Writer’s Desk with Amy Lynn Green
We’re so excited to have Amy Lynn Green featured on this week’s writer’s desk. Amy Lynn Green is a lifelong lover of books, history, and library cards. She worked in publishing for six years before writing her first historical fiction novel, based on the WWII homefront of Minnesota, the state where she lives, works, and survives long winters. She has taught classes on marketing at writer’s conferences and regularly encourages established and aspiring authors in their publication journeys. If she had lived in the 1940s, you would have found her writing long letters to friends and family, listening to jazz music, daydreaming about creating an original radio drama, and drinking copious amounts of non-rationed tea. (Actually, these things are fairly accurate for her modern life as well.) Be sure to stick around until the end of the post for more about her most recent release plus a chance to win a copy!
Q&A with Amy Lynn Green
Do you have a writing routine? When/Where do you write?
My “routine” basically involves plunking down on a couch (I prefer that to a desk) and getting as many words in as I can in the time I have. I’m learning to use the little chunks of time rather than waiting for the perfect four-hour completely free window of opportunity with nothing else on my mind except unbridled creativity. Because, sure, those times happen occasionally, but not enough to get a whole book written.
When are you most productive?
I’m a…morning person. (Waits for people to throw tomatoes.) Really, though, I can write reasonably well at most times, except that after 10 PM, my mind typically turns to mush and anything I put on the page will need to be cut out later.
What do you snack on or drink while writing?
Harney and Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea! I’m not much of a snacker while writing but will reward myself afterward with chocolate or pull-and-peel cherry Twizzlers (really sophisticated, I know).
How do you overcome writer’s block?
A writer friend asked me about this recently, while struggling with feeling unexcited about her story. Here’s what I told her: When I feel creatively dry or uninterested in a story I was once excited about, first I try writing a scene from later in the story, rather than where I “left off.” Maybe one that’s easier, or more exciting, or that contains an emotion I’m feeling at the moment. If that doesn’t work, I talk about my story with someone, which often generates excitement and even new ideas since I’m a verbal processer. Prayer is also a huge part of this whole process. God doesn’t always magically imbue me with motivation, but there’s a lot of peace that comes in setting aside fear of failure, asking for help, and then saying, “You know, whatever happens with this story, I want to be faithful.”
What is your outlining process? Are you a pantser/plotter or something in between?
I love that every writer has a totally different writing process. Mine is not one I could ever teach a class on. It’s minimally-managed chaos. I’m like a pajama pantser–you didn’t think outlining could get any more casual, but HERE I AM. For example, I write scenes out of order, sometimes just in dialogue first, adding the descriptions later. Sometimes I leave scolding notes for myself in the margin about what’s wrong so I can fix it later instead of obsessing over it in the moment. And maybe 1-2 minor characters survive the first draft without their names being changed. Occasionally I think I know the ending, but by the time I get there, I am never right. Never. Let’s just say that I do a lot of editing after that messy first draft is done.
Best advice for someone who is just starting out.
Read in your favorite genre and in a wide variety of other genres and styles. Write without tying your hopes and dreams to what happens to that particular manuscript, knowing the process itself is the best teaching tool out there. Enjoy the learning and growing in your craft and always look for new opportunities to do so (even in areas like marketing or the publishing industry). Encourage other writers—living from a mindset of abundance instead of scarcity will make you a better writer and a better person.
Quickfire questions — what are you currently:
Binge-watching: The Great British Baking Show (the accents! the cakes! the impossibly adorable and talented contestants doing what they’re passionate about!)
Reading:
Fiction: The White Rose Resists by Amanda Barratt and Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
Nonfiction: Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund (soooo good!) and A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
Favorite song right now: “Three Birds in Babylon” by The Gray Havens
Current Starbucks pick: I don’t actually like coffee (gasp! I know), so hot cider or hot chocolate are my go-to.
Enter to win 1 in 5 copies of Things We Didn’t Say*
Be sure to catch the video interview with Amy Lynn Green HERE, and be sure to join Avid Readers of Christian Fiction group so you don’t miss any of our other fun author LIVE chats coming up!
More about Things We Didn’t Say:
Headstrong Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student at the University of Minnesota, has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind there. But the US Army wants her to work as a translator at a nearby camp for German POWs.
Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy town exploding with hostility. Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they’re not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance.
As Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their letters home, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community, especially when charismatic German spokesman Stefan Werner begins to show interest in Johanna and her work. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred—and it’s no longer clear whom she can trust.
Amazon | Kindle | IndieBound
I love reading about other writers’ methods of writing! Can’t wait to read Amy’s “book baby” 😉
Love connecting with authors! Bonus that she’s from Minnesota, the great state I call home.
Would love to read this book!
I am shocked! Flabbergasted! Amazed! Just yesterday I posted my review for Amy’s book and went on and on about how intricate her plotting must be. Lol! I don’t know how you plot casually, but she sure pulled it off. Terrific read. One of the best of my year. I read on my Kindle, but I’d love to have a hard copy. Keep writing, Amy. I’ll be looking for the next one. P.S.–I live about 20 miles out of Duluth on the Wisconsin side and I’ve been working on a Wisconsin POW camp story, which is what drew me to your book. Crazy, huh?
Hi Naomi! I will tell you that it involved a LOT of re-writing! And I do think it’s a bit easier to rearrange plot elements in an epistolary novel than in any other format. I’m so delighted you enjoyed it, and that you’re working on a POW story yourself. So exciting!
