3x3 Three Minutes, Three Questions Lisa Wingate

May 20, 2018 at 1:00 a.m.

by Becca Martin-Brown

Courtesy Photos Before she was a New York Times best-selling author, Lisa Wingate "wrote for national magazines and small-town newspapers, all of which I enjoyed. I can still lay out a newspaper page by hand, with a grid and a sticky-wax roller. I'm sure I never will again, but I do remember how. What journalism and technical writing taught me was that, as beautiful as words are, there's a time and place for economy of language. Writing for newspapers and magazines also gave me an appreciation for the fact that, in terms of story, a golden nugget can be waiting around the most innocuous-looking corner... or inside the most ordinary seeming person. We are all so much more than we appear to be on the surface. Journalism taught me that the real story is what lies underneath."
Courtesy Photos Before she was a New York Times best-selling author, Lisa Wingate "wrote for national magazines and small-town newspapers, all of which I enjoyed. I can still lay out a newspaper page by hand, with a grid and a sticky-wax roller. I'm sure I never will again, but I do remember how. What journalism and technical writing taught me was that, as beautiful as words are, there's a time and place for economy of language. Writing for newspapers and magazines also gave me an appreciation for the fact that, in terms of story, a golden nugget can be waiting around the most innocuous-looking corner... or inside the most ordinary seeming person. We are all so much more than we appear to be on the surface. Journalism taught me that the real story is what lies underneath."

Lisa Wingate's book, "Before We Were Yours," has been chosen as this year's If All Arkansas Read the Same Book selection, and she'll kick off the event June 2 with a presentation and book signing at the Bentonville Public Library. But first, on May 20, Wingate will be one of the featured authors at the 12th annual Books in Bloom in Eureka Springs. She answered these questions for What's Up! prior to her visit to Arkansas.

Q. What book during your childhood inspired you to want to write -- and why?

FAQ

Books in Bloom:

Lisa Wingate

WHEN — Noon-5 p.m. May 20; Wingate speaks at 3:30 p.m.

WHERE — Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs

COST — Free; books will be available for purchase

INFO — booksinbloom.org

FYI

An Afternoon With

Lisa Wingate

WHAT — A presentation, book sale and book signing hosted by the Friends of the Bentonville Library and Friends of the Bella Vista Public Library as the Arkansas kickoff event for “Before We Were Yours.”

WHEN — Noon June 2; doors open & book sales begin at 11 a.m.

WHERE — Bentonville Public Library

COST — Free; books will be sold by Barnes & Noble

INFO — 271-3192 or bentonvillelibrary.…

A. Many books have inspired me to write, but among the early inspirations was a somewhat tattered copy of "Little House on the Prairie." I never actually owned it, or borrowed it, or even actually touched it. But I lived it page-by-page as my fifth-grade teacher, Mrs. Dodd, read to us at the end of each school day (if we'd been very, very good as a class, of course). For a kid who would've much preferred to be barefoot in a field somewhere and who despaired of ever making it through a sheet of 100 times tables in five minutes or less, there was nothing so serene, so glorious, so ultimately reassuring as closing my eyes and sinking into the world of Laura, Mary, Carrie, Ma, and Pa. In my mind -- and often in the back pasture on my little white pony, Spirit -- I was Laura Ingalls Wilder. The fences were few, the prairie was wide, and the adventures were endless. That book and Mrs. Dodd not only helped me survive the year of the dreaded timed times table test and double-digit long division, it ignited my imagination, fueled my rebellious streak, and fostered a love of history and story for which I remain grateful to this day.

Q. What's the best advice you can give aspiring writers?

A. Write because you love it. I know everyone says that, but it's true. If you really want to work toward publication, set a manageable daily page quota, or daily writing hours, and hold yourself to it. One of the hardest things about writing is holding yourself accountable for finishing a project.

Q. Do the people you meet on speaking junkets ever make their way into your books as characters?

A. Anything can spark a story for me, and anyone I meet can end up in a story in some form or fashion. There are bits of my family and friends woven in to most of my stories. Sometimes they only suspect that to be true and sometimes they recognize themselves. My characters tend to be composites of people I have known, and sometimes people I have crossed paths with for only a moment or two in life. These days, through email and speaking, I have contact with readers from all over the world. The inspiration and encouragement I have drawn from them is hard to describe. People constantly show me sides of life I had never considered before. Those moments of awakening are the genesis of the best characters and the best stories.

-- Becca Martin-Brown

[email protected]

NAN What's Up on 05/20/2018

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