Interview with Robbie Terman, Librarian

by Renee Uitto

This month we ask Robbie Terman, our librarian, about her love for writing.

What inspired you to become a novelist?

I've wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I got my first taste of what being published would be like in third grade. I'd written a 24-page story and unbeknownst to me, my mother typed it and gave it to my teacher, who then had it bound. When they presented it to me, I was hooked! The stories just kept coming.

What genres do you like to write?

I write mainly contemporary and historical romance. Liz Heiter and I co-wrote a young adult action/adventure also.

How did you find out about RWA? GDRWA?

I used to go on my favorite authors' websites all the time and nearly every one recommended RWA to aspiring writers. I looked up RWA on the web, and that led me to GDRWA.

Last month, Liz Heiter said in her interview that you have been writing partners since middle school. Tell us what the collaboration has been like? Do you sometimes write stories together?

The first project Liz and I worked on together was a 7th grade English class assignment for which we rewrote the end of Island of the Blue Dolphins. It must have gone well, because we've been writing together ever since! Sometime during college we developed different interests in genres and became mainly critique partners and support. Last year we rewrote a young adult novel that we actually originally wrote in high school. It was really fun to look back ten years and see how far our writing has come.

Do you go to school or work? Please explain.

Both, soon. I work as an office assistant/bookkeeper and in May I am starting graduate school for Library Information System.

What is your writing schedule like?

I write whenever I can find the time. Liz and I meet at Starbucks once a week, so I know I'll write at least a couple of hours.

Do you plot before writing your novels? Please explain.

I'm a plotter. I tried once to just sit down and write and it turned out a disaster. My word count was just all off. Now I do an outline and a ton of character sketches before I start. I do end up deviating some during the writing process, but at least I have a basis and I know where I'm headed.

What are some of the inspirations that you use for your writing? (i.e. music, candles, favorite books)

I write in lots of different places, so I only take with me what I can fit in my laptop case. I always have my story binder, which has my outline, character sketches, and pictures of what I imagine my characters to look like. Lately I've been taking The Romance Writer's Phrasebook. A lot of stuff in it is hilarious and ridiculous, but whenever I am stuck, just flipping through it usually gives me an idea.

Explain your responsibilities as librarian of GDRWA.

Mainly I haul around big, heavy boxes! When I took over as librarian, I did do an inventory and I updated our logs. I also reworked the logs to put them in a better order.

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