How Laura Blackett & Eve Gleichman Sit Down & Write
'The Very Nice Box' is a surprising blend of romance, thriller, and satire that you won't want to put down.
Ava Simon designs storage boxes for STÄDA, a slick Brooklyn-based furniture company. She’s hard-working, obsessive, and heartbroken from a tragedy that killed her girlfriend and upended her life. It’s been years since she’s let anyone in.
But when Ava’s new boss—the young and magnetic Mat Putnam—offers Ava a ride home one afternoon, an unlikely relationship blossoms. Ava remembers how rewarding it can be to open up—and, despite her instincts, she becomes enamored. But Mat isn’t who he claims to be, and the romance takes a sharp turn.
The Very Nice Box is a funny, suspenseful debut—with a shocking twist. It’s at once a send-up of male entitlement and a big-hearted account of grief, friendship, and trust.
The Very Nice Box is perfect for fans of Elinor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and Severance by Ling Ma.
We spoke with Laura and Eve about writing a book together, blending many genres to create something totally unique, and what books they read to be inspired while writing The Very Nice Box.
Q: Where do you like to write the most?
LB: I write at home. When I’m just getting started I like to sit at a table or desk, but as things progress I move to a comfy chair. I’m not the kind of person who can write outside or at cafes-- I get too distracted.
EG: I am the opposite. Home is the hardest place for me to write, because I can always drum up chores to do instead of writing. If I’m not home, I’m less neurotic about my surroundings, and I can turn my attention fully to writing. It’s especially good if I feel like I’m getting away with the writing---doing it after hours in the office, for instance.
Q: When do you like to write the most?
LB: I like to write in the early morning, because I feel like I’m stealing the time. I also want to make it worth my while, to have gotten up early. I’m sure it also has something to do with an uncluttered mind, but I basically have to trick myself into starting.
EG: Likewise, morning is best. After lunch, it’s diminishing returns.
Q: When it comes to drafting, do you prefer writing on a computer or freehand?
LB: I enjoy the physicality of writing by hand, but I prefer the computer. I feel like my thoughts move too quickly to get them down by hand. It also feels like it lowers the stakes because I can delete in bulk! I think I usually write and delete the first sentence several times before I find my way in.
EG: I love the delete button. It’s hard for me to move on from a sentence if it’s not perfect, which makes me a terrible candidate for longhand. Also, I got into the bad habit when I was younger of writing in all-caps. Not a good look.
Q: Are you more of a plotter or pantser?
LB: This is an interesting question for Eve and me! I think my answer is that we’re a little bit of both. We had to come together to outline the story roughly, but there was so much we came up with in the spur of the moment, as we each wrote our chapters. It was like we were on a road trip, and we knew what town we were going to but not the exit number.
EG: I agree. I am a hard-core plotter in all areas of my life NOT related to writing. So the spontaneity that went into this book was absolutely thrilling. Without it, we would have had too tight a grip on the plot, which doesn’t lead anywhere interesting in my experience. We were nicely anchored by our plans, but not beholden to them.
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?
LB: I have to clean the apartment. And I prefer to sit in a spot where I can see the entire room and admire how put-together it is.
EG: This conundrum is precisely why I avoid writing at home! I’m not going to hop over the cafe’s counter to clean their espresso machine, but I will polish the teapot in my kitchen for 25 minutes before I start writing, and while I’m doing that, I’ll come up with 45 other cleaning-related tasks. Once I leave my house, I’m so much freer. As long as I’ve had a cup of tea, I’m ready to go.
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?
LB: After I find a good rhythm, I can listen to ambient music. I find it hard to listen to music with lyrics.
EG: I have only one email subscription, and it’s to Flow State which every day or so sends out music conducive to working, often instrumental. My favorite band to write to is Explosions in the Sky, but I’m always ready to try something new.
Q: Some writers believe you have to write every single day. Is that true of your process? How often do you write/how long for each session?
LB: I really would like to write creatively every day, but the truth is, I don’t. I’m still trying to find a consistent practice. That said, one thing I really enjoyed about our collaboration was that we got to take breaks and give ourselves some room to breathe. I think that’s crucial from an editing standpoint, taking breaks from the work. Eve and I did text almost daily about the book while we were writing it-- random thoughts and ideas and stories that we wanted to tie into the work in some way. Maybe that is a form of writing, too.
EG: I don’t write every day, and my writing is undisciplined. Sometimes I can write a short story or chapter from start to finish in one sitting. Those sprints tend to result in stronger writing. Sometimes I will exchange two-paragraph short stories every day for a month with my friend Molly Dektar (an incredible novelist). I love that practice, and it’s amazing the creative mileage you can get from just two paragraphs.
Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give an aspiring author?
LB: Try to be flexible-- with your plan, your process, and your expectations of yourself.
EG: That is such great advice. I’d add: let your characters surprise you. See if you can loosen your grip on what they get up to.
Q: Where do you normally find story inspiration?
