PEN Center USA

There has been much talk in the past month or so, within the Mark Program, about interiority of character. In my struggle with this, I've performed some writing exercises meant to unearth my own emotional experiences, which are useful for developing character. This is not to say that my characters are now more autobiographical, only that, in giving the writing access to my real emotions and personal experiences, I've better served the characters on the page.

We had our mid-project review yesterday. After two weeks of worrying about what the panel would make of our rewrites, the moment of truth arrived. It was much less horrible than I thought it was going to be, which is usually the case with me anyway.

The Mark: Give us a small synopsis of the project you are working on.
Monica Carter: I am working on a novel about a famous and aging closeted lesbian writer living in 1930s Manhattan, who attempts to recapture the passion and honesty of her young days as a writer. Determined to write a truthful novel about two women who love each other, she alienates her longtime lover and her agent while falling in love with a younger woman who wants her success.