What’s your name?
Diane O’Neill
What have you written?
My picture book, Saturday at the Food Pantry, illustrated by Brizida Magro, is coming out September 1. (That’s also my sister’s birthday!) I’ve also written essays, poems, and stories. I’ve been published in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Chicago Tribune, the South Side Weekly, LADYBUG Magazine, the Journal of Modern Poetry, The Shine Journal, the Gnu Journal of National University, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, and the blog of Solstice Literary Magazine.
When do you write?
Whenever I have time — basically after work and on weekends. I appreciate co-writes, as I find that my writing is more focused during this time. We all seem to give each other motivation and inspiration!
Describe your writing routine.
I usually start by writing a 100-word journal entry. I write it in Written Kitten, as it’s fun getting a kitten for each 100 words, and then I paste it into an online journal.
Then I work on whatever project I’m focusing on. I tend to work on more than one thing, so sometimes I switch back and forth between projects. Lately, though, I’ve been focusing on a middle school mystery. I think my Muse wants to go there because I just finished writing picture book drafts about some difficult family topics, and the middle grade mystery is much more lighthearted. (I envision my Muse, by the way, as resembling Bruce Springsteen.)
What do you listen to while you’re writing?
I have Pandora on, shuffling stations between baroque, Avicii, Bruce Springsteen, reggae, Christmas music (even in July), Irish traditional…
What are your tools?
My Chromebook, my desktop, and a colorful gel pen and a composition notebook. I wear armor, too — hand braces, as I have chronic tendonitis. Also, I sip coffee or tea — I consider these beverages my fuel.
What do you do when you get stuck?
I usually work on something else, or I write in my journal. If I’m really stuck, I let myself take a break. I want to keep writing fun!
Also, I take advantage of all the free resources out there. I’ve benefited immensely from MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and from workshops offered by the Poetry Foundation, and I belong to a critique group. Somehow, having a deadline is motivational and helps (at least sometimes) me get unstuck!
Do you do pre-writing or pre-planning?
Sometimes. I tend to be a pantser (writing “by the seat of my pants” and not outlining), but if I start feeling stuck, I might do some free writing. Sometimes, if I’m working on something longer, I’ll do a rough outline month-by-month to figure out what might be happening at different times of the year.
Where do you write?
Nowadays, I just write at home. Pre-pandemic, I wrote a lot at my neighborhood Dunkin’ Donuts. I’m grateful for virtual co-writes that create community! Thanks, Raghav, Sophie, and Jill!
Any rituals or superstitions?
I like to free write for four minutes by hand every morning, my version of the morning pages recommended by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. I check my personal planner and my writing planner for my life and writing to-do’s. Then I write an idea in my idea-a-day journal — I’ve found that this keeps my imagination more limber. I also write a few lines in a ten-year journal about what happened the day before, and then look to see what I was doing a month ago and a year ago.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve done to get out of a stuck cycle?
When I was working on my MFA, I would ask my son to make a chocolate run. Or I would make an emergency microwave brownie…
What is the best book you’ve read lately?
I loved Together Tea. I love how the author gives equal attention to the mother and daughter, different generations. I gravitate towards books with characters whom I love spending time with — this probably goes back to book characters being my imaginary friends when I was a child. Love the characters in Together Tea and wish I could have tea with them!
What is one book you think everyone should read?
I can’t think of any book that everybody should read — I think everybody should read the books that appeal to them, that they enjoy. But that said, my favorite book in the world, since I was fourteen, is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. It was the first book I’d ever read about a family with problems — the father deals with alcoholism, and the family is poor. I love Smith’s messages: The poorest, most ordinary “tree” has value, even though many people don’t see it. Remember where you came from. To me, her characters don’t feel fictional — they’re as real to me as friends I’ve known my entire life.
What are you looking forward to?
I am looking forward to the pandemic being over throughout the world, to having a big game day for family and friends, and to writing again at Dunkin’ Donuts! I’m looking forward to attending more wonderful OMC co-writes, to my book coming out on September 1, and to dancing at my son’s wedding next year!
