Diana Spechler: The Skinny On Writing

We are delighted to bring you an interview with Diana Spechler, creator of the Body Confessions website and author of Skinny. Diana’s book is making its debut in bookstores and online today! You can watch the trailer here.

Source

We were first connected with Diana through food, but found the opportunity to interview her on life as an author too tempting to pass up, especially considering Jenn’s recent announcement! Below are five questions we posed and her responses. Prepare to be inspired!

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Where did you first come up with the plot for Skinny? Did something spur the idea?

I realized years ago that nearly every person I knew had issues with food and/or with their bodies. We live in a society that hammers those obsessions into our brains. Every diet pill advertisement, every bakery window, every Victoria’s Secret catalog chips away at us. The diet and food industries are the sources of a lot of pain. Where better to explore that phenomenon than at a weight-loss camp? So I went to work at one for ten weeks. I wrote SKINNY based in part on my experience.

In your opinion, what is the most challenging part of being a writer/author?

Writing comes with a lot of shaming, rejection, and disappointment. Continuing to write despite negative feedback is the hardest part of the job. Of course, over time I’ve gotten lots of positive feedback, too, but unfortunately the praise doesn’t always stick to me the way the rejection letters and bad reviews do. There’s a great line in Stephen King’s book, ON WRITING: “If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that’s all.” I try to keep that in mind.

Most rewarding part?

The most rewarding part is working on something that I really believe in, when the rest of the world slips away and I’m entirely absorbed in my work. Of course, later, when I’m revising, I inevitably find fault in everything, but when a piece of writing is new and exciting, there’s no better feeling in the world.

What lesson do you wish you would have known when you were just getting started?

I wish I’d had a mentor who told me to be honest. Honesty is the most important part of writing, even if (or perhaps especially if) the story is fiction. People want to read emotionally honest work, and when the work isn’t honest, the reader can feel the writer holding back. As I get older and grow as a writer, I hold back less and less, but it’s a shame that any writer ever feels the need to hide things. Writers must be fearlessly candid.

What advice do you have for other aspiring writers and authors?

Write every day. Do whatever it takes to quiet the voices that say that your writing is bad, that you should be doing something else, that no one will ever want to read what you have to say. Those voices aren’t real. Ignore them.

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We want to thank Diana again for sharing her experience and insight with us. Look for Skinny on shelves or order it online. It has gotten rave reviews and to get a sneak peek, check out this poignant excerpt from Jezebel.

Have you ever pictured yourself as a full-time writer or author? Are you already living out this dream? We would love to hear from you!

Dream Bigger,