The Process Project: Tyrese L. Coleman!

If you're not yet familiar with the Process Project, check us out here!

Meet Tyrese L. Coleman!

Tyrese L. Coleman is a writer, wife, mother, and lawyer. She is also a master's student with the Writing Program at Johns Hopkins University. Her writing has appeared, or is forthcoming, in the Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review, PANK Magazine Online, the Tahoma Literary Review, Quaint Magazine, and elsewhere. Follow on Twitter @tylachelleco or her blog, Clever Title Pending, at www.tyresecoleman.blogspot.com.

And now, for the questions...

What is your main genre of writing?

I spend most of my time drafting what I like to consider "literary fiction." I have dabbled in young adult, even wrote a whole YA novel before I started graduate school. But, as anyone who has written anything and then gone to a Master's program afterwards, you realize that how you wrote before "learning how to write" is nothing like how you write once you've "learned" how to do it. So, my YA novel is sitting on an electronic MS Word shelf collecting imaginary dust. I tend to write short stories now, however, it appears that what I am most successful at getting published are my pieces of creative non-fiction.

​What is your writing routine like?

Before I can get into the answer to this question, let me explain a few details of my life -- paint a picture, so to speak. I am a licensed attorney who does not practice, but works full-time for the federal government. I am married to a Historian. We have twin soon-to-be two-year old boys. And I have a four-year old Bassador (Basset Hound and Labrador) named Luna. I am also currently a student with the Writing Program at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.

Here is an example of my day-to-day schedule and when I find a time and place to write:

• 6-9am: shower, get kids up and down for breakfast, take care of dog, drop off kids, and get to work
• 9am-5:30pm: BS with co-workers, eat breakfast, surf internet, turn up PANDORA (usually listening to Sam Cooke or some other soul station) and in between working on what I get paid to work on, I dip into the always-active open screen to my short story/personal essay/workshop critique/online journal/blog/duotrope/etc etc
• 5:30-7pm: grab kids, make dinner, feed kids, put them to bed (oh, and maybe say hello to my husband...can't forget him)
• 7pm-10pm: write and/or read, homework, and sometimes, very rarely, watch TV.

I think the above is evidence of my adult ADHD and short attention span than anything else, but it is also evidence that you can fit time to write into any schedule, no matter how tiring it is. Writing is my default, it is what I am doing when I am not doing anything else.

When you are preparing to write a new story, what kinds of techniques or methods do you use to organize your ideas?

Recently, I've been seeing success in my works of creative non-fiction and have decided to continue using my past real-life experiences as impetuous for new material, whether it be fiction or more non-fiction. This could change, but its what I am up to right now.

When I start any new piece, whether it is fiction or non-fiction, I generally focus on a particular memory or sensation, not so much an event. For example, the feeling of having an aunt comb your hair or riding on the handlebars of a bike. I find sensory details much more interesting than actual events. I write down what is happening in that moment, how the character or myself felt, and then proceed with "what happens next." Sometimes that intro is kept in the story, but often times it is taken out because it doesn't fit with the final piece, but it always leads somewhere.

Where the process differs between fiction and non-fiction, for me, is the pace in which I then proceed to work. With my non-fiction, I find that I can complete a first draft in one sitting. This is because the "story" has already happened, I am just documenting it.

However, it can take weeks for me to finish a short story draft. In some instances, I know exactly what I want to do with a story, but because of a lack of writing time, I may not be able to finish it all within a reasonable amount of time. So, I will go through and bullet point the main plot points and then write everything out as I go along. Other times, I may draft it out on a piece of paper, making notes and corrections.

Other times, I brainstorm. The best thing about working in an office are co-workers. When I am stumped on what should happen next in a story, I confer with one of my co-workers and talk about the story out loud with her. She gives me her opinions and thoughts, but mostly, the exercise allows me to let out what I've had boxed up in my brain since I first got the idea. It really helps to think about a story, characters, plot, theme, etc., out loud in able to voice what the story really is about.

While you are working on a piece, do you have any particular way that you structure your work?

As I mention above, if it is fiction, I will bullet point plot points or major thematic elements that I definitely want to include or I will write them down on a piece of paper and keep it with me, often going back and making more notes. I find that when I start writing with no idea as to what I want to have happen, i.e. "letting the story figure itself out," I end up not finishing. So, I am now trying to employ some of type of methodology where I determine at least one major plot and/or thematic point that holds the whole piece together. Then I write on through to those particular "scenes." Sometimes, those ideas change as I write. The story may have started off as one thing, but the characters I have written have taken it off somewhere else. At some point, I reevaluate and determine if what I've written is consistent with what I want to have happen.

I keep everything in Dropbox so that I can access my documents anywhere. Because I often write at work, at home and over and across several different computers, I find Dropbox to be one of the best ways to get to my work whenever I feel like working on it. Inside Dropbox, I have several different folders for the different types of writing I do. And, I save drafts with a date at the end so that I can see which one is the latest right away.

