June 7, 2024

Julieta Almeida Rodrigues On The 5 Things You Need To Be A Successful Author or Writer

 

 

"There is nothing like waking up in the morning, when it's a sunny day and you have had your breakfast, and then you have the whole day to write. Nothing beats that in the whole wide world!"

 

 

Some writers and authors have a knack for using language that can really move people. Some writers and authors have been able to influence millions with their words alone. What does it take to become an effective and successful author or writer?

 

In this interview series, called "5 Things You Need To Be A Successful Author or Writer" we are talking to successful authors and writers who can share lessons from their experiences. As part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Julieta Almeida Rodrigues. Julieta is a multiple award-winning author, professor, scholar, and interpreter. Her debut novel is Eleonora and Joseph. Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment. The novel was met with widespread critical acclaim. It received glowing reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly, and numerous international literary awards including a Book Excellence Award, a Literary Titan Award, a Maincrest Media Award, a Hollywood Book Festival Award, and the Grand Prize Goethe Award for Late Historical Fiction. Julieta is also the author of two collections of short fiction, The Rogue and Other Portuguese Stories and On the Way to Red Square. She has a narrative work titled Hora Crepuscular/Drawing Dusk/La Hora Crepuscular. Active in the literary community, Julieta is a member of the Steering Committee of the Historical Novel Society New York City Chapter, and divides her time between Portugal and the United States. Her continued success in writing and publishing can help aspiring writers learn what it takes to achieve success as an author.

 

 

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to "get to know you" a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your 'backstory' and how you got started?

 

Major challenges can be springboards for incredible opportunities. When I got divorced in my early sixties, I decided to take a leap of faith and become a writer. At conferences when people tell me they are in their forties or fifties and, maybe, too old to start writing, I tell them how I did it.

I am now a multi-award-winning novelist with my debut novel, Eleonora and Joseph. Passion, Tragedy, and Revolution in the Age of Enlightenment. Before, I wrote two collections of short stories — On the Way to Red Square and The Rogue and Other Portuguese Stories — that I still love.

Age was never a consideration for me as I embarked on a new life. Never. In Europe, women value their golden years.

 

 

Can you share the most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career?

 

My journey as a writer isn't just one big story; it's a tapestry woven from countless threads. It's fundamental to have people listen to you and pay careful attention to your words on the page. I had such an opportunity when I took a creative writing course at the Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. An instructor there, a writer herself, changed the course of my life: Robbie Murphy. I am eternally grateful to her, and I mean it. She often said I was a born storyteller and, somehow, I believed her. I am thrilled I listened; some people don't have the capacity to listen to others. Isn't that sad?

 

 

What was the biggest challenge you faced in your journey to becoming a writer? How did you overcome it? Can you share a story about that that other aspiring writers can learn from?

 

Oh yes! I have some advice here: start listening to yourself, mainly to yourself. Later, incorporate other people's guidance.

Gradually, I liberated myself from those in my past who neither acknowledged me or my endeavors. I only kept those who affirmed my worth. This interior movement was like decluttering a closet. I am not sure this was entirely a conscious decision on my part, but, looking back, it now feels as if I was watching a movie about my own transformation. My biggest challenge in writing was (and still is) the solitude the process brings. But, I love it, no complaints whatsoever. I love the many friends I have but, above all, I am my best company.

 

 

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

 

I write historical fiction, a genre that requires the effective use of history and fiction. I come from the academic world — I was previously a university professor — and I needed to learn to incorporate facts into fiction. Once, in a writing group in New York — and without realizing it — I had named twenty-two historical figures in one single chapter. When a colleague mentioned this, I broke out laughing. I wrote the piece, but I hadn't realized what I had done!

 

 

In your opinion, were you a "natural born writer" or did you develop that aptitude later on? Can you explain what you mean?

