Attica Locke Interview

"I long for the next book always"

Hi friends.

One of our beloved #1000wordsofsummer contributors, Attica Locke, has a new mystery novel coming out tomorrow: Guide Me Home. It’s the third in her Highway 59 trilogy, and if you’ve read her before you know her work is characterized by intricate plotting, sharp but empathetic characterization, and a bold contemplation of the political. I am a huge fan.

Attica is an Edgar Award-winning New York Times-bestselling author, but also she does everything else: she is a screenwriter and TV producer, with credits that include “Empire,” and the Emmy-nominated “Little Fires Everywhere,” for which she won an NAACP Image award for television writing. She also co-created and executive produced an adaptation of her sister Tembi Locke’s memoir “From Scratch” for Netflix.

Attica answered spoke to me about the difference of writing books versus television, but also where she gets her empathy. We are lucky to have her here today.

Do you prefer TV writing over writing novels or is there any bias there? Do you long for one when you are writing another? Do you get different kinds of fulfillment from each medium?

I prefer the process of writing books above all things. It is the most soulfully fulfilling. Upon completion. The during is hard. I am frequently circling the drain of my own neuroses and fears over and over. With books, I like that it’s writing that is both about story and about the deliciousness of language itself. Cadence and voice and alliteration and all those great things. I use some of the tools in scriptwriting too, but it’s different.

Scripts have a different purpose. They are literary, but they are also blueprints. They are a means to... the finished product. A TV episode/show or a movie. What I like most about writing scripts and making television, which is writing, are the moments when collaboration feels exciting and even divine. Where many voices become one. It’s choral. Or I’ve described making movies and TV shows as symphonic. Each participant—from screenwriter to costume designer to gaffer to actor—brings something uniquely individual to the whole.

When I’m working in television, I miss the bone deep quiet of writing novels. I miss having the final say. When I’m writing novels, I miss people. Bursts of belly laughing. And sometimes shared tears. Also lots of gossip and (usually) free lunches.

I find the idea of writing a trilogy so ambitious. Was it something you set out to do or did you know after the first novel that you had more story to tell? I think of you as a strategic writer, a real plotter, so I would not be surprised if you had known all along. I'm also definitely curious if you had a storyline in the first book that you thought, let me hold a beat on that and use it later.

I had no idea that this would be a trilogy. I thought I would write six, maybe eight books in the series. But then Covid happened while I was thinking about this book, and I couldn’t go to the town in which I wanted to set the next book. During lockdown, I started thinking about what it would mean to wrap up the series with the third book. And when lockdown lifted and I went into production on my show “From Scratch,” then I was certain that I would end the series with the third book. Because of the amount of time that my television career demands, I realized I could be writing this series for fifteen years, and I didn’t want that. For many reasons. One, the book series inadvertently became a treatise on the Trump era. And my soul is done with Trump. I’ve kind of held a childish hope that if I stop writing the book series, he’ll go away.

I was very scared to close out a trilogy—especially because I hadn’t begun  the series thinking that it would be a trilogy. But I followed the character. The series ends in exactly the way it had to for Darren Mathews.

One of your strongest suits as a writer is your deep and empathetic understanding of the human condition. Talk to me about what influences you as you consider what makes people tick. Do you do research? Have you always just understood people? Who or what helps you to be the messenger of these people and their feelings?

First, I’ve been in therapy for over twenty-three years at this point. Not only has it taught me a great deal about myself, it’s also been a kind of school for understanding the human psyche. It has been invaluable for me as a writer. I think I am a naturally compassionate and empathic person, who feels things very deeply. I also think I have a baseline love for people. They tickle me, they delight me, they fascinate me, and even when they make me angry or hurt me, I always want to understand why.

I think being a reader makes me an empathetic person too. I always say that books grow the mind and the heart. They invite you to consider the world from other people’s points of view.

Do you have any first readers? Or do you keep your cards close as you write? How collaborative are you?

My husband is my first reader. But only so he can “hold” it with me, so I feel less alone. He doesn’t give any real notes. My mother and sister used to read early drafts and give feedback, but they’re pretty busy these days, especially my sister, who’s now my screenwriting and producing partner. So, the first real critical read is from my editor, and that’s after at least two or three internal drafts first. I don’t show anyone anything but a full draft.

When it comes to edits and feedback... I kind of go with my gut. I usually have a visceral reaction to suggestions—either “absolutely not” or “that is a great fucking idea.” And I also have a rule that if two people mention the same note or “problem” in the story, you have to give it serious thought. Even if you end up not changing a thing.

Do you have any grand ambitions for future projects? For me, I'm just like, please let me keep on writing my books, that's all I want. But you have a wider gaze than me I think...

I have several television projects in development that I’m excited about. What’s hard is that the development process can be a drag. So much talking about writing and so little actual writing. It gets frustrating, and it’s when I miss books the most. I’m excited to make more TV shows that touch people and that make our little time here together on the planet easier.

But I long for the next book. Always.

You can order Guide Me Home wherever you buy books.

See you all later this week.

Jami

You are reading Craft Talk, the home of #1000wordsofsummer and also a weekly newsletter about writing from Jami Attenberg. I’m also on twitter and instagram.