The novelist of seven books-- including Must Love Dogs (later made into a movie) and her latest, Seven Year Switch-- talks about finally getting the guts to tackle her dream deferred.
Writing was a lifelong dream for you, but you didn't really pursue it until your forties. Why not?
I wanted to be a writer since I was three years old, and studied film and creative writing in college. Then, I graduated and I choked. I hid from it, and pretended it wasn't my dream. I went out and overachieved at other fields--everything from writing shoe ads for an advertising department to creating innovative fitness programs at my kids' preschool. This all had nothing to do with what I wanted to do. I was doing too much in the wrong field.
But at the same time, I think I didn't have my stories yet. Every mistake, every bad job--that's what's now informing my fiction. I had to live my life. My novels are about the lives that we live, outside our kitchen doors. Back in my 20s, I hadn't done anything but go to school yet!
What changed?
I was sitting outside daughter's swim practice, in my forties, and it hit me: I might live my whole life and not go for it. I got really quiet. I thought about, "What it is the one thing if I never do it, it will always plague me?" So, I sat out there [in my minivan] every morning for one long, cold New England winter and wrote the draft for my first novel. I think it's okay that [the inspiration] came from scary things like mortality, facing fears, and digging up buried dreams. For me, I think the procrastination actually became more painful than writing the book.
For you, it worked; you sold your first book, Ready to Fall, to the first publisher you sent it to, and your books have been consistent bestsellers. But what about for people whose dreams aren't going to manifest so successfully?
I think the trick is picking the right thing. If my lifelong dream to be a rockstar, I would've been in trouble. I don't have the right talent for that. I really do believe, we all have this place where our urge to create, and our ability, and the marketplace all intersect. And some of it is luck; I lucked out that women are the people are buying fiction right now.
Whatever your "thing" is, I think you have to love it enough to work at it everyday, all day long, whether it works or not. I work seven days a week. I've been working my butt off for 10 years. And even if things hadn't worked out so successfully for me, I learned so much just by facing that fear. Maybe I wouldn't be making a living writing novels, but I still would have looked at the dream. Maybe it would have put me on another path.
You started giving free "reinvention" workshops for other people looking at a mid-life change. What do you talk about in the sessions?
They started as writing workshops, as a way for me to give back, and then a lot of non-writers started coming. We talk a lot about practical tips, like networking. It can be overwhelming to, say, network at a conference, so I coach people to instead think, "I'm just going try to connect with one person in this room, create one or two good contacts." We also talk about doing research [about your chosen project]. I see people don't take research seriously. Just because it sounds like a good idea doesn't mean it's going to work. Also, getting your computer skills up to speed and social networking savvy. A huge part of what's working for me is my website, newsletter (10,000 subscribers), and Facebook. I do it all myself.
Pulling together a support group is important. Especially in the beginning when your dream is freshly uncovered and you're vulnerable, maybe don't tell a lot of people. People think they're being supportive by "managing your expectations", telling you it's not going to happen. But that's not being supportive! Don't tell them. Sometimes you have to move away from people who aren't supporting the dream.
Your characters are typically reinventors themselves. How does the ‘starting-over' theme fit into your newest book, Seven Year Switch?
Essentially the heroine's life didn't turn out the way she planned. She thought she would be a cultural consultant, working with diplomatic families, but instead her husband abandoned her. Now, she's answering phones for Great Girlfriend Getaways, barely cobbling together a life. Then she buys a house, and she's just getting it together, and boom, all of a sudden the husband shows up again! It's the story of how she manages to work through that chaos. It's the first time I've written book from point of view of single mom. And there's a fun trip to Costa Rica. It was a fun book to write.
To learn more about Claire Cook, visit www.clairecook.com.
Keep in touch with me on Twitter (@debrashigley) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/gogettergirls)
