ENGL 297 Interview

Professor Hinc Ethnography

Our research question surrounding your work is focused on what your writing
career entails as a professional writer. Were focused on the amount and quality
of writing your profession as a fiction writer entails, the nature of your writing, and
the process and approach to your writing.

Questions: To Kill the Other book on 9/11 hijacker perspective

-How long did it take you to write this book? Started in 2011.

Wrote two essay that are being published.

3 and a half years started in 2001. Wanted to publish it in Poland, translated to

English. Decided to write in English, fell in love with this language more than any
others. Speaks Polish, Russian, French.

Interviewed people/research, read all the books. Sometimes you cant learn
things from books. Interviewed people from Palestine, Israel, Egypt, etc. to
understand their culture. Needed someone that spoke Arabic. Needed to
interview someone from a part of Israel, someone helped for 2 years.

Wrote letter of recommendation professional in third person for a research

subject. Emailed back and forth, giving Arabic curses to her and felt bad he didnt
know she was a woman.

Writing one book about angels in the forest based on life of her grandfather in
WW2. thought about writing this book since she was 15 years old. Grandfather
captured and digging graves for Nazis. Ran away and ended up in psychiatric
hospital. Based on her friendship with him.

Working with Amy Hempill on short stories. Hinc put her novel to the side,
produced five short stories. Figured out novel plot for angels in the forest. Writing
short stories is more precise and not enough space to move around. Inspirations
for literary fiction from real life. Gathers inspiration from books.
Love so many writers, poets, fiction and non-fiction writers.

Read an author The days of abandonment

Never thought about writing non fiction. went to bennington college and everyone
in workshops wrote in non fiction. Wrote non fiction essay on trump. found
publisher LitHub.

Fiction writing seeing connections in the world that other people dont see.
People watching, writing stories watching people. Very much interested in people
and history and questions about why people are the way they are. Psychology.
Cant judge people.

Writing helps you understand and view the world through a lens.

Balances time and organizes professional writing profession teaching 4 classes,

being in school got her second masters Fine Arts in June 2016. First masters in
Philology (Linguistics) and teaching education. Dont edit writing too much. Trump
will be good for writers. Not an outliner person, it happens in her head.

Didnt initially want to write To kill the other

Literary Hub lithub.com

-What was the process involved in writing this book, and how much of it was
research vs. actually writing the story? Did you have to interview or contact
additional sources to write your story? Did you work with anyone as a team and
have deadlines?

Thinking about the hijackers who did it. Lots of research on muslim and middle
east. No credibility as a white woman to write about Muslim people. Watched it
live it was personal.

-hijackers were cowards so she felt she had a purpose to write this book to
introduce a perspective

-Tate published your book, how much of your writing process involved Tate
publishing?
Publishing: small publishing house in Oklahoma, Christian publisher. Second
publisher to approach. They folded, dont exist.

-Did you consider self-publishing? No.

-What are the steps throughout the process of writing: do you establish purpose
first or audience?

Process is strange and complicating. Once she starts she likes to finish it. Born a
writer. No greater pleasure than seeing a book published. Best to publish if you
can through a big publisher because they do everything and advertise it all.

-How aware did you have to be of your own writing voice and how much did it
shape or influence the way you wrote your book?

Dont about her writing voice, thinks about her character. She thinks about
perspective first or third person. First person might not be as credible she might
be lying. Third person is better because theres no bias but it doesnt have
personal insight. Writes in notebook. Process of writing is not linear. All about
organizing time.

Youve written for The Little Patuxent Review, The Muse, Litteraria, and The Word
Riot.

-The Little Patuxent Review is a collection of different kinds of writing such as

poems, fiction, and creative non fiction. Youve written for them so what kinds of
work have you submitted? Do you like constraint and guidelines on your writing or
do you enjoy an unthemed guideline?

Wrote for op-ed reflection essays, never wrote for news pieces.

Starbucks sits and listens to people in the background. Writes at her home on the
balcony.

Any advice for new fiction writers: you have to love it. Dont write everyday, but
think about it. Love reading. Dont ignore ideas, try to stay with the ideas until it
grows bigger than two pages. Literary fiction; need to like research and history
and people. Books are an essence of people.