How Jesse Q Sutanto Sits Down & Writes
'Dial A For Aunties' is the most fun you'll have reading this year.
When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—” Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream flowers.
But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?
Dial A for Aunties is perfect for fans of Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan, Weekend at Bernie’s, and Knives Out.
We got a chance to talk with Jesse Q Sutanto about why she longer has writing rituals, writing “garbage drafts,” and the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Dial A For Aunties.
Q: Where and when do you like to write the most?
Ha! I feel like I should have a proper answer for this...one that makes me look like A Professional Author, but the truth is, I currently write in the storage room. Yep, surrounded by boxes of diapers and toilet paper and an ugly metal ladder behind me. At some point, I hope to have a beautifully furnished office, but we've gotta make do with the space we have! I write first thing in the morning, as my mind isn't clouded by the chaos of the day yet.
Q: Are you more of a plotter or pantser?
I started out as a pantser, but am now a plotter. I try to be as detailed as I can be in my outlines, but I still discover a lot of new things as I write, so the writing process is still refreshing and fun for me.
Q: Stephen King has a great line in On Writing that says “the scariest moment is always right before you start. After that, things can only get better.” That scary pre-start moment often inspires procrastination in writers. Suddenly, you have to clean your entire house, do the laundry and play Candy Crush for an hour before you can actually start writing. Is there anything you need to do before you can actually sit down and work?
Oh, I used to have so many rituals before I could write! I had to have a hot drink and a snack and a candle and so on. But ever since I had kids, all of those rituals flew out the window. I just don't have the time anymore. It's been a blessing in disguise. Nowadays, I wake up, I go to my computer, spend five minutes reviewing my notes from the day before, and I start typing right away. I don't have the luxury of writing rituals anymore, and because of that, I've actually become more productive.
Q: Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what music? Is your choice of music inspired by the project you’re working on?
No. In fact, I find noise so distracting when I'm writing that I often write with earplugs in.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give a writer just starting out on their first draft?
This may sound flippant, but I'm being entirely serious when I say: "Aim low." I feel like perfectionism adds a whole layer of fear to an already stressful process, and what really helped me with writing fast is to lower my standards. I let myself write "garbage drafts," and yes, for the first few years, my first drafts were often terrible. But over time, I learned to write neater first drafts. Now, I can confidently churn out first drafts in under two months and know that while they're not perfect, they're also not trash fires. It's ended up saving me a lot more time than if I'd plodded along slowly because I was striving for perfection with the first draft.
Q: Dial A For Aunties has such a fun, unique premise. Where do you normally find your story inspiration?
This is a tricky question because I rarely get inspired now. I consciously think of what I want to write, then I work out what my favorite tropes are and try to mash them up together into an interesting hook. Dial A For Aunties, for example, was simply a combination of "accidental murder" + "meddlesome aunties."
Q: This is a story with plenty of twists and turns. Did any of them surprise you as you were writing Dial A For Aunties?
Yes! I didn't know before I started writing that the aunties would have these complicated relationships with each other, so that was a really fun surprise for me as I wrote the scenes. They just leapt to life as I wrote, and the dialogue flowed so smoothly, jumping from one snide remark to the next. It was the most fun I've ever had writing a book.
Q: This novel is filled with vibrant, memorable characters—the aunties most of all, of course. Did you have a favorite character to write?
Rather than a single character, I had four favorite characters! Whenever I hit a scene that didn't have the aunties, it felt like it was dragging so hard.
Q: Dial A For Aunties is headed to Netflix for an adaptation. Is there any particular part of your story you're most excited to see on screen?
What a fun question! I can't wait to see this huge, wonderful Asian cast of characters, and I'm SO excited about the Indonesian language being spoken in a big Netflix adaptation! It blows my mind that this will be the first time that an Indonesian story is being told by a non-Indonesian company. I still can't believe it.
Grab your copy of Dial A For Aunties from bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound. Enjoy!
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