An interview with the novelist Janet Skeslien Charles

Bio: Originally from Montana, Janet Skeslien Charles divides her time between France and the United States. Moonlight in Odessa was inspired by the two years she spent as a Soros Fellow in Odessa, Ukraine, and is her debut novel. It has been translated into a dozen languages.

Anca: Janet has been my friend for several years now. We met in Paris when we were both members of the same writing group. In the meantime she has published her first novel, the accomplished and successful Moonlight in Odessa. She has also written and published many short stories. Janet has been kind enough to be interviewed for The Power of Writing in Organizations, and to be a guest lecturer in my MBA course on Written Analysis and Communication. Naturally, I wanted her to talk more about her writing habits and her projects. 

Why do you write?

Anaïs Nin said that ‘We write to taste life twice.’ That is my favorite quote, probably because it sums up how I feel about writing. I write to figure things out, to try to understand them. I’ve written personal essays about a loved one getting a DUI and another about a family member battling both cancer and family apathy. Writing helps me to understand. When I was writing about a miserable email-order bride trapped in a terrible marriage, I was thinking of my sister, who was going through a divorce and the strength it took for her to get away. I dissected and analyze situations and put them back together in my writing.

Can you tell us a little about your writing practices?

Most of what I have written hasn’t seen the light of day. I try to write four days per week and go to the French National Library for the quiet. Usually, first thing in the morning, I write a little about my worries or problems and then shift to the projects I am currently working on. I try to write at least 500 words, or two pages. After lunch, I do research or edit until my eyes start to cross. I go to a lot of movies and also listen to people talk, paying attention to cadence and word choice. I am always thinking about my characters.

How do you manage to express your characters' often complex and nuanced emotions?

Thank you for your kind words! I try to put myself in the position of my characters and try to articulate how I would feel in that same situation.

Do you write differently on various devices (paper, computer, smartphone)?

I love notebooks and pens. Sometimes I type the words directly into the computer, but it is rare. I like smart phones for Twitter or short emails, but that is about it. I do enjoy reading books and Word files on my e-reader.

You have been leading creative writing workshops for over a decade. What have you learned from teaching these workshops? 

When I started my first workshop, I expected to share my knowledge but instead received many unexpected gifts. The writers were so passionate about reading and writing that after each session, we left the class feeling energized and ready for another week of writing. Sharing our stories, our challenges, our small victories, gave us the courage and the energy to continue writing.

During the day, we dealt with tough professors, passive-aggressive coworkers, and the pushing and shoving that is just a part of city life, even in the City of Light. In the workshop, witnessing the writers’ generosity of spirit was a balm. The writers ranged from total beginners to prize-winning authors. Each week, the beginners gave feedback to the more sophisticated writers, while they gave gentle encouragement to the novices. They also gave excellent advice.

One writer, Bob Levy, said something that forever changed my sentence structure: “End with the most powerful image or word.”

Most of my sentences started strong and petered out. Bob’s advice made me re-evaluate every sentence, paragraph, and chapter in my novel. (I am pleased that Bob now teaches his own workshop at WICE here in Paris.)

In preparing my classes, I became a stronger reader because I had to analyze an author’s writing in order to present it. This made me articulate and evaluate my thoughts on technique, voice, and structure.

Discussing the published short stories, poetry, and essays gave us all a deeper understanding of the work as we shared our different points of view. What a gift to discuss a story and hear many possible interpretations. With writers from France, the U.S., Russia, Australia, England, and Germany, who were IT specialists, journalists, nannies, students, retirees, and academics just to name a few professions and countries, we had lively debates. What began as a writing workshop became a community of friends, evenings of energy, and lessons for both the students and the instructor.

What advice would you give someone who is thinking about becoming a writer?

Just start and don’t give up. I know many people who have been meaning to write a book for decades and keep putting it off. You have to enjoy the process of writing and let that pleasure be your reward because there are no guarantees in publishing. I wrote my second book, spent over a decade on it, but it will probably never be published. It just didn’t come together and went back into the drawer. Now I’m working on something else. And that’s okay.

Who are the authors who inspire you?

Authors who are generous with other writers like Laurel Zuckerman and Jake Lamar here in Paris. Laurel is so kind and generous to other writers, always willing to talk about their work and upcoming events on her blog. Jake has endorsed several novels of writers here in Paris and he has given several authors advice and encouragement.

What do you write at the moment?

I’m working on a story set in World War II and doing quite a bit of research. I don’t know if it will work as a novel, but I am enjoying learning more about the period and creating characters.

What is next?

I am thrilled to be attending Festival America in September as well as a few other French literary festivals this fall. It is always a challenge to speak about my book in French, but so far reviewers and audiences have been very kind. http://www.festival-america.org/