Interview with Barbara Hall

judgingamy.tripod.com - August 30, 2000

Q: Thanks for doing the interview! When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?

A: I honestly can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a writer. I didn't realize I was crazy enough to try to make a living that way until I was in college.

Q: What was the first story you ever wrote?

A: My sister and I wrote stories about the Osmond Brothers all through elementary school and junior high. I did some truly horrible writing in high school and published some of it in teen magazines. The first legitimate story I ever wrote and published was in college. It was called "Co'Cola" and was about two disillusioned housewives living in a trailer park in Virginia.

Q: What do you love most about being a writer? What is your least favorite aspect of the profession?

A: What I love most about being a writer is writing. My least favorite aspect of it is anything else--primarily, the politics involved, particularly in writing for television.

Q: What do you enjoy most about writing young adult fiction? Do you feel it gives you more freedom?

A: I haven't written a young adult novel in a while, but I do remember enjoying the freedom of it. There is a purity to writing for young adults because they are only interested in being told a good story with recognizable characters. They aren't aware of political statements or symbolism. Writing for young adults keeps the writer honest, I think. And I loved getting letters from kids.

Q: What are some of the books you're reading now?

A: I am currently re-reading "Mrs. Dalloway" by Virginia Woolf. I like to go back and read the classics because they remind me of why I wanted to do this in the first place. It's refreshing to read anything that predates Writing Workshop Fiction. I also enjoy reading non-fiction, particularly philosophy. I am currently reading a book on the spirituality of Jung. A firm understanding of the Archetypes is helpful for any writer. I try to read something from the Tao every day, and I always keep Rumi nearby.

Q: When do you find time to write, given the fact that you're one of the Executive Producers of "Judging Amy?"

A: I tend to write fiction at night, after my daughter has gone to bed and the house is relatively quiet. I also write during hiatus, during vacations, whenever I can steal some time.

Q: Is "Vincent's" experience based on your real life experiences as a writer?

A: Yes. I felt it would be interesting to delve into an aspect of writing we don't often see depicted on television. It's been fun to dramatize the way that people encroach on a writer's time, simply because it doesn't look like work. Writers who don't have an office to go to (and even the ones who do) constantly have to defend their profession and convince people that writing is work.

Q: How do you overcome writer's block?

A: You just keep writing. In television, you don't have the luxury of writer's block because every eight days we are going to shoot something, come hell or high water. As a novelist, I remind myself that my job is to finish. Writer's block comes from the internal critic, which is a voice none of us can afford to entertain for long. I don't believe that writing is rewriting. Writing is writing--a creative process. Rewriting is rewriting--an editorial process. Both important, but not the same thing. They don't happen simultaneously.

Q: Are you in the process of writing your next book?

A: Oh, yes.

Q: In "A Summons to New Orleans," where does history end and fiction start?

A: A timeless question.

Q: Are the characters in the book easily recognizable?

A: No. The three women are based on different aspects of my personality, and the main character is not the rape victim.

Q: What led you to write this book? How long did it take you to write?

A: I wanted to write about the rape and I didn't feel qualified to write a nonfiction account, for several reasons. One is that I didn't have enough distance or perspective. Another is that I didn't feel qualified to reach any definite conclusions about my experience. I only felt qualified to tell this story as a novelist. A novelist's job is to ask the questions, not provide the answers.

Q: What did you find to be the most difficult and challenging aspects of writing the book?

A: Describing the details of the rape. Not because it was so painful, but because I had told the story so many times. I was exhausted by it. Ultimately, I ended up referring to the transcripts from my trial and just typing it, as if I were a court reporter. Then I went back and changed some details to make it more interesting. Court transcripts aren't terribly riveting until they are edited.

Q: Is there any part of the book that you wish you could re-write?

A: Not really.

Q: What are some of the things you want your readers to take from "A Summons to New Orleans?"

A: It would be great if people could engage in a discussion about rape, how it is handled in our society, why women bear the burden of solving this problem, how we can ease that burden. Ultimately, however, I feel that the writer is the least qualified person to say what's in the novel and what should be taken out of it. I really believer that the reader brings meaning to the experience.

Q: What has been the response of readers to date?

A: I have heard from a lot of women who've had a similar experience. I am always surprised at how many women have had this experience and haven't been able to talk about it. And it makes me angry that they have had to suffer in silence. I don't understand why we have to bear that burden.

Q: What do you think causes this violence in society?

A: I don't feel qualified to answer that. I don't know why it happens. But I do feel that one of the reasons it happens so often is that, under current conditions, rape in this country is barely illegal. There is still only a 15 percent report rate. I've been told the conviction rate is something like ten percent. DA's are reluctant to file cases where alcohol or drugs were involved, which makes it difficult to prosecute any case involving high school or college students. There are so many flaws in the system, so many ways that rape victims are let down. Something has to change.

Q: Why do you think rape victims feel guilty?

A: Because there is always a residual feeling that the victim participated in the crime. And because there is often so much focus on the victim's behavior. If you're held up at the ATM, no one asks you what you were wearing at the time.

Q: Have you participated in Take Back the Night rallies?

A: No.

Q: Do you think women should protect themselves against rape, assault and murder by using guns in self-defense?

A: Absolutely not. I think the justice system should protect women against rape by prosecuting rapists.

Q: Do you have faith in our legal system, lawyers, judges, jurors?

A: That depends on the crime and the state in which it occurs. I think there are many, many problems to be worked out where rape is concerned, and some states are better than others. On paper, the rape laws are fairly sound. That is to say, a convicted rapist will get a severe sentence. The problem is that so many cases are not filed.

Q: What punishment should be administered to chronic sex offenders?

A: This will sound odd, but I don't think that chronic sex offenders are the problem. That is to say, people who are on record as being chronic offenders. The problem is with the chronic offenders who are never caught or convicted.

Q: What are your thoughts on redemption, forgiveness, and capital punishment?

A: I believe there is a Higher Power who is very, very good at forgiveness, so I try not to take that job away from Her. I work on acceptance, which is as close as I can get. I am strongly opposed to violence on all levels. I abhor the death penalty.

Q: Were you interested in a legal drama because of your experience?

A: I was already interested in the legal system and had produced two pilots about that subject before Judging Amy. I was more interested in JA because of the issues of single-motherhood, extended families, and women in positions of authority. I was also very happy to write about the juvenile court system, as I've always been interested in the problems and the rights (or lack thereof) of young adults, our most overlooked minority.

Q: "Vincent" was shot and nearly killed in an episode of "Judging Amy." Did you and your family go through a similar healing process?

A: I tried to get into the area of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Vincent's brush with violence. So, yes, some of those issues did come through. I struggled with PTSD for at least a year after the attack.

Q: What emotions did you go through?

A: All of them. And then some. A few hours after the attack, I was thinking of suicide. A few hours after that, I was thinking of how ecstatic I was to be alive. It went that way for a while--these erratic moods, from one extreme to the other. I had panic attacks, particularly at night. I couldn't be in crowded places. Couldn't see movies. Had trouble swallowing food. Could only sleep with the light on. I cried incessantly. And whenever someone asked how I was doing, I said, "Fine." I spent months in therapy learning how to say, "Not fine."

Q: How did that affect your faith in God?

A: For reasons I find difficult to explain, I became much more spiritual after the rape.

Q: Are you stronger than you thought you would be?

A: Yes. And I am also surprised at how strong I was required to be.

Q: What advice would you give to rape victims?

A: Take care of yourself. Ask for help. Look in the mirror every morning and say, "You did nothing wrong."


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