Conversations with the Author, part 1
An Interview with Debbie Viguié
In this four part series we will be talking with author Debbie Viguié about her life as a professional writer.
Elisa: Debbie, thank you for taking the time to talk to me this evening.
Debbie: No Problem.
Elisa: Okay then, let’s get right to the questions. How did you get started as a writer?
Debbie: Well, really I started writing when I was very young. I wrote poetry, short stories, etc. In elementary school I had a teacher that loved creative writing assignments. My parents still talk about my story called My Life as a Piece of Chewing Gum. They say that they really knew I was going to be a writer when they read that story. In elementary school I won the D.A.R. award for a paper I wrote about Ben Franklin from his wife Deborah Franklin’s point of view. Also in elementary school, I used to make up stories about my Breyer horses. I hope to publish those one day as children’s stories. I even tried to have one of my stories published when I was in elementary school. I submitted to Highlights magazine, but it was rejected for being too gory. Given that I read books that were written more for adults and that in first grade, my favorite book was Jack London’s Call of the Wild, maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised.
Elisa: Do you write full-time?
Debbie: Yes, I write full-time.
Elisa: What does being a full-time author entail?
Debbie: A lot of commitment and time. You don’t get to leave it at work at the end of the day. You need to have lots of flexibility. It’s a huge time commitment. I sometimes work sixteen hour days. Also, you need to develop a thick skin, have a lot of persistence, and you need patience. This line of work requires an understanding family, because it can be really isolating. Also it requires a certain type of attitude. To keep working full-time you need to check your snobbery at the door. You generally have to take whatever work comes your way. You end up having very close deadlines. You may have to work with co-authors. You may even end up writing in genres that don’t interest you.
Elisa: Do you have an English degree?
Debbie: Yes, I have a Bachelor’s degree in English, with an emphasis in creative writing.
Elisa: Do you feel that it’s necessary to have an English degree to excel in this field?
Debbie: Absolutely not! It takes all kinds of people to write the different things out there. I know some women with degrees in hard sciences that write incredible stuff. You don’t even need a degree. What you need is commitment, focus, and the time to rewrite your work until you have it right.
…Part 2 to follow next week….
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