Behind the Writer's Words - an Interview with Todd Diakow

When Tyndale Publishers showed interest in the first four chapters of Nicole Baart's novel, she turned to Todd Diakow, a former colleague, to help critique her work.

Todd says, "It’s a great honor for me. I feel incredibly privileged to be able to be trusted by someone to give them my thoughts and impressions on their very first words."

Todd & Nicole met when both of them were teaching senior high Language Arts at the same school in Abbotsford. They became writing partners - challenging each others literary skills. When Nicole moved to Iowa and was given the opportunity to pursue publication with Tyndale, she turned to Todd for critique comments.

This was the beginning of a unique collaboration that has spanned six novels and a roller coaster ride of hashing out plot progression, character development, and writing style.

Nicole says, "I would be hopelessly lost without Todd! He is my sounding board and confidante, and the only person who can tell me the unvarnished truth and not break my heart in the process. I’m secure in the knowledge that he genuinely loves my writing and that he wants to help me be a better writer. I value his opinion above all others. 


As for expectations, I only have one: I expect him to tell me the truth. Beyond that, I just hope that he wants to continue being my first draft editor and critique partner! And that he tempers his truth telling with the occasional ego boost. Everyone needs to hear what they’ve done well from time to time."

Todd agrees, "I’m always conscious to be completely open and honest with Nicole. As a writer you’re pouring your heart and soul into a piece of work and it really becomes an extension of you. It’s hard to hear criticism and yet, that’s the most effective thing you can hear.

My role is to give her a first response in relation to plot development, character development and story consistency. I don’t have to spend time with the grammatical sentence structure. Nicole is an incredibly gifted writer. It’s never those kind of things I have to concentrate on. I get to focus on the content, the literary elements, and the effectiveness of the story as it’s unfolding.

Because we work together during the first draft, chapter by chapter, for Nicole to open herself up to critique and criticism while the writing process is under way, is a testament to her as a writer. It’s a very vulnerable thing but extremely necessary. It makes you question, in a positive way, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. It also builds confidence in what you’re doing.

Doris: What do you enjoy most about first draft editing?

Todd: It's an opportunity to see a work in progress, and be able to discuss literature with an author at a time when the creative juices are flowing and decisions are being made as to what the final page will look like.

Doris: This is a tough process because you are making comments chapter by chapter without seeing the end. What are the pros and cons of this?

Todd: I think one of the pros for Nicole is that she gets to keep me in the dark so I’m reading the novel as if I were a first reader. In most cases I don’t even know how the novel is going to unfold until I see it. The challenge is that because it takes about 4 -6 months for her to write a novel, I might have forgotten something that happened earlier or she may have changed part of her earlier draft that I wouldn’t be aware of. So it makes for some interesting conversations.

Doris: Do you withhold comments until you’ve read the whole book?

Todd: I let it all hang out. We’ve got such a trusting relationship at this point that if there’s something I’ve responded to that she doesn’t like, she can take it or leave it. We don’t have to dance around each other about what’s to come. I speak to it as I see it, and sometimes that influences where she’s going to go and sometimes that doesn’t. Ultimately Nicole makes the decisions, and I always trust her decisions.

Over the years we’ve become more and more comfortable with each other. Because I’m a writer myself I know that the ego can be easily wounded. With Nicole's first novels I might have been a bit more cautious about how I said things. Now, I’m very forthright. When I really believe something, I fight for it. What’s really interesting is when we have a full blown discussion about what her intention is and what my perception is. Getting her to defend her own choices also strengthens her own position and her own decisions in how the story develops and how character is revealed.

Doris: Define what you do as first draft editor.

Todd: My purpose is to comment on whether or not there is fluidity to the writing, consistency to the writing, and an authentic tone. I comment on the plausibility, the believeability of the characters and the stories.

Doris: Can you be objective in your observations of plot, character and overall theme if you get caught up in the story itself?

Todd: When that happens that’s always the best part because it’s a clear indication that Nicole’s being effective. One of the things I’ll comment on is when it’s not working for me…when the flow is not there. Every writer wants to create a scenario in which the reader is completely engrossed in the story and becomes a part of the story. Nicole has the ability to create that experience for the reader.

Doris: What are Nicole’s strengths as a writer? Have you seen her mature in the time you’ve been working together?

Todd: One of her early reviewers referred to her work as poetry and prose. I think that’s one of her greatest strengths. She’s able to make language come alive. It’s difficult to carry a story for 250 pages let alone a character that is vibrant and alive throughout a trilogy. I’ve seen that develop in her. The aspect of writing that I’ve seen her hone more than anything else, is its literary quality. She’s moving from escapist fiction towards interpretive fiction.