​When it's time to revise your work, do you have any particular methods that you use to help you through the process? ​

Revision...oh boy.

So, I like to revise first by printing off a draft and line editing. I will shred my draft to bits and question as much as I can via that printed document. Then I go back, make the edits, and repeat. I cannot "revise" on a computer screen. Revising on a computer screen is what I consider drafting the story, as I tend to revise what I previously wrote in a draft over and over again until the draft is complete. I print the draft only when its complete, never before. I don't know why...probably for similar reasons sports players grow mustaches during play-offs, superstition, I guess.

After that point, and especially since I started the program, the story gets workshopped or read by someone else before I move on. After workshop, generally there is a larger revision that may include cutting and adding significant portions of the story and reevaluating what is working and what isn't. Again, the printer is cut off. It is not until I address these issues that I start the second revision process. After that, I print and go through line by line, word by word until my eyes bleed or I start dreaming about my characters trying to attack me with Elmo shaped forks and then realize those aren't my characters, but my children instead.

And most importantly: why do you write?

​I write because it makes me happy. Simple as that. It is the one indulgence in my life that I allow myself to obsess over. I don't want to call it a "hobby," because the word "hobby" does not connote the seriousness in which I take my writing. However, I cannot call it "work" because, to me, "work" involves getting paid, and there isn't too much of that happening.

But, writing is my way of life -- getting life, seeing life, enjoying life, loving life, understanding life, making it through life. When I write, I feel the most like "me." Not Tyrese the employee, the wife, the mother, the fur-mom, the friend. I am just me, enjoying life, when I write. That's why I do it. Simple.

-----

I want to thank Tyrese for the wonderful answers and inspiration! We are so happy she was able to add to the Process Project,. I loved seeing the life of a real-life writer who does it all! Thanks, Tyrese!!!

Check out some of her work here!

I am Karintha [Doctor T.J. Eckleburg Review]

How to Sit [PANK] and her PANK Interview

http://www.divergentvoices.com/ ("A Caged Bird")

Follow her on Twitter at @tylachelleco 

And read her blog at www.tyresecoleman.blogspot.com.

The Process Project: Meet Justin Sloan!

Welcome to week eight of the Process Project!! If you don’t know about us already, please visit The Process Project page to find out more about this project, and read interviews with other authors.

This week I am really excited to share an interview with one of my fellow classmates. We met virtually through the Johns Hopkins MA program, as he was taking classes remotely from across the country. I’ve had a chance to read some of his work and also receive feedback on my own novel from him. He’s a terrific writer, and I’m so excited to share this interview with you!

Meet Justin Sloan!!

Justin Sloan is a video game writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He studied writing at the Johns Hopkins University MA in Writing program and at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television's Professional Program in Screenwriting. Additionally, he has published short fiction and poetry.

Justin was in the Marines for five years and has lived in Japan, Korea, and Italy. He currently lives with his amazing wife and children in the Bay Area, where he writes and enjoys life.

And now...on to the questions!!

JB: What is/are your main genre/field of writing?

JS: Many of the panelists at writing conferences and speakers on podcasts and whatnot recommend we find our niche, or focus on a genre of writing so as to meet our readers’ expectations or give our agents a way to sell us. To this end, you could say I write middle grade and young adult coming of age fantasy (urban and epic). My novels on Amazon certainly match this (Back by Sunrise, Teddy Bears in Monsterland, and Falls of Redemption), as does my novel that will be published in the next couple of months, Allie Strom and the Ring of Solomon (a MG urban fantasy).

That said, I would argue that we are artists and therefore should not limit ourselves. If you are angry one morning, work on that thriller or epic sword fight in your fantasy story instead of the cute children’s book you have been focusing on. Are you feeling fancy? Put your mind to work on a literary novel. I have written one literary novel and have outlined a second, and find it to be a rewarding experience that uses a different part of my brain than my typical stories. My short stories are all over the place, and my screenplays tend to be half in the fantasy realm and half in the comedy genre. Luckily, Telltale Games seem to fit right into my genre, as we are doing a Minecraft game, Game of Thrones, and Tales from the Borderlands.

My First Published Piece!

Today, when I got home for my lunch break, I was very excited to find an envelope with my name on it! Tucked inside were my five copies of Penn-Union. Penn-Union is a student literary journal, put together by the MA in Writing at Johns Hopkins program for each graduating thesis class. Students submit a portion of their work to be included. I submitted the opening of my book, a little teaser for anyone who might be interested in YA literature.

This is the first time I've ever gotten to have my work published. While it's not a traditional journal in the sense that it is open to public submissions, it's still an honor to be included in the biannual Johns Hopkins Journal. I must say that it's very exciting to see your work in print amongst nearly thirty other magnificent writers.

