IWU is delighted to feature another Idaho Author Interview. And our timing is especially perfect because her debut feminist fantasy novel is out this week (see bottom of page).
Meet Sarah Jane Michal, and learn about the Thomas Edison Method.
Do you have a writing routine? Where and when do you write?
My writing routine usually starts with a long drive or a good song to get my brain working. After that I write the scenes that are most clear or I’m most excited about.
My favorite place to write is in my sunny office with a candle burning or tucked into the corner of my favorite coffee shop where I can simultaneously write and people-watch.
Do you have any patterns or rituals associated with your writing time?
I spend an absurd amount of time finding the perfect candle- something that grounds me but also keeps my head clear. And when I find that perfect song that matches the energy of the scene I’m writing, I’ll pop in my earbuds (to spare my family’s sanity) and put it on repeat until the scene or chapter is finished. Getting lost in that energy is what helps me shape my writing to what I want my readers to feel.
What do you do when you hit a wall with your writing?
I employ the Thomas Edison method and stop thinking.
Thomas Edison used the twilight zone between wakefulness and sleep to solve tough problems. He would sit in a chair and doze off while holding steel ball bearings in his hands over metal plates. As he drifted into sleep, his hands would relax, dropping the balls and jolting him awake so he could capture the creative, unstructured ideas his subconscious just formed.
I allow my mind to wander just on the brink of sleep, also called the hypnagogic state, and all my best creative ideas float to the surface. I’m still awake enough to write it down or remember it later.
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?
I’m part plotter, part pantser. I have a general ideal of where I want my story to go, but when I sit down to write, I’m open to any direction it ends up taking. I wanted my FMC and MMC to be end game so bad but they would not cooperate and it ended up working out so well with them hating each other that it prompted my sequel.
What’s the last book you read that made you go “wow!”?
I think probably When The Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker.
She has a “fate-herder” which is a beast that appears when one of her characters needs to literally be guided in a specific direction— and I just could not get over the creative workaround for not having a good segue to the next story beat. What a cheating genius.
What book or author do you find yourself recommending and why?
The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley is a story that leaves you thinking “wtfffff did I just read” but in the best, most grotesquely hilarious way. It’s also a short story so if you’re in a reading slump, it’s easy to tackle.
And I have no one to talk about it with so if you read it based on this suggestion, please find me so we can guffaw over it.
What’s on your To Be Read pile?
What’s NOT on my TBR? I’m sitting in front of my very full book shelf that I stock on thrifted impulse so I’ll just go down the list: Heartwood by Amity Grace, Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, and my husband is bingeing Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman so I’ll probably end up reading those, as well.
What advice do you have for readers?
Slow, intentional reading is just as valid as reading 100+ books in one calendar year. If you remember every single detail of a book because you lived in it for a few weeks, that’s just as good as lightly experiencing a dozen stories in the same time frame.
What author, past or present, would you wish to have a long conversation with? Why?
I’m not, like, a big celebrity person. I don’t have any authors I would want to have a long conversation with. But I would love to find out if there were any story tellers in my line of ancestors.
Do you have early memories of reading or writing you’d like to share?
Yes, I remember writing basically what amounted to fanfic when I was 9 years old. I wrote it, sitting in the car on a summer Saturday morning, while my mom drove from yard sale to yard sale. It was a mashup of Aladdin and Lion King.
What books and/or authors have most influenced you as an author?
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill, Weyward by Emilia Hart, and The Red Tent by Anita Diamont all showed me how to write strong female leads and deep connections to self.
What do you most enjoy about being a writer? What do you enjoy least about being a writer?
I love a good gush-session about books, but when it’s my own? I’m on heaven’s doorstep. I love sharing the depth of characters I couldn’t fit on the page. I love explaining how ideas were dropped into my mind and then connected through some worldly lore and what it felt like to discover the connection. I love hearing what my readers took from the story or how it impacted them on a personal level.
I hate imposter syndrome and its sneaky venom that taints even the most joyous moments.
What would you tell a new writer?
READ. Read as much as you can. Read to discover how you want to write, read to discover how you don’t want to write. Read to understand story and meet-cutes and tropes and loop-holes. READ.
Find Sara Jane online
Her book is available at
- Barnes & Noble
- Bookshop.org
- Amazon
- …or ask your favorite local independent bookstore to order it 🙂