Doris: Can you explain that distinction?

Todd: Escapist fiction is a story purely for entertainment value. When you get into interpretive fiction, there’s something more to the story than just what’s on the surface. There’s a development of technique and symbolism. There might be multiple layers to a plot and conflict as well as characters.
The Moment Between is an example of that. In this novel, Nicole utilized point of view to develop a complexity of story that went beyond the basic plot.

Doris: What unique qualities does Nicole have as a writer?

Todd: I think particularly within Christian fiction, she’s able to bridge a gap between her Christian audience and her secular audience. She writes in a way that will attract a wide reader base for a multiplicity of reasons. Her characters have real life struggles and real life challenges. And they’re presented in a way that is not trite. She makes people feel that they can relate her characters and trust that her characters won’t do something unrealistic. They could walk off the page into your life and you would feel like you know them.

To do that in a way that presents values and morals and beliefs is a great challenge and I think that she is able to do that extremely effectively. I think that that is a unique quality and it takes a great deal of skill and ability to be able to bridge that gap.


Within the Christian readers community, it’s not very common to have someone as young as Nicole is, to be as successful and prolific as she is. She's balancing family and career and faith - it blows my mind with how much she is able to do in a given time frame. Her discipline is unbelievable.

Doris: Any weaknesses in her writing?

Todd: It’s easy for any writer to sometimes become so captivated by the character’s and stories that they loose touch with whether or not it’s real. Nicole has become far more confident with her characters and her stories, truly trusting her own insights and intuitions.

You have to understand, I’ve seen three other novels that have nothing to do with the Julia trilogy. And I've seen Nicole’s ability to diversify her characters and ability to capture people in so many different ways. There’s much more to come.

Doris: What do you see for Nicole's future as she moves to a new publishing house?

Todd: Simon & Schuster will expand her reader base. I think that’s great because it will push Nicole to continue developing some of the more literary and artistic skills that she’s incorporated in the last three or four novels. I’m excited that there will be more people who will be exposed to an outstanding writer.

Doris: Do you foresee any problems with your collaborative relationship?

Todd: The worst thing that could happen is that Nicole will actually start listening to me.


Are any of you still listening to Todd? 


Do you think critique partners are important? 




What is the most helpful advice you have been given about your writing?

To read more about Nicole Baart's books or check out her blog go to www.nicolebaart.com.

Author Interviews - Nicole Baart discusses her latest novel and writing career.

Nicole Baart loves to write: in bed, in the shower, as she's making supper and occasionally at her computer. For any writer (like me) who has water-stained notes about story revelations that ONLY become crystal clear in the tub, you will understand Nicole's passion. The good news is that her passion for penning poignant and poetic prose looks like it will continue for a long time. She has four published novels with another two awaiting publication.

This is all heady stuff and something Nicole herself says is a "dream come true." Every (unpublished) writer dreams of being 'discovered.' And that's exactly what happened to Nicole. She had a penchant for writing fiction from the time she was young, with a number of unfinished novels gathering dust. All that suddenly changed after she moved from Canada to Iowa, and four chapters of her current work-in-progress found their way to Tyndale House Publishers. They wanted more.

   Nicole says: "It’s humbling for me to admit this, but when I started writing novels I didn’t really know what I was doing. I loved to read, and I was an English major in college, but I hadn’t taken any courses in novel writing or really even stopped to analyze what I believed were the elements of a successful novel. I guess I had something of a knack for it, but I didn’t have a good grasp of the craft of writing a novel. I have since spent countless hours reading books on craft, studying other novels, and trying to improve my writing by creating stronger characters, more interesting plots, and realistic, atmospheric settings."

   Those atmospheric settings really came to the fore in her latest book, Beneath the Night Tree. Though it's the third book in a trilogy, it can easily be read as a stand alone. As the main character, Julia, wanders out to the night tree for the first time, Nicole writes: 

   "The night tree was a haven. 

   Sometimes I prayed. But only sometimes. Mostly I just stood there and watched the sky spill moon silver on dark, graceful limbs as if the stars saw fit to anoint our little tree with light. It was a holy experience, wordless and beyond explanation, but I felt as if God was indeed there with me. Making the tree sparkle. Interceding for me when my heart couldn't speak. And every once in awhile, I felt like He whispered to me."

