I’m thrilled to introduce you to Allison Larkin. I love this interview and all that she shares on her process. Especially “driving around on Google maps” to research her latest book. Her third book, Home of the American Circus*, is out now. It was chosen as a Book of the Month selection for the month of May and was included in the Today Show’s Spring Favorites Box. What an amazing way to launch a book!
If you haven’t joined Book of the Month yet you can use this code and get your first box (with Allison’s book) for $5! What an amazing way to launch a book! I got my copy and I can’t wait to dive in!
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm the author of three novels written as Allie Larkin, and two as Allison Larkin. I'm originally from New York, but live in the Bay Area in California with my husband and our two rescue dogs. I also have a podcast with my friend Alice Carbone Tench called Now That We Think About It, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Substack, and Audiobrary!
Do you have any writing rituals? Do you write from the same physical location, start your time with a walk, light a candle, listen to certain music?
I like to write with my legs up. I've never been good at focusing when my feet are on the floor. I always thought this was a quirk, but it turns out it's POTS. Having my legs up keeps the blood flowing to my brain!
On this note, are you a panster, plotter, or planster?
I generally have some ideas of things that need to happen in a story and I try to capture those big moments so I can build the story around it. At some points I'm writing with outlined ideas, but some of the ideas the outline are very well fleshed out, and some are vague.
Usually a book starts for me as a question -- what would happen if this character encountered these circumstances?
When I envision what it must look like when a writer starts writing all I can think is that you sit down at the computer, a blank document open, and the story just pours out of you.
Is this how it happens? How do you actually start writing? Do you always work on the computer or write with pen and paper? Tell me everything.
Usually a book starts for me as a question -- what would happen if this character encountered these circumstances? And then for a long time--sometimes years--I collect ideas around that. It can be very specific dialogue that happens between two characters, a flash of an emotional moment, or just an overall sense of the feeling the book has. I spend a lot of time building up all the elements in my mind until I can see it all clearly like a movie, and then my writing process is piecing together what comes in clearly, and creating what I haven't seen yet. I'm basically translating the movie in my mind into words, and if I can't get the words right, I have to go back and build the characters, setting and situations with more clarity. I write in a program called Scrivener, which allows me to create scenes that I can move around easily, so I don't have to write anything in order. Often ideas grow from the center, not the beginning, which allows me to think about the balance of the story, and the way a simple moment can ripple through the entire book.
And even though I grew up in the town where the book takes place, I spent a lot of time driving around on Google Maps, and looking at photos of the area to get the feelings of being there back into my brain.
When do ideas come to you and where do you keep them until you are ready to use them? Do you have a dedicated notebook? Do you utilize the notes app in your phone?
I try to get everything organized in Scrivener as much as possible, but I also have post-its and scribbled notes on the backs of envelopes, bills, napkins. I don't always need to see them again, the act of writing down the idea is important for securing it in my mind.
What resources do you turn to for inspiration and to learn about the craft of writing?
I was a huge reader as a child, and I think that set my sense of story at a young age. Usually when it comes to inspiration now, it's mostly about research for the characters and story. For Home of the American Circus, I did a ton of research on wood carving, child prodigies, home repairs, and Old Bet the Elephant. And even though I grew up in the town where the book takes place, I spent a lot of time driving around on Google Maps, and looking at photos of the area to get the feelings of being there back into my brain. I also make a playlist of song relevant to the book and listen to that a lot in the process of thinking about the book.
Last, but certainly not least, what are you reading right now?
Juliette Fay's novel, The Harvey Girls, which will be out in August! I'm such a huge fan of her writing!
Where can people find you. Instagram, Substack, website. Share it all so we can follow everything that you do!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allielarkinwrites
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@allielarkinwrites
Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/allielarkinwrites.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allielarkinwrites/
Website: https://allielarkinwrites.com
Substack:
*This is an affiliate link. I make a very tiny percentage if you purchase the book through this link. Thank you for considering!
Be sure to check out past editions of Writers on Writing.