Horses are majestic creatures, as Camp has learned over four decades in working with them, and learning from them. She is an award-winner for her short story, “The Roundup,” published in IDAHO Magazine, and has written numerous nonfiction pieces including a series of articles in Natural Horse Magazine.
She is also the author of In It for the Horses, available through links at the bottom of this page.
Do you have a writing routine? Where and when do you write?
I write at my computer in a small, crowded, and cluttered room that doubles as an office and art studio, whenever inspiration strikes. While I’ve read numerous helpful tips on establishing routines, the demands of animal care and gardening often dictate my morning activities, so I simply write when time allows.
Do you have any patterns or rituals associated with your writing time?
I plan the content of scenes to satisfy my need to “tell” before bringing them to life. And I like to have my dog, Alvin, by my side, but that’s up to him.
What do you do when you hit a wall with your writing?
I manage roadblocks by switching hats and moving between different pieces, allowing my subconscious to work through challenges. When all else fails, a piece of really good chocolate and a steaming hot cup of tea or coffee will see me through.
Do you plan your book in advance (plotting and outlining) or are you a “discovery writer” (AKA “writing into the dark”)? Or are you somewhere in between?
This question makes me laugh. While I don’t have clinical OCD, my drive to organize is so overwhelming it feels pathological. I admit, I’m a planner at heart, unable to see the world from any other perspective. While the early phases of constructing a story this way feel like a slow grind, having a solid plot outline down the line turns the writing process into a rewarding puzzle, where all the parts are carefully connected to build a unified whole.
What’s the last book you read that made you go “wow!”?
(Fiction) Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. The narrative is humorous and touching, delving into subjects that were important during its historical era and continue to resonate today.
(Nonfiction) Still Life at Eighty: The Next Interesting Thing by Abigail Thomas.
What book or author do you find yourself recommending and why?
Jasper Fforde, especially his Tuesday Next series. His work is clever and funny and filled with puns and literary references. The characters can move in and out of the pages of books and the Cheshire Cat is in charge of the world’s master library.
What’s on your To Be Read pile?
Of, gheez. I don’t even know where to start. Since I’m getting ready to start a new book, I’ll share that title. Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin.
What advice do you have for readers?
For me, books are a form of travel. Who knows what new places you’ll visit or what knowledge you’ll gain, so my suggestion is to be daring and step outside the genres you know and love.
What author, past or present, would you wish to have a long conversation with? Why?
To be perfectly frank, I’ve never considered talking with an author, so I draw a complete blank on this question. While I admire certain writers, none seem readily accessible to me. If I could indulge a fantasy, I’d love to converse with various authors on diverse subjects. David Sedaris on humor, Jessica Brody on story structure, Mary Cole on character development, Jordan Rosefeld about writing scenes…
Do you have early memories of reading or writing you’d like to share?
One of my earliest memories is of my mom teaching me to recite rhymes from “Poems of Early Childhood,” the first volume in the fourteen-book Childcraft series. Her strategy was to distract me from refusing to eat by getting me to move my mouth, creating an opening to sneak food inside! Reading was a shared activity for us throughout many meals. The poem “The Sugar Plum Tree” remains a most cherished, and I still have the very book that holds it.
The Halloween tradition my dad and I enjoyed together stands out as another significant reading memory for me. As soon as I returned home from a night of trick-or-treating and admired my cache of candy, I’d snuggle next to Dad on the living room couch. His voice boomed with power and drama as he read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” My mind’s eye painted a vibrant scene of Ichabod Crane’s desperate escape from the headless horseman on a dark, moonlit night, long before any film depicted it.
What books and/or authors have most influenced you as an author?
Because I studied art history, I developed a skill for detailed documentation and learned the importance of precise language. The Illustrated Man, a work by Ray Bradbury, amazed me with the breadth and array of its narratives. When I became interested in storytelling, I was fortunate to hear Jessica Brody, author of Save the Cat Writes a Novel, say, “Not all good writers are good story tellers.” That statement sparked an ongoing exploration into the art of writing.
What do you most enjoy about being a writer? What do least enjoy about being a writer?
I love the challenge of building a well-constructed narrative, carefully deciding when and how to impart information to maintain reader interest and clarity.
What would you tell a new writer?
Study the craft and learn to write in scenes. Don’t let writing become a drudgery. Enjoy.
