Our Writers Who Read series continues this week with writer Joyce Thierry Llewellyn.
Who are you?
I was a field biology technician in Northern Ontario then went back to university to focus on creative writing and became a magazine and newspaper journalist before moving into film and television screenwriting and story editing, which I’ve now been doing for almost 20 years. I also write travel and creative non-fiction articles (see examples at my website). I have taught television screenwriting at the Vancouver Film School for 15 years.
Two years ago I began exploring the world of Young Adult novels and have written two YA books that I’m very proud of. One is a science fiction novel and the other a travel adventure story, both with female protagonists. I can’t believe how much fun it is to get lost in novel writing. This new area of writing has led me to (re)read my way through a diverse range of YA books. YA literature is one of most exciting genres around at the moment—amazing writing!
What are three beloved books you first read before the age of 12?
That’s a hard question to answer. Since I have to limit my list to three books, then The Island of the Blue Dolphin, The Incredible Journey, and all of the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories (I know, that’s cheating) would be my picks. I have always been an avid reader, a must if you want to be a writer. I spent my childhood summers until I was 17 living in our family run, isolated, fly-in only tourist camp in Northern Quebec. We didn’t have electricity—no TV or flush toilets or ice cream but lots of mosquitoes, forests, and freedom. My mother arranged for a box of books to be sent in from the Montreal Library on the biweekly bush plane. That box was a lifeline for me. A short non-fiction piece I wrote about this experience, “When Lions Came in Brown Boxes,” was picked to represent Canada in the 2011 Commonwealth Short Story Competition.
What is one book you are always recommending to friends and family (and maybe the local barista) as an adult?
Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel, My Brilliant Career. That book gave me the courage to believe I too could become a writer. “Hope, sweet, cruel, delusive Hope, whispered in my ear that life was long with much by and by, and in that by and by my dream-life would be real. So on I went with that gleaming lake in the distance beckoning me to come and sail on its silver waters, and Inexperience, conceited, blind Inexperience, failing to show the impassable pit between it and me.” It was made into an equally wonderful Australian film starring Judy Davis.
Since this is a blog and I don’t think word count matters in the same way it would for a magazine or newspaper, I also want to flag writer Joseph Boyden’s multi-award winning Three Day Road, a novel that moves from an Oji-Cree reserve in Northern Ontario to the WWI battlefields of France and Belgium, and back again. It is a hauntingly beautiful book.
What is your book kryptonite—those unique elements in a book, beyond just great writing and three-dimensional characters, that make you unable to resist reading?
A street performer friend of mine, Peter, used to dump a large bag of Smarties onto a brightly-coloured tray and ask people to put the candies into a shape representing the important things in their life. The first time I did this I made a five-legged starfish. One “leg” represented my daughter (I was a single parent in those days) while the others were my writing, singing, love of travel, and the fifth was for future surprises. “You have trouble focusing,” was Peter’s response. That starfish image flashed to mind when I read this question. My kryptonite is genre in nature. I am constantly reading travel-inspired narrative non-fiction stories like Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki Across the Pacific in a Raft, Matsuo Basho’s Narrow Road to the Interior, anything by Paul Theroux and Tony Horwitz, and more recently, Jay Ruzesky’s In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage. Other genres I’m passionate about are science fiction, British mysteries, Young Adult fiction, and pilgrimage or sacred journey stories. The stories can take place in an African desert or on a planet with three moons as long as I care about the characters and want to keep turning the pages.
What is your ideal time and place to read?
At night in bed, the house quiet, with my husband reading beside me.
Which books have had the biggest influence on your writing?
Franklin’s My Brilliant Career, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film by Michael Ondaatje (an amazing book that taught me as much about good story telling and writing as any “how to” writing book I’ve ever read), Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on the Writing Life, and two books whose titles I won’t mention but their combination of trite storytelling AND grammar and punctuation errors left me thinking, “If this kind of shit can get published…”
How do you balance reading and writing in your life?
My goal is always to read more because my “to read” list of classics and newly published work grows faster than I can cross them off. I write every day but have never set specific goals. I understand Stephen King writes ten pages a day every day of the year and Hemingway wrote 500 words per day. I’m interested in hearing what goals other writers reading this interview set for themselves. Do you go by page count? Word count? Work for a certain number of hours?
Choose your penned poison: ebook, physical book, or audio book?
There is nothing like holding a real book in your hands. I spend so much time during the day sitting at my computer writing, marking student scripts, researching, or answering emails that the last thing I want to do when I’m relaxing is spend even more time in front of a screen, even if it’s small and held in my hands. I am, though, a huge fan of podcasts. They aren’t quite audio books, but some of the best documentary writing is being done in podcasts. I have Podbay loaded on every device I own and regularly access one of thousands of podcasts on everything from art and history to screenwriting, comedy shows, finances, paranormal events, music, and the latest food fads when I’m waiting in an office or even lying in bed at night. And let’s not forget about TED Talks.
Do you consciously plan your future reading—i.e., set book goals, keep a TBR list, participate in book challenges or book clubs? Why or why not?
I am a binge reader whose reading is usually influenced by what I am researching and writing in the moment. I can be on a Young Adult novel kick or immersed in one British mystery series after another, or moving from continent to continent through non-fiction travel adventure books. I find immersing myself in the world I am writing about helps me stay in that world, whether I’m working on a film or TV script, a travel blog, or a creative non-fiction article. I do want to say that my writing time is precious in my busy life and I guard it selfishly, something I’ve only learned to do after years of trying to fit everything else in too. I am really picky about what groups I join, especially if they are related to my day job or involve writing in some way. And where I once volunteered weekly for several different organizations, I now limit the time I take away from my writing.
What are you reading now?
I’m going to challenge myself next by writing a mystery so I’m rereading my favourite Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and Arthur Conan Doyle books. I’ve recently discovered a terrific Canadian mystery writer, Louise Penny. My writing also influences my television viewing, which means my homework these days includes watching such terrific TV series as Sherlock, Elementary, The Bletchley Circle, and the very dark True Detective and Top of the Lake. I love being a writer!
You can find out more about Joyce on her website or LinkedIn.