 

There are no "natural born writers." You might have an aptitude with words, but that's all. You need to work at your craft, understand what you are dealing with, go deeper into the genre you choose. It takes time, but you learn to live with the waiting, the uncertainty. The challenge is to find the time, or make time, to do what you enjoy most. It seems like a contradiction, doesn't it?

 

 

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

 

My next novel is set in Constantinople in the late 18th century. I like to create settings that I know nothing (or very little) about, before I start writing. I get inspired by a country or a particular ambience and then I need to create a plot and figure out the characters and how they interact with one another. So, you need diligence, to visit those locations with an open mind, and place the materials you gather in context. Starting a new book is like falling in love, I like it!

 

 

Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience, what are the "5 Things You Need To Be A Successful Author or Writer"? Please share a story or example for each.

 

A. JOY. There is nothing like waking up in the morning, when it's a sunny day and you have had your breakfast, and then you have the whole day to write. Nothing beats that in the whole wide world!

 

B. PLAY. Writing is like playing, many times I find myself smiling, or even laughing, at what I say on the page. It's totally unexpected, even for me. Therefore, I'm forever surprising myself.

 

C. PERSEVERENCE. Stay with the many challenges that writing entails, but make each and every one of them smaller than you. You are in charge; the challenges are just that…obstacles you must overcome. As an example, break a chapter into scenes, start with the scenes; later you might place one of those scenes in a different chapter.

 

D. DISCIPLINE. I plan my day carefully. I free my time for writing, nothing is more important than that. But then I need to use that time wisely, not lose it. Writing is imagining, it involves daydreaming, so it is easy to lose your objective. I usually write in the morning and run my errands in the afternoon. If there is sunshine when I start, so much the better. Light, sunlight, is very important to me.

 

E. CRAFT. For each genre, there are thousands and thousands of writers who came before you. It's obviously impossible to read them all. I've spent countless hours in a charming bookstore, Politics and Prose, in Washington DC. When I started writing, I browsed those shelves on craft like a maniac. I would only go to a library if I knew exactly what I was looking for.

 

 

What is the one habit you believe contributed the most to you becoming a great writer? (i.e. perseverance, discipline, play, craft study). Can you share a story or example?

 

JOY, undoubtedly. I love what I do, despite the challenges. So, I decided a long time ago to live with those challenges: puzzles in my mind that I am yet unable to solve and that I want to put down on the page. One thing is a draft — the other is a finished product, something you like and are, somehow, proud of. Joy requires courage, that silent quality. To give an example: I visited Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) recently, and a garden I was dying to see — a garden constructed in the 18th century — wasn't there anymore. Isn't it crazy to get into a plane, fly to another continent, and expect to see a garden that was done centuries ago? Well, that's exactly what I did. So, the solution is to read about that garden — the little there is about it, if anything — and then to imagine how it was when it was originally created. Use your imagination, enter a make-believe world, and put those thoughts on the page. There is a name for this: it's called writing fiction.

 

 

Which literature do you draw inspiration from? Why?

 

Believe it or not, I draw inspiration from movies more than literature. Movies are very entertaining — and they are similar to fiction in many ways, including having plots. In addition, movies give me the opportunity to deal with images, not words. I like that after a day of writing and researching. This might be the reason why readers say my writing is very cinematic.

 

 

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

 

This is a difficult question: to give the most amount of good, to the most amount of people. May I break this into a smaller scale issue? How about looking at those near us with care, attentive eyes, and generosity? If we all, each one of us, did just that — if somehow, we could diminish malice is this world, something that, unfortunately, a lot of mankind thrives on — wouldn't that be enough? We also need to diminish anger and pain, but malice is the starting point.

 

 

 

How can our readers further follow your work online?

 

Website: https://www.julietaalmeidarodriguesauthor.com/

 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/julietaalmrodrigues/

 

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Eleonora-and-Joseph-109825241444963

 

Thank you so much for this. It was very inspiring!

 

 

https://medium.com/authority-magazine/julieta-almeida-rodrigues-on-the-5-things-you-need-to-be-a-successful-author-or-writer-52f6b3186060