So excited to be able to sign up for the drawing of Amy’s book baby!! Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
Can’t wait to read this book! Amy has always been so kind. Her instagram posts show such a cute funny side of her. I like her videos of how a cover is chosen! Great interview!
I definitely want to read this book!
This sounds like a great book. I checked out Amy’s Facebook page and her sense of humor reminds me of my daughter’s. I’m going to visit her page more often! Hope the launch of your book baby goes well. ~Robyn
I’m really interested in the interment camps in the USA during WWII, so I’m really excited to read this book and learn more about them!
This cover is so good!
Hi Amy! Congratulations on your book release! I’m looking forward to reading it soon.
Captivating, memorable and meaningful novel which is a real treasure. Books about WW11 are unforgettable and profound. Thanks for this great feature and giveaway.
Hi Amy and Tricia! I enjoyed learning more about Amy. I’ve been fascinated with this book since I first heard it was epistolary. I can’t wait to read it.
So excited read Lady Amy’s debut novel. Her posts & emails with BHP are always fun & fascinating learning the process. And, it’s based during WWII?! Yes, please!! Thanks for sharing the interview! 🥰📚
Sounds like a good book.
I definitely have this on my wish list. Congratulations Amy.
Hello. Thank you for the chance to win your book. Looking forward to hearing more from you in your newsletter.
Hello Amy Lynn! Your book sounds wonderful. I love historical fiction, especially set during WWll. Thanks for the chance!
thank you for the chance to win
Amy, Congratulations on your epistolary debut! I’m so excited for you!
This sounds like an interesting book.
A brave protagonist, a fascinating time period for the setting, and an intriguing plot add up to a must-read book!
Sounds like a great book
Love these books.
Great interview, can’t wait to read both of your books!
You don’t like coffee? Whaaaat? LOL I like mine with a lot of cream and flavoring.
Such amazing interview ❤❤❤
Enjoyed reading it….
Thank you
Hello Amy from Colorado Spring, CO.
I love the Great British Baking Show also! The novel sounds like a great read.
Hi Amy, your book sounds like a delightful read and I look forward to reading it!
Great interview – very real & realistic… someone you could sit and chat with! Can’t wait to read the book!
This book sounds so very interesting. I remembered how surprised I was to learn of the camps here in the Midwest. Thanks for the interview and giveaway!
Hello and thank you for the interview!
Can’t wait to read your book, Amy!! And don’t feel ashamed or anything–I don’t like coffee either! 😀
Hey Amy, Congrats on your first book, it sounds great! Love the interview. 🙂
Can’t wait to read!
So looking forward to reading this book, sounds so very interesting.
This looks like a very dynamic book. I’d love to read it!
Hello Amy!
I am going to start reading your book tonight. I can’t wait after reading some of the great reviews. I love Melissa Tagg’s review! I am following you on FB, and Instagram too.
This book looks so good! Thanks for sharing more about it.
Congratulations on your book baby :). Thanks for sharing – I’m quite sure I would greatly enjoy it!
Would love to read your book baby! That is so exciting.
Hi! I love reading and enjoy new books and new authors. I can’t wait to read this one.
I’m familiar with Amy Green through her work at her publisher. I have to say that this book is all over social media and I’m dying to read it! I love the style of writing similar to Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster and Katherine Reay’s Dear Mr. Knightly.
I’ve been following the launch of this book since I first heard that it was being published, and although I don’t get to read them often, I enjoy epistolary novels. I’m really looking forward to reading this one!
This sounds like a wonderful book. I absolutely LOVE the picture of you and your husband with your book baby!
I’d love if someone bought me this for Christmas!
I really enjoyed your interview and learning about the author’s writing process. Everyone writes differently, but the key is to find what works for them!
Thank you for this opportunity to win a book and it is international too (I live in Canada). I love hearing your podcasts on new and other authors. Keep on keeping on!!
Sounds like a great book!
I have been wanting this book. It sounds like an interesting story.
Hi Amy, this sounds so exciting! Thanks for the chance to read it!
Congrats Amy on the new book!
Hi Amy, I love the sound of your book! I am reading so many great books about wars, Jews, and Germans this year! The Book of Lost Names is the one I’m on right now. Your book sounds just like what I need next.
This looks like a really good book!
Hello! Looking forward to reading Amy’s book! It sounds so good!
This sounds like such a great read! Congrats on your book Amy Lynn.
Hi, Amy–do you enjoy settling down with a cozy warm beverage and reading during the holidays?
Congrats on the new book….exciting!
Amy,
I loved reading about you and about your new “baby”! The subject of your book intrigues me. I am 71 years old, and I recall that when I was young and my family was once driving from my hometown in NE Arkansas to Memphis, TN when one of the adults in the car pointed and said see that area back off to the right. That is where there used to be a prison camp for captured German soldiers from WWII. I don’t recall whether they said they arrived while the war was going on, or maybe just after victory was declared. I always found it fascinating. At the time I first heard about it, you could see the remnant of what looked like a stockade, but over time it just disappeared. I was young, so I never considered trying to learn more about it and about its impact on the locals. This was a farming area, prisoners no doubt also became workers on the farms in the area, or at least there around the camp. I look forward to reading your book, and perhaps trying to see what information may still be available on the camp that was near my home town. I doubt many folks remain alive who would have first-hand information to share, but maybe somewhere there is something written up about it. [My own father served during WWII, but he saw combat on the other side of the world, in the Pacific Theatre.]
Best of luck with your book. May it be the first of many!
Sincerely,
Mary Lee Cunningham
Hi Amy, your new book sounds great. Would love to read it.