We recently connected with Lynne Spreen and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lynne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

After a lifetime of dreaming about being a writer (while doing a career that actually fed my family), I was finally able to go at it seriously. This was the shocker: I had no idea what I was doing, but worse, I had no idea what I needed to know! It took me 8 years to publish my first novel, and I consider that a slow master’s degree in the creative arts. And it won an award, so I think I did okay.

What I didn’t realize was that I needed to understand story structure. The light went on when I was reading a book by that name, written by Larry Brooks. He said, you have a bunch of scenes and events in your book, and they’re all good stuff, but where do they go? He proposed you drop each scene into one of four boxes…and the light went on.

I think that was THE most important thing I needed to understand. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser (now the nicer term is “discovery writer”), having some sense of structure was critical.

The main obstacle was that I was teaching myself. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Lynne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a writer of fiction. Novels and short stories. I was born into it but had to wait until I was middle-aged to have the time to work on it seriously. Which was fine, because I wanted to write about middle-aged and older people. If I’d started earlier, I don’t know how well it would have gone. I didn’t know enough about life.

What sets me apart from most fiction authors is that my characters are all older. Like, in their forties up to dead. Because I’m intrigued by the second half of life…our strength isn’t visible, but it’s profound! I’m really interested in knowing how older people live. We’re so familiar with the young adult coming-of-age story, but what I want to know is, what happens 30 years afterwards? What happens decades later? Especially in the romance genre; what happens 30 years after the picket fence? That’s what fascinates me, and so that’s what I write about. And you know, there are more and more novels being published that feature older characters.

What I’m most proud of is that my books (I have 9 of them now) are selling well and their ratings all average above 4 (out of 5 stars on Amazon.)

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the things that fascinates me about older people is how they view their past. In so many cases, a troubled childhood becomes “adventurous.” An abusive parent becomes “stern.” Starvation, beatings, and poverty become “character builders.” I’m not just opining. I learned this from an incredible book called Aging Well by Dr. George Vaillant, who analyzed the results of 3 longevity studies tracking people from youth to old age.

In my case, I witnessed and was the victim of domestic abuse. My father had a terrible temper and drank too much. He changed the trajectory of my life. What’s interesting is how I integrate that abuse into my understanding of story it affects my writing.

I survived it, and I rebelled by becoming the only kid in my family to graduate from college. I fought my way up the corporate ladder, became a polished professional, and raised a great kid. I now feel like a hero. But when I was younger, I took it personally. Age is so empowering.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz taught me that if you know what you love, there are multiple ways to express that passion.

Larry Brooks taught me about story structure.

War Games, an old movie starring Matthew Broderick as a kid, taught me that sometimes, the only way to win is not to play.

Anne Lamott told me to just write the shitty first draft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://anyshinything.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnespreen/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynneSpreenAuthor/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnespreen/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynneSpreen
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LynneSpreen
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lynne-M.-Spreen/author/B008MYC9Z0 https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6454843.Lynne_M_Spreen https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lynne-m-spreen