A Conversation with Belva Plain

A CONVERSATION WITH BELVA PLAIN

Q: In SIGHT OF THE STARS, you explore the drive to live the American dream and the clash that can result when members of the same family hold an equally powerful but different vision of success. Were you inspired by the lives of any real American dynasty? Or was the source of your inspiration something else?

I was not thinking of any dynasty, but rather about a family I once knew. There were three brothers, of whom not one resembled either of the others. Two were what is called "successful;" they made no enormously rare amount of money, but more than enough to enjoy some luxuries, such as a summer home in the Berkshires. The third brother was a teacher of American history. It was his wife, not he, whose envy—although not often expressed in so many words—was, unfortunately, fairly frequently displayed.

This scenario provided me with lively inspiration for a lively novel!

Q: The catalyst for the plot in the SIGHT OF THE STARS is the shattering of the relationship between Adam and his brother Leo. This ties into the quote from Joseph Conrad you use at the beginning and end of the book. Why do you think it is so hard for Adam to understand his brother's needs?

I am asked why it is so hard to understand a brother's needs. In this book, the trouble began in early childhood. Leo had defects and handicaps: his appearance, awkwardness, and related exclusion from the rites of childhood and of adolescent life. An active brother is too young to be patient with handicaps like these.

Adam moves on and upward. He is always kind to Leo, but it takes a long time, even years, for a busy, productive, young person who seems to grow wings, to acquire a true understanding for, or to be truly patient with, somebody who is so different from himself. The heart of the question, it seems to me, is ambition, ability, and above all, youth.

Q: 2003 marked the 25th anniversary of the publication of Evergreen. It remains among your most beloved books. What was it like when you were first told that it was going to be published? How is that different from today?

A: You know, I wrote Evergreen because I had to write it. I had no real idea that it might be published and that's the truth. I know how competitive the world is and I did not want to become the sad victim of false hopes.

So what was it like? I was in the kitchen, getting ready for supper, when the telephone rang and I learned that somebody wanted to publish Evergreen. It is hard to recall my feelings, because I was numb! Actually, I am joking: I was first numb and then of course elated. And while I am not surprised anymore to have, as I do this year, two books being published- one in paperback and one in hardcover-I am still elated and very very grateful for the good things that have happened.

Q:Tell readers a little bit about how you write. Do you have a routine? A preferred method? Perhaps a special place?

A: Unlike many people, writers, artists, or scientists, who do their best work while the world is asleep, I can scarcely think after ten o'clock. I am an early riser, though, and morning is my work time. That means almost every morning. I do have a special workroom where no one interrupts me except my dog, and she really doesn't interrupt because she sleeps under the desk.

Since I write in long-hand on a yellow pad-I do not use a computer because, first of all I'm not computer literate and second because I like to take time to think about what I am saying. This way, I can move around and in good weather, especially, I often do, taking my pen and notebook outdoors into the sun, or in the shade, wherever it is comfortable.

My dog comes, too.

Q: How do you become inspired with a new idea for a new novel? Is it always this way, or do your plots develop in different ways? What as the most unusual inspiration for one of your books?

A: I buy all my best ideas at Bloomingdale's! Seriously, this is a hard question.

I think it is as difficult for me to describe this process of inspiration as it would be for a composer to tell how a melody took shape in his/her head. For example, you can get the germ of an idea from an overheard conversation on a bus, or ... or anyplace, really. Someone tells me something; it stays in my head unprocessed, and then I take it through the many permutations, and, Voila!

I have an idea. My most unusual inspiration came when in New Orleans I visited a pre-Civil War house that had been built by an immigrant from Germany. He made and lost a fortune in that city. He piqued my curiosity and caused me to write Crescent City.

Q: Family, heritage, and history all play roles in your novels. Can you tell your readers why these themes, or subjects, recur for you?

A: History plays the greatest role in my books-past and current history, because the world is making history every day: in China, in Kosovo, in Pakistan, in Massachusetts, in Nebraska. I majored in history in college. I love to read it and am fascinated by it.

Growing up in a world-city like New York, one is surrounded by people from everywhere. At college there were both immigrants, and there were descendants of the Founders. Being, as I am, a third generation American, I fell between the extremes and found I could learn something from each of these groups.

That which most moves me is the courage that led our ancestors to cross that enormous ocean into the unknown.

Q: How has women's fiction changed since you began writing?

A: I think it is much more realistic. It deals with the "current history" that I mentioned above. It deals with family problems of every kind and it no longer requires a one-hundred-percent happy ending. So it is more mature than it used to be.

When I first started writing, women were really homebound. Now, we have many successful careers and a different approach to relationships. I think some of the more recent successful novels for women reflect this.

Unfortunately, much of women's fiction contains far more graphic and sexual content, as if to be adult one has to leave nothing to the imagination. I do prefer a more subtle approach.

Q: Do you have a favorite among your bestsellers? Why?

A: Naturally, I love all my books because I have given each all my best effort. But if I must answer, perhaps I will choose Random Winds because it is about a doctor, and my late husband was a doctor. He was not the model for the main character, but much about the ambitions, the struggles, the whole world of medicine, and most of all, the inspiration, I learned from observing him.

Q: Which authors are your favorites? Why?

A: My favorite authors are the classics, still fresh and true after a century and more. Anthony Trollope is especially marvelous, I think. His The Way We Live Now, which was published in 1875, is the way we live now, minus the automobiles, airplanes, and a few other things.

Q: What would you like to say to readers?

A: To my readers? First, I'd like to thank them again for their loyalty. Then I'd like them to bring my characters to life by discussing them, whether they agree with them or not. And perhaps, to learn something from their foibles.

Q: Any advice for the new generation trying to break into the business?

A: My advice to would-be writers? READ. Read the best there is and thereby learn. And keep trying. Writing isn't easy-it is very hard work, requiring a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Many colleges offer extension courses in writing. I think these are very helpful.