Writer Interview: Glenda Fralin

 Second in our Writer Interview series is Glenda Fralin, from Wymore, Nebraska! 

 Thanks so much for joining us, Glenda! We're so glad to have you here this time, and we hope to get you back for a reader interview sometime later. I know you're a member of the Nebraska Writer's Guild, but tell us a little more about yourself and what you've written.

Glenda: I grew up in Kansas, not far south of where we live now in Wymore. We had the Flint Hills on the West and the Big Blue River on the East within a few acres of each other.  There was a hill in a pasture where we could go to the top on a clear night and see the lights of Marysville, Blue Rapids, and Waterville by turning in a circle. That part of the Blue Valley is probably one of the most beautiful landscapes there is. I fully intend to write a lot of stories using my Kansas home as a back drop. We lived within miles of Alcove Springs which is a privately owned park open to the public. It's got some springs that come right out of the limestone into a pool. The water is as cold as if it's taken from the refrigerator and taste fresher than anything from a tap.

Alcove Springs, near Marysville, Kansas

My parents still live on that farm.  They are in their eighties and very independent. They are devout Christian and belong to the First Baptist Church in Blue Rapids. Growing up in that church with all the activities and fellowship, I became a Christian at the age of 9. I'm still Baptist, but I've visited other churches and enjoyed the experience. I haven't visited a Catholic church yet, but I may in the future.

Those experiences affect my writing immensely. My poetry is often about family and our place in the world, the valley I grew up in and places we've been. Some are humorous and just for fun. I usually like to do readings of those at functions, but will read others as well.

My first novella is a Christian fantasy.  It's set in Nebraska. I've lived here since 1975 so I've learned a lot about the limestone we have in many of our states in this part of the world. The limestone, often close to the surface is easily quarried and a lot of houses are built from it. The smells of farms such as alfalfa, animals and their odors and such all became a part of The Search by their very absence from the story. I hope that tweaks a little intrigue. The Search is set in a small town and its surrounding lands.  Some is a take-off from Psalms 23. Some of it is very dark and frightening in the canyon where evil creatures dwell and a death shadow hovers. There are also a lot of light and uplifting parts such as the meadow. We have both dark and light in life, and even some areas that can be confusingly gray. So my book is an exploration that Sheridan my protagonist guided me through.

In my book Six Strange Short Stories (my daughter wrinkled her nose a bit at the tongue twister title.) contains more psychological thrillers, and at least one I reserved as a tribute to my cornier side. Don't let that make you think it's all sweetness and light. I included that story to lighten the darkness of some of the other stories. One called The Tunnel was inspired by a deep depression I went through back in 1996. A family enters a tunnel thinking it may be fun, and find themselves deeper and deeper into darkness and torment along the way. In their sense it's both psychological and physical.

All in all, I consider myself a mishmash of river rat, farm girl, wife, mother, nurse and I don't care how much education I've had, I do reserve the right to say ain't. I write about things that nag at me to be written. I'm no exception, the elements of my life past and present are included for backdrop and character building. I told my family nobody is safe.

  E: Okay, before we get started, I've got a few un-writerly questions for you. I know you grew up on the plains and in an era a lot of our younger readers haven't experienced. What is your most vivid memory from childhood that really illustrates the dramatic changes that have taken place between your childhood days and now?

 

G: For one thing we were a large family by today's standards. Most of the people we associated with had large families of their own. I'm one of 6 children in the number 2 spot. I have an older brother who tormented me when I wasn't tormenting him. Many of the families from a generation before had upwards of 10 to 15 children. It's an agricultural community so families were larger to help with the farms. Parents didn't only give their children chores, they trained them in etiquette, respecting elders, and it wasn't unusual to do Bible memory for rewards.

 

We argued and fought, but we never in all the history of my family from the Holmes, to Wheats, to Millers neglect gathering together every couple of years. Then there is my mother's family. She had two siblings and she's the last one which bothers her as she is the oldest. Her mother was one of 9 children and the Stansberry's have large reunions but we never went. My mom does keep in touch with them, and my parents have been to one or two of the reunions. Family was much more nuclear and drew strength from one another back then. Even those who were states away would make the journey home at intervals and we'd all get together for a huge dinner. Christmas is still a large affair for the Millers, which is growing constantly. We now meet in a gymnasium because numbers are getting upwards of seventy or eighty. Not all make it ever year, but a great number do. We continue to be close and so our children are still a large part. I think in our family it will continue in some way for many more generations. Family, with that particular sense of closeness, I believe is something being lost in this day and age.

 

Oh, lest I forget, one thing that we had a lot of fun with was touch football. Half of us didn't know the rules, but we'd be out in our grandparent's yard running around and having a ball. I think my grandparents may have handed down some old 8mm films of our antics. In fact, my aunt, if I remember, had them converted to VHS, which is now outdated too. Family is great. I wish the children of today could experience that type of support from generations.

 

E: Yes, family is great! I know of a lot of homeschooling families that are fortunate enough to be having these same types of experiences as they grow up right now. They're very lucky! because you're right... the family bond is getting pretty loosened in society as a whole out there!

 How about this for a quick writing challenge. Using a short paragraph, how would you paint a description of the setting/your world/the plains as you saw it then? 

