, she would read to my brother and me before bed—we’d alternate whose room she’d come into. Despite that, it never occurred to me that writing was something I could do for a living. My family was pretty blue-collar, full of factory workers, police and firemen, and secretaries. So, it probably never occurred to them either.
After my first child was born, a close, very advanced techie friend, asked me when I was going to start a blog. I said, “What’s a blog?” Ha, ha. He told me and then offered to host it on his server. I didn’t know what to write about, or for whom. He suggested writing about motherhood so my parents could read it, since I was in New York, and they were in North Carolina. I started blogging every day, and the rest is history.
7. Do you outline everything? I learned the hard way that outlines are my friend. My first foray into novel writing was a NaNoWriMo project. All I had were ideas for some characters in my head, and I just threw them on the page to see what would happen. It took a month, and those characters were hilarious, but that book is still in a drawer with more problems than I can count.
For my next book, a historical novel, I started with a spreadsheet of character names and birthdays, timelines of their personal lives and historical events, and probably spent as much time on the outline as I did writing that first NaNo book. To be fair, the second book has different problems, and the characters are much flatter than the ones I just let run wild on the page. But I will always use an outline going forward, because it’s easier to fix character issues than structural ones.
8. Do you belong to a writing organization? A critique group? Yes! I’ve been a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) almost since its inception 10+ years ago. I’ve served on the Board as VP of Programs and as President, and now I’m Past Presidential Advisor. I’m also on the newsletter team and I volunteer for the Mentorship Program each year (see “I love editing” note above lol).
9. If so, what benefits do you believe they provide? Joining WFWA is one of the best writing decisions I ever made. The members in the community are resourceful, generous, and eager to lift each other up. And the programming is so varied and abundant that there’s something for everyone, at every stage of their writing career.
10. Tell me how you first got involved with WFWA. I initially connected with Orly Konig, the organization’s founding President, through an internet search for writing organizations. Right off the bat, she asked me to volunteer. But I was a new writer and didn’t think I had anything to offer. She convinced me otherwise, so I leaned on my tech support skills and my desire to meet other writers and jumped in with both feet.
11. What is/was it like to be the president of WFWA? I loved it. Since I’d joined the organization in its infancy, I was able to get to know the founders, watch as they built up programming and created the contests, and got to know almost all the other members as they joined and participated in the programs. So even when I was President, it felt like I was just part of this big, awesome writing club, and I was energized to help the members in as many ways as I could. Having fantastic fellow Board members also made it a very enjoyable experience.
12. What’s the best/worst thing to happen since you started working with WFWA? The best thing was signing with an agent in 2017. When she couldn’t sell my book and wasn’t interested in my next project, we parted ways, and I was prepared to start querying all over again. The worst thing was the COVID-19 pandemic. As a virtual organization, we were all still available to each other, so we pivoted to offer encouraging and inspiring programming to keep folks’ morale and writing juju up. But it was rough, and I think a lot of the volunteers got burnt out because the pandemic took such a toll on us in our personal lives. I stopped writing then.
13. Can you tell us about your current WIP or Favorite book? I recently started dipping my toe back into writing, and I decided to return to that book my agent couldn’t sell and revise it. So many writers, by the time they turn in their manuscript to their agent, say they are sick of the story because they’ve read it too many times. That never happened to me. I love this story every time I read it, and I always cry at the end. So, I want to revisit it and make it even better, with the hope that it will be published someday and bring other readers the same pleasure it brings me.
14. What do you do when you aren’t working, writing, or volunteering? I love to crochet.
15. If you could do any vocation or hobby and cost/talent weren’t an issue, what would it be? Learn to play the cello.
16. Do you have a fun/secret talent? I have a weird thing where I’ll be thinking about someone and then a few minutes later they will call or text me as if I’ve summoned them telepathically.
17. If you were heading to a desert island and could only bring one book with you which, would it be? “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden.
18. What's the number one best piece of writing advice you can share with other writers? Be kind to yourself. It’s OK to take a break, even a long one. You are a writer and always will be. When the time is right, you’ll come back to your stories because they feed your soul.
19. Where can we find you online?
Instagram: @animalfeeder
Blog:
https://feedalltheanimals.blogspot.com/
Facebook: Christine Orchanian Adler
*My heartfelt thanks go to Christine Adler, WFWA, and readers like you!
- Caryn