NK Chats To… Donna Levin

Published July 16, 2024 | By Laura

Hi Donna. Thank you so much for joining me today to talk about your book, The Talking Stick. Can you tell me about this particular novel and what inspired you to write it?

Some years ago I was having coffee with a novelist friend, we talked about how we would both like to write a novel about a magical object. His idea was a device that would make people fall in love with him. Mine was about an object that would allow the possessor to read minds. We each went back writing our novels then in-progress.

Meanwhile, I was invited to join a new writing group in Marin. This was a group of women who’d been together a long time, and I’m cynical enough that I worried about what effect I’d have on their dynamic, but in fact it was a revelation. They made room for me. At this later stage in life, I discovered the healing power of women’s friendships. And by the way, they’re all sharp critics, too.

What’s your typical writing day like? Do you have any particular writing rituals and a particular place you like to write?

Run to the neighborhood Starbucks and get the venti mocha. Home to semi-recline on the futon on the 3^rdfloor with my laptop where it belongs — on my lap (hence the name). My children AT LAST are grown, and now I have two cats, Cabernet and Chardonnay, to keep me company. Alas, they shed so badly that I can only camp out on that futon after changing into some kind of “loungewear,” which is a euphemism for pajamas.

What were the challenges you found when you were writing your novel?

I want above all to be engaged by the plot of a novel, but plotting is the hardest part of writing for me. Profound insights can be moving, but without something happening you might as well read billboards. I had to do a lot of brainstorming, and even more rewriting to get a plot that worked.

Which songs would make up a playlist for your book?

I LOVE SONDHEIM! Follies and Company are among my favorites, because they’re about reevaluating one’s life. Ditto Merrily We Roll Along — there the “hero” looks back on how he might have lived differently.

Which fictional character would you like to meet and why?

Gone with the Wind is a problematic book now, but I first read it as a teenager, and I would have liked to know Scarlet O’Hara. She’s the oldest of three sisters (as a I), and she’s a survivor. And a bit selfish. Okay, more than a bit. She doesn’t have much of a sense of humor, which is where we differ (if I do say so…)

What elements make up a good story?

A combination of characters you care about (it’s a plus if you like them, but that’s not absolutely necessary), who are in jeopardy.

From idea to finished book, what’s your writing process like and how long does it typically take you?

Alas, it can take me several years. I have to do a lot of “homework” to get to know the characters: write bios, answer long lists of questions, describe them physically, etc. I hear other novelists talk about the characters taking over the story, and telling them what they want to do. That doesn’t happen to me: I never forget that my characters are my own creations. It’s never, “I wanted Debbie to marry Fred, but she just wouldn’t do it!” Um, you do remember that Debbie is fictional, right? So, rewrite her backstory! Give her a good reason to want to marry Fred.

What are the common mistakes aspiring authors make?

Expecting to turn out great literature in one draft in one year. If you’ve ever watched the orchestra of a Broadway musical play, you’ll see 20, 30, 40 musicians pick up and put down instruments with the kind of precision timing usually reserved for fighter pilots. How long do you think it took them to master their craft? Writing looks easy, because we all know how to write clever emails. The skills required to compose a satisfying novel are, in reality, no less challenging than that of playing a musical instrument well.

Which book have you read that you wish you could forget just so you could discover it again?

The Brothers Karamazov. (Work with me here.)

What are the essential tools of the trade for a writer?

Virginia Woolf said that a woman needed an independent income and a room of her own. Nice work if you can get it. I would say that it’s three things: persistence, persistence, and persistence.

Okay, I’ll add a fourth: READ! Read a lot, especially in the genre in which you want to write.

Donna’s Writing Space

How do you research your novels? How do you know when you’ve had enough?

I don’t know how anyone did any research before Google, even though I started writing long before Google. I used to make three phone calls to find someone who knew enough about Golden Retrievers that I could have one appear in a novel. Now it’s just tap-click-tap.

However, I’m most interested in writing about my own time and place, which is contempory life in the Bay Area, which makes the need for research less.

What’s your favourite word and why?

Ephemeral. Because most things are.

Would I rather—

Have the ability to see into the future or revisit the past?

I spend too much time attempting to do both! I would really like the ability to live in the present.

Move things with my mind or read minds?

Definitely move things. Bring me that donut I left in the basement! I don’t want to read people’s minds; I think I’d often be unhappy with what I learned. I sure don’t want anyone to read mine.

Sing or dance, etc.

Sing! I love to hear good singers sing, and I wish I were one. I can carry a tune, but I have a one octave rang. Good for the Beatles song, “Yesterday,” and that’s about it.

Money or power?

I’ll take the money. If used well, it can be a power for good.

Tea or coffee?

COFFEE. Coffee. Coffee.

Movie or book?

BOOK! Let me visualize the action.

Morning person or night owl.

I have a fridge magnet that reads “Not a morning person doesn’t begin to cover it.” I’ve always been a night owl.

Paperback or ebook?

LOVE ebooks. I can carry a library in my purse. I appreciate the search and dictionary features. That’s as a reader, of course — as a writer, I like to see people holding books.

About Donna Levin:

Donna Levin is the author of five acclaimed novels, Extraordinary Means, California Street, There’s More Than One Way Home, He Could Be Another Bill Gates, and now The Talking Stick, which was published by Skyhorse in April of this year.

She has also written two books on the craft of writing: Get That Novel Started and Get That Novel Written. Her work is included in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University and in the California State Library’s collection of California novels. She lives in San Francisco.

Say hello to Donna on X.

The Talking Stick was released in April 2024. Click here to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Barnes and Noble.