Today we have someone whose awesome not only because she shares my name, but because her multi-culti book ‘Shine Coconut Moon’ is sooo fabulous: Neesha Meminger! Thank you for joining me today for my Wednesday Writer’s Write series, Neesha!
Thank YOU for inviting me to your site!
What is your brainstorming process for a new book?
Hmm, I don’t really have a brainstorming process. Ideas generally come to me when I’m not thinking about them. In fact that’s when the best ideas come, and they usually arrive in clumps of three.
Can you explain your typical work week day?
No day is ever typical when you have an almost-eight-year-old and a five-year-old. For example, just yesterday I sat down to write and exactly two minutes later the phone rings. It’s the nurse from my second grader’s school. Apparently my second grader had a substitute teacher and decided that was a perfect opportunity to wander the halls and socialize. She ended up at the nurse’s office THREE times yesterday for drummed up issues. My writing day, however, was a goner.
These kinds of things happen all the time. However, when I’m having a good spell, I usually drop the kids off in the morning, come home, have a nice leisurely breakfast, then spend an hour returning emails or taking care of other online matters (this is where I blog, post on boards, etc.). Then I get to writing for a solid couple of hours. After that, I like to get out of Mom/Author/Spouse mode and just zone out. Some call it meditation, I call it zoning out and getting back in touch with who I am, separately from everyone and everything else.
Tell us about when you made the decision to write.
As with most writers, I’ve been writing forever. Initially, it was to learn the language and practice (English is not my first language). Then it became more about playing with it — seeing how I could throw words up in the air and let them fall onto the page in different arrangements. It was fun.
Then in my teen years it was a lifeline. It was there for me when everything else was falling apart. Common theme for a lot of writers, I think 
.
What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?
~ Read what you love. A LOT of it.
~ Then write what you love. A Lot of it.
~ Revise a LOT and polish your gems to a glimmering sparkle.
~ Get feedback, but take only what makes sense with what you are trying to achieve in your writing. Though be open to the feedback from trusted sources.
~ Revise again. Until you are certain your piece is the best it is going to get.
But most importantly, above and beyond any of those suggestions, is this: LIVE FULLY. Because if you don’t do this, your work will suffer. Writing does not come before Life. It flows with it and through it. If you find you are stuck or really getting down about it, walk away. Reacquaint yourself with the reasons you write in the first place.
Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.
I’m working on a third manuscript that is a bit of a departure from what I usually write. I’m very excited about it, but don’t want to say too much because I’m caught in the thick of it right now.
Thanks for the great info, Neesha! We look forward to hearing more from you in the future. For those of you who are interested in Neesha’s book ‘Shine Coconut Moon,’ you can purchase it at your local bookstore or here.
