We were lucky to catch up with Dawn Reno Langley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dawn, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever head any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
I don’t believe in writer’s block. Period. Why? Because if I allowed any kind of block to stop me from writing, my family would not have eaten for years.
I know that sounds flippant, but my parents always encouraged us to bluntly say our truths, and one of mine is that the only way the story gets written is if my butt is in the chair and my fingers are on the keyboard. Even if I can only write for 15 minutes, I can often get a page written during that time, One page a day equals 365 pages at the end of the year, and that’s a pretty good-sized book.
Let’s go back to the beginning. I started writing at a young age (first article published in the local newspaper when I was 9), and the pleasure of releasing stories to the page for others to read was palpable. I continued working with newspapers throughout high school and college, finding stories that interested me, and I suppose they interested others, too. Working in that medium meant I needed to abide by deadlines, and that taught me how to write quickly and to organize my thoughts in a way that fit into a specified word count.
One newspaper story might earn me a couple of hundred dollars while another might net thousands. Each little story added up, and the more I produced, the stronger my earning capacity. Little did I realize that the habits I built would also teach me that the only way writer’s block was a problem was if I’d let it be. And if I gave into that crippling phrase, I would not be able to feed myself.
That’s not an option.
Though I write more fiction now than I did in the early days of my career when I freelanced for newspapers and magazines, the habits of keeping a calendar full of deadlines still sticks with me. I’ll note the deadline for the project first, then I work my way back to the current moment so that I can see how many pages I need to produce every day in order to meet my deadline–then I give myself “mini-deadlines.” For example, I might need to do some research in February so that I can start a rough outline in the first week of March. After that outline is sketched in, I need the rest of the month to flesh it out a bit more, so that I can launch myself into the first chapter. By this time, I know approximately how many chapters/scenes I’ll need to create, and how many pages each will require. That gives me the total number of pages I need to create. I want to have that total done halfway into my deadline, because rewriting takes at least as long as creating the first draft.
With a fully-fleshed-out outline and synopsis, I can work on the body of the novel, and I have the freedom to work on random scenes rather than to write linearly. That freedom helps me to create the backbone of the story, then I embroider the other smaller scenes into the narrative. Each of those scenes should interest me enough to come back to the laptop day after day. If they don’t, I’m in trouble.
The whole time I’m going through this process, I’m reminding myself that I am the only one who can meet this deadline, so if I don’t meet the minimum daily word count, the only one to blame is me.
That butt on the chair. Those fingers on the keyboard. That check in my account.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
As a writer, one needs to focus on a particular genre or issues in order to develop one’s brand. Though I have written in many different genres throughout my career, I find that I love creating novels more than any other projects.
My latest novel, Analyzing the Prescotts, is coming to local bookshelves on January 4, 2024. The story is about Cotton Barnes, a Raleigh, NC, therapist, who is leveled by a client’s recent suicide and is struggling to resume her practice . She begins working with the Prescotts, a family fractured when the father comes out as transgender and begins transitioning to her female self. The family members relate their stories in their chosen voices, each of their narratives written in a different format. Journals, social media, and other nontraditional narratives challenge Dr. Barnes’ therapeutic skills. While each member of the Prescotts dodge land mines behind the closed doors of her therapy office, the Raleigh, North Carolina area is rocked by a series of LGBTQ+ hate crimes. As Cotton finds herself stalking the family, worried that she might not be able to “save them,” her husband slips away, and Cotton is forced to make a decision that will determine whether she saves her own marriage or the Prescotts.
This is my seventh novel, and it explores questions of identity in every form: gender, societal, and family roles. Each member of the Prescott family struggles with answers to those questions, and how they communicate represents the many difficulties of truthfully communicating when everyone is on different platforms. The story encourages the further exploration of a tough, contemporary issue, at a time when discussions are more open about gender transition.
My novels are usually rooted in social justice issues and Analyzing the Prescotts continues that trend. The story of Cotton and the Prescott family was inspired by the research I conducted in my Ph.D. program. I studied transgender authors’ voices on the written page, both pre- and post-transition. After reading dozens of memoirs, the question of how a therapist can either help or hurt their clients came to mind, and I began giving voice to Cotton Barnes. I wrote the first draft of the novel while in my doctoral program, but the manuscript has undergone many changes since that first draft, and I humbly bow to my allies in the LGBTQ++ community.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
In my business, I believe one of the most important qualities one needs to possess is imagination. Whether I’m writing non-fiction or fiction, I rely on the stories I create in my mind and explore on the page. If I didn’t have a good imagination, I probably would have found another occupation. (On the other hand, my imagination is often over-active, which doesn’t bode well for my personal life!)
Secondly, writers must possess a dogged determination to keep plugging away at work that might never see the light of day. If a writer isn’t willing to send a piece out over and over and over, often rewriting dozens of times, then that writer probably won’t make a living in the publishing industry. I have several novel projects that I’m currently rejuvenating that are over a decade old. I have not given up on them, though they have been sent to dozens of agents and publishing houses. My favorite saying is that it “only takes one yes” in this business.
Third, grammar and punctuation are necessary skills in my business. Though I’m not always perfect, I pride myself on knowing the rules and using them. Writing is my first profession, but editing and teaching others about writing is a very close second. I know that if I, as an editor, receive work that isn’t properly written, punctuated, or edited, I am less likely to continue reading the work — no matter how good the story is. Why not give myself the best chance of acceptance by making sure editors/agents aren’t immediately turned off by my grammar/punctuation?
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
My mother was a ’50s mom who didn’t know how to drive, didn’t have a job, and spent her days cleaning the house and helping her three kids with their homework. When we were young, we lived in the Projects, because my father was a veteran, which gave us “special privileges.” Most everyone in our neighborhood came from a two-parent family where the dad had been in WWII or the Korean War (or like my dad: both). Everyone had a sister or brother or multiple other kids in their family, and the mothers spent their time taking care of us.
Mom encouraged me to read, often arranging with my grandmother to provide milk and cookies for me since her home was midway between the library and the Projects. When I came home with the maximum amount of books (ten), my mother knew I’d have my face in those pages from sunup to sundown…and at times, she encouraged that obsession.
When I started creating my own stories, my mother revealed that her childhood dream was to become a journalist. With her help, I laid the groundwork to enter the profession she had dreamt about years prior to becoming a mother.
I always thought my mother’s life was one that stifled her creative abilities, and I was determined not to become a stay-at-home mother like her. I wanted to be like Mrs. Violet Winstead, the English woman who wrote for the society pages of a New Hampshire newspaper. She had the freedom and style my mother lacked, and I looked up to Mrs. Winstead, believing that her life was far more glamorous than Mom’s.
Though I grew up thinking Mrs. Winstead was my heroine, I know now that my mother’s early encouragement was what impacted me the most — and I wish she were here today, because I would tell her that I wouldn’t have the career I do today without her help and love.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dawnrenolangley.net
- Instagram: @proflangley
- Facebook: @dawnrenolangley
- Linkedin: @Dawn/Von+Wald
- Twitter: @proflangley
- Youtube: @DawnLangley
Image Credits
all photos are mine