 

Flint Hills of Kansas

G: Hiking through the flint hills or fishing from the river bank, the atmosphere of the farm transformed to magic. The colors of limestone and sometimes red rock, sandstone, evergreen cedars and plants of all colors grow wild.  I'd ride my horse up those hills and jump small chasms. Then when mom wanted gooseberries for pies we were in the wild gooseberry bushes pricking our fingers to get the small berries by the bucketsful. We had a spring fed pond stocked full of bluegill, sun perch and even wide mouthed bass and catfish. The picnic grounds as we call one part of the pasture has a beautiful brook fed by a spring that in one spot takes a short waterfall over variegated colors of rock. Magic lives in the plains and it's full of stories to be told.

E: Wow! This makes me want to visit your old home area! I love that kind of place.

 So, let's get started on the writing things! What's your favorite genre/genres, and what do you think really draws you to that/them the most?

G: I love to write pastoral poetry. When it comes to stories, I love adventures, psychological dilemmas, mystery, suspense, intrigue, and all those genres. Genre is a little bit limiting because in one story there can be many elements. Such as when I write a Christian book or story, I don't like to throw it in the readers face. I allude to it through events and ideas. I include many of the genres in the one story. I hope that is a satisfactory answer.

I'm not a historical writer per se. I don't write erotica or romance. I'm lousy at writing strictly romantic stories, but I do include romance in most of my stories even if not always a love story between a man and woman. Romance is a broad element in life, just like love. It appears in many forms.

E: What's your most favorite writing related advice?

G: I love research. We're told to write what we know. The more I research and learn the more things I know about, the more I can include in my writing. Research can be fun, even if it's trivia or word games. I highly recommend finding some premise somewhere on Facebook or some other site by taking a situation someone tells the world about and make a story out of it, especially if you need to research some of it. After all, we've been researching since the day we were born and will to the day we die through experience and learning.

E:   Good point! What is your favorite type of character to write? Why do you think that especially appeals to you?

G: Flawed. I hate characters that have it all together all the time like James Bond. I want strength and vulnerability in my protagonist. That's where internal conflict can enter. It can even outwardly become apparent through a companion or child. Flawed is what we are and the possibilities are endless.

E: Where do you like to get your characters? Do you like to draw off of people you know, other books, or just pull them out of the blue?

G: Mostly from myself and people I know, but some are put in my path such as the man who probably built our house in the 1920s. He most certainly built the huge garage in the back that was his gambling and hooch parlor at the time. He did most of the gambling and his brother supplied the booze.  During prohibition it makes for quite the story. That takes a lot of research. I'm influenced by other books. Edgar Alan Poe probably helped with my interest in the flawed character and internal battles that come with it. It's hard for me to pull something out of the blue, but I do find things all over to make into a premise.

E: Some writers talk about their characters getting out of control and things happening that they didn't intended to happen; have you ever had this happen?

G: Oh certainly. Sheridan wrote most of The Search after chapter three, and some before that. I'd been introduced to her during a prequel, unpublished, I wrote about her and her husband in Egypt as archeologist and anthropologist.

E: Sounds interesting! I'm a sucker for archeology/adventure type tales of intrigue.

 How do you write, is it 'start with page one, scene one' and go through it in order; or just "whatever scene pops into your head"
(and that might mean that you have the entire middle of your book written before you even start on the beginning)? 

G: I refer to my method as a kind of layer cake. I start with a premise, do a focused free write, make a rough draft of a shorter version that is a foundation for the beginning, middle and end, the rough draft (when the characters take over), and so forth. Finally it's polished through proofing, revising, editing and on to publish. The publishing is the icing on top of the cake.

E: How do you plan your stories' "bones", or do you?

G: Oh, I build from some kind of skeleton. But like any living creature, a skeleton needs connective tissue. I won't give an anatomy lesson as that's not your question.

I've tried outlines, but they're like a grocery list. I forget them and leave them behind most of the time. They can serve as bones, but my layer cake method is kind of my process.

E: Have you tried any plotting, outlining, methods; and what works best to your way of thinking?

G: All of those methods are good. I do plot, with suspense, psychological thrillers, mystery and all that, plotting is a must. I try to get to know my characters, but they know me better I think. I've studied and taken a class from Sally Walker on the 36 point character outline. I think I'll likely use that to keep my characters somewhat under control.

E: What is your worst writing trouble?

G: My worst writing trouble is procrastination. It's easy to procrastinate when other things enter your life, such as fear of not being received well, making too many mistakes, self-doubt. Those are my most persistent thieves of time. When I get going, such as this interview, I can't seem to stop.

E: What is your worst writing fault? How do you identify and rectify it's effects?

G: My punctuation is terrible. I get in more trouble with that. I use Word's built in functions a lot and proof, proof, have my husband and a critique partner or two proof. Then I can get through it so it makes some sense.

E: Hey! It's been great having you here! We've so enjoyed learning more about another writer's mental workings! Thanks for participating.

G: I've enjoyed it. I haven't thought about how important some of my history is for a long time. I know I use it, but when you asked those first questions, my family dynamics struck me as one of the things that supports me as a person and built me through the years. It's not something I think of on a daily basis. Thank you for having me and giving me such thoughtful questions. I hope I can do more of these. I do interview a lot of other writers, but now I know how fun it is to be interviewed. Thanks Elizabeth.

E: I'm so glad to have you! And you're so right... our personal histories, family histories, these are so important to who we are, and yet we tend to forget about them in the hustle and rush of the every day.


 Wow! What do you think about Glenda's childhood? Sounds pretty idyllic to me. I know I'd love to go back in time and spend a couple of years there! ;-)

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and we'd love to get an interview with you on here!