Terri Cheney is a writer and memoirist best known, at the moment, for her tremendous book, MANIC: A MEMOIR.  I spoke with her last year in a podcast for PsychJourney and a Harper Collins interview with Terri was featured on our Afternoon Viewing segment recently.  She’s graciously agreed to expand what we know of her in this AuthorScoop exclusive.

We’d like to thank her for taking the time to be part of our “5 Minutes Alone” interview series.

AuthorScoop: What was your very first publication credit?

Terri: I had a poem published in the local newspaper, The Daily Report, when I was about 10 years old.  It was a very bad poem, I think, but my father was over the moon about it.  Thirty-seven years lapsed before my next credit.  In 2007, I submitted an essay about bipolar dating to the New York Times “Modern Love” column.  I was astonished when it was accepted for publication, and especially pleased that it ran the week before my first book, Manic: A Memoir, was released in 2008.  I’d made sure to mention my book in the essay, of course, so the publicity was terrific.

AuthorScoop: Tell us about your latest release.

Terri: Manic is about the disintegration of the careful facade I lived behind for most of my adult life.  On the outside, I looked very successful — I was an entertainment litigator, representing the likes of Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and motion picture studios.  In truth, however, I struggled with a raging case of bipolar disorder.  When I was manic, I was extremely productive, creative and energetic.  But when depression inevitably hit, I fell apart.  I couldn’t move, I couldn’t think.  If I absolutely had to go into the office, I hid out under my desk.  I told no one about my illness — not my friends, my family, my coworkers, no one.

Then in 1999, I was hospitalized after several suicide attempts.  After a few weeks went by, I realized that none of the patients (including me) were getting better, because we simply couldn’t express what was going on inside us.  There were clinical words, but they weren’t enough.  So I decided to write my own story, from the inside out:  to tell what bipolar disorder truly felt like, from the little hairs on my arms that quiver in mania, to the crushing weight of my body in depression.  I wrote disjointed pieces in my writing groups for the next 7 years.  By 2007, they finally coalesced into Manic.

After Manic’s surprising success, I received many emails, the most compelling of which were from parents of bipolar children, desperately seeking more info, answers, advice.  They moved me so deeply that I decided my next book, which I am hard at work on now, will be a childhood memoir about growing up bipolar.

AuthorScoop: Aside from your own hard work, who else do you feel has contributed to your success?

Terri: My father was instrumental in instilling the love of words in me.  When I was a little girl, he would read to me every morning (at ungodly early hours!).  He always loved to hear what I had written, and having a captive, spellbound audience is a surefire way to keep writing.  Also, I had a sixth grade teacher (thank you, Mrs. Martin, wherever you are) who set me free from classes to simply read and write whatever I liked.  Her faith in my talent stayed with me the rest of my life.

AuthorScoop: At what time of day or night do you do your best writing?

Terri: If possible, I like to go out of the house to write, in the morning or early afternoon.  I have a few favorite cafes around town, where I order a latte and a bite to eat, and they let me scribble away for hours.  I write on an old-fashioned legal pad, then later transcribe what I’ve written into the computer.  I feel this gives me two bites at the apple for editing.

AuthorScoop: Finally, what advice would you give to new or unpublished writers?

Terri: First, get in a writing group or class.  My two weekly groups have been essential to me.  They give me the discipline which I’m sure I would otherwise lack, to keep churning out pages week after week.  Also, it’s invaluable for me to get feedback, to realize that what I’m writing is not so far from the universal human experience — that other people can relate to it. Second, don’t let the daunting prospects of publication get in the way of your writing.  If you’re a true writer, you must write and you will write.  Worry about agents and publishers and polished manuscripts later, after you’ve written the very best book that you can.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 9:51 am and is filed under *Jamie's Posts, 5 Minutes Alone, AuthorScoop Exclusives, Interviews, The Writing Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.