I'm extremely proud of our Fall Semester class, and proud to call myself a Hopkins Graduate! Congrats to my fellow thesis members, can't wait to see my Homewood ladies this weekend!

Q&A: Where do you get your inspiration to write?

Thank you, Paul Taubman, for tonight's question: "Where do you get your inspiration to write?"

I'm going to share an embarrassing anecdote that explains where I get my inspiration from (and then I  ramble on a little longer)

So, at our final Thesis session, our teacher, David,  shared a rather horrible fact with us. I can't remember the exact percentage, but it was outrageously high....but the number of students who walk out of their final thesis class and never write again. I seriously could not believe this (though I trust him, and I know he's right! And I've spoken to people since, and I see it....and it's just like...what?!). He asked a general question to the class, what was going to make us keep writing? Nobody spoke up.

(And though I use quotes, please know I don't remember the exact words....!)
David: "Jackie?"
Me: "Um....Well, I want to get my book published."
David: "Well everyone want's that, what are you going to do to keep yourself writing?"
And okay, I had been prepared for this question, so prepared. We had to write up a career plan, including the factors that will keep us from writing, and what we'll do to keep ourselves writing, and I started working on it as soon as it was assigned. But, of course, I am the least articulate person I know when put on the spot, my brain goes completely blank. To me though, the truth is, I am going to get my series published. At that moment, all I could say was how badly I wanted it, and how that alone is enough. But why do you want it so badly? Was the question.
"Well, it's a long story." I turned to Linda who has been one of my confidants and besties in the program, and she knows the story. I think David offered to explain it, but I kind of wanted to tell everyone. And then I started crying. AGHHHHHH. I don't cry in public. But I love those ladies and David. So it turned out to be okay.

So, the long story.... That's my inspiration, and the heart of this anecdote, so here it goes (and this is much more in depth than the version told to my class).

Back when I was eighteen, I was headed off to college, and I made a friend, Michelle. She was like a big sister to me, we became best friends. We wrote stories together; she would read all of my stuff and give her very honest (sometimes irritating) feedback, and I would do the same for her. She would always share her characters with me; I think she liked seeing them go through my creative writing classes and come out in various stories (which she always got to fact-check and scrutinize the plausibility, consistency, and anything else she had in mind). We literally wrote every single day. Starting at 8pm (on a normal day, sometimes all day if neither of us were busy), until we went to bed, we would write out scenes, brainstorm new ideas, gossip about characters as though they were real people, and have arguments over the stupidest things ever. It was our lives. Our plan: take our extensive story ideas, and turn them into some mega-awesome-over-dramatic-magic-filled TV show, sell it, and become famous. Haha. Right? Like that was really going to happen. One (or two) can dream.

And then just after midnight, early morning, April 5, 2009, we signed off, and planned to chat tomorrow to pick up where we left off. Little did I know, when I said 'NN' and signed off AIM, it would be the last time we would ever write, brainstorm, fight, discuss, or say 'ttyl.' In the early morning hours she suffered a severe asthma attack that caused her to pass away.

And now, I won't go into all of the details, but basically, I could not deal with losing my best friend and writing buddy of seven years. I actually, right away, picked a few of our characters, and just started writing, every night, at 8pm, to keep myself from going crazy, but that didn't last too long before I plunged into an awful funk, that lasted a very long time, and involved me not writing.

About a year or so down the line, some things happened in my life, and I had some good influences that suggested I really return back to writing our characters. So, when I was able to come back to it on my own, I decided I had to write her characters. I needed to start putting together stories with them, and one of those stories turned into a novel, which blossomed into a series, and who knows what else. But I've gotten off track.

The new plan: write these characters to honor her memory. Through their stories, her memory will live on. And those who know her characters already, should love the stories, at least, I hope I have done/will continue to do her characters justice. 

Later, in 2010, I decided to get my Master of Arts in Writing. I wanted to write this story out, I wanted to get the best possible help while doing so, and, by some freak accident, I got into the Johns Hopkins University Masters of Arts in Writing program.

When I started my first class, I thought, "God, you are way too stupid to be in this program, you will never make any friends because they're all super smart, and you should probably quit." And I might have come home from class once or twice and "cried because because I'm so dumb," haha. Turns out, some of my favorite people stemmed from that class. In fact, I met one of my major cheerleaders and writer buddies, Michelle Madow, in that class, as well as the frequently mentioned Mrs. Simoni-Wastila.

I'll write another entry later this month to gush on about why I love JHU and our program so, so much, but for now, I'll say, I gained so much, in so many facets of my life, it was worth every single penny. My book is currently going through revisions, revisions I am staying on top of, and will continue to work on until it's finished and out to agents, and then publishers, and then your hands.

So, to answer, my inspiration? Mine and Michelle's characters. And will I keep writing? You can bet on that.

Thanks for reading.