   

   Her first book, After the Leaves Fall, was the beginning of this trilogy that includes Summer Snow and the recently released, Beneath the Night Tree.

Of these books, the latter is my favorite. Using a mix of lyrical prose, haunting images, and vibrant dialogue, Nicole writes real-life characters dealing with the complexities of a blended family.

Nicole says, "Writing a novel is a bit of a roller coaster ride for me. I usually begin with a strong character or two, and a vague idea of what I want to happen to that person. But the book takes on a life of its own after page one. The characters begin to develop their own personalities--and their exploits rarely coincide with my first, fledgling ideas of what the novel should be. As for going back into Julia’s world, it was a joy. I relished finishing her story."

 These books center around Julia DeSmit,  who was abandoned by her mother at age nine and mourning her father’s death at age 16. Julia makes some bad choices that find her pregnant with a child the father doesn’t want. All these circumstances challenge Julia’s view of herself and God. In Beneath the Night Tree, Julia is living with her grandmother while trying to raise her five-year-old son and her 10-year-old half-brother.

Baart carefully crafts the characters so that the conflicts in the DeSmit family become part of a beautiful tapestry that knits them closer together.

  

Nicole says: "This was a really fun book for me to write because I was able to draw from my everyday life. My boys are 7, 4, and 6 months old right now, and some of Julia’s interactions with her son and younger brother were taken directly from experiences that I had with my own children. It was really meaningful for me to lay some of those emotions bare, and to explore the relationship between mother and son from a bit of a distance.

I think I make myself more vulnerable than I am often willing to admit. It’s easy to hide behind the characters, to assure others (and yourself) that the character feels this way or that--not me. But those emotions came from somewhere, and I usually don’t have to look far to discover where they took root."

  

 To me this trilogy was not only a journey of self-discovery for Julia but also a look at how God can redeem broken relationships and families and make them whole. Nicole did all this, with a touch of romance thrown in too. 

Nicole comments: "If Julia’s story is a romance, it’s a love story between her and God. She is definitely keeping her eyes open for earthly love, but I believe that she longs for it in many forms from parental to platonic and beyond. A bit of romance is the icing on the cake, not the main ingredient."

This trilogy is published by Tyndale, a Christian publishing house. It's a delight to see the way Nicole weaves God into the fabric of her fiction, all the while avoiding a common pitfall in this genre where unbelieving characters become dramatically saved. 

I asked Nicole, "How do you see God reflected in the lives of your characters? Do you think a Christian author can represent a false view of Christianity in fiction?"

"This is such a tough question to answer because everyone has different expectations. Some reviews have claimed that my Julia books are a “breath of fresh air,” and a beautifully subtle expression of the Christian journey. Others think the Julia stories lack Christian content and “water down” God. As far as I’m concerned, God’s fingerprints are all over this trilogy. From divine revelation through the changing of the seasons and Julia’s deep love for creation and her family, to outright references, I believe God is not only present but powerful in these books. I wanted so desperately to realistically portray the faith-life of a young woman who’s not going to be found on the short-list for sainthood, but who still wrestles with what it means to love the Lord. It’s a journey, and Julia may not be as far along that road as some may like her to be, but I do think that she’s a pretty honest representation of where many people (including myself) have found themselves in their faith walk. Her grandmother, Nellie, represents another stage in the journey--one that I think Julia is steadily approaching."

 There is a clear message of God's love that shines throughout Beneath the Night Tree and a strong analogy between God adopting us and Julia's adoption of her brother Simon.

I asked Nicole, who has an adopted son, "Why did you make adoption and belonging an integral part of this work?"

"I have such a heart for adoption. I love it. I can hardly think of the mystery of God weaving a family together through adoption without tearing up. So it was very natural for me to make adoption a huge part of this book. I believe we all want to belong--it speaks to our most basic human desire--and I let myself explore that deeply in this book. As for the psychology of belonging and adoption, I don’t know if a legal paper would make a child feel more loved. But I do believe that it communicates a certain commitment that is only possible when you make that sort of bold, permanent statement that only legality can provide. It’s like getting married versus living common-law. Marriage is serious business. It’s daring and public and countercultural. So is adoption. It says: I choose you. In front of God and all the world. Forever."

Beneath the Night Tree is a beautiful, moving piece of fiction that I highly recommend. To read more about Nicole's novels and check out her blog, go to www.nicolebaart.com

Get ready for another great interview on Friday as Nicole's first draft editor, Todd Diakow, discusses his role in working with Nicole on her novels.