LB: In the strange, funny, or aggravating interactions between people. But on a really tiny scale. Eve and I actually came up with a term we use for it: “Small crimes.” These are moments where someone is so focused on their own self interest that they steamroll past a mundane social boundary. Offenses that are individually forgivable, but collectively maddening. For example, you’re invited to a barbecue and the host asks you to bring the grill.
EG: Right. Or you make a plan with someone in their neighborhood, and they’re fifteen minutes late to meet you, even though you’ve made the schlep. I also would say that dialogue really sticks with me. If I hear a funny conversation on the train, I’ll write it down. People tend to talk past one another, and I like to imitate that in fiction. That’s often the starting point of a short story for me.
Q: What was the writing process like with the two of you working on the novel?
LB: It was very fun! When we started, we knew a little bit about the characters, but we didn’t know much about the plot. We had some rough ideas about the shape of the story, and we just had to get comfortable with seeing where the plot would take us. We alternated writing chapters by passing a Google Doc back and forth, building off each others’ ideas.
EG: I loved receiving Laura’s chapters. I’d stop whatever I was doing, sit down, and read the chapter. I loved seeing where Laura stuck to our plan, and where she veered off-course. It was all so exciting. Then I’d edit her chapter, and write my own, and let her know it was ready for her eyes. She’d read it, edit it, and write the next one. Eventually, we’d hit a point where we’d have to regroup, plan the next few chapters, and start writing again. Sort of like pulling on the cord of a lawnmower.
Q: The Very Nice Box was such a surprising blend of romance, thriller, and satire. It's like nothing we've read before. What made you want to mix these elements and how did that play into your writing process?
LB: I feel really proud to have created something that has a unique footprint. We didn’t plan for the satire, but it came naturally after we decided to set the novel at the kind of contemporary office space that we see more and more of in the world and represented in pop culture. One that is abundant with perks, obsessed with team spirit, and that seems to be competing with rival companies on the basis of ‘culture.’ We had a lot of fun putting Ava, an introvert, in such a bizarre and extroverted culture. I would say that for me, deciding to lean into the satire made the writing process feel a little more buoyant and fun. I laughed out loud a lot.
EG: Right, initially we had set out to write suspense. We had this grieving, closed-off, private main character, Ava. And when we thought about who/what could rub up against her and create some drama on the page, we dreamed up Mat, and we dreamed up STÄDA. With Mat came the romance, and with STÄDA came the satire.
Q: In The Very Nice Box, we get to see a complex and nuanced look at how someone handles grief. In Ava's case to really compartmentalize it, how did that play into the metaphor of 'the very nice box,' which is the passion project Ava is working on throughout the story?
LB: We weren’t intentionally writing toward that metaphor, but after taking a step back I can appreciate the symmetry of it! Ava is highly skilled, both in her efforts to design the perfect storage box and to create a safe, albeit lonely, routine for herself after a horrible tragedy. At first glance, the Very Nice Box is a simple object: “six large uniform sides assembled with pegs and hinges,” but it’s not, really. It’s a simple representation of a complex group of decisions: the hinge design, the closure mechanism, the size, material, and finish. There’s a lot you have to shut out to arrive at minimalism. The same could be said about Ava’s life and routine.
EG: Right. We wanted to treat the Very Nice Box as a real object, as opposed to a symbol. And there was something deeply endearing to me about a person who designs storage boxes, and who unironically loves doing it. She’s not bored by the work; on the contrary, it’s essentially all she can think about. But yes: one can imagine how someone like Ava, who is managing a great deal of grief, might find comfort in dark compartments and closed spaces.
Q: Along with the themes of love and grief, The Very Nice Box also really tackles corporate culture, as well as toxic masculinity. What made you want to explore those themes alongside love and grief?
LB: We tried to think of the people and environments that would challenge Ava the most, because we thought that would be fun and tense and interesting, and a way into her character development.
EG: Yes, it all comes back to character. What kind of person would get under Ava’s skin? It was obvious: someone like Mat, a golden boy who moves through life easily, floating on the winds of white male entitlement. And when we observed Mat’s charisma and ease, we thought, “If this is true, what else is true about him?” and that led us to understand his character and story more fully. It was also simply a blast to describe that toxic masculinity and entitlement from Ava’s perspective. She’s outraged by it, but she also wants some of it for herself. I think that’s what draws her to Mat.
Q: Throughout reading The Very Nice Box it became clear that this book can't fit into a box, if you will. It's such a unique story that can't easily be labeled. How would you categorize it?
LB: It’s suspense dressed up as a rom-com.
EG: And as soon as you try to categorize it, you find that you’re missing a side. I like that about it.
Q: What books did you read while writing The Very Nice Box that inspired you?
EG: Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt, Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed, and Sakaya Murata’s Convenience Store Woman come to mind. The Price of Salt is wonderfully suspenseful and romantic. Milk Fed throws two very unlikely people together, romantically. And Convenience Store Woman is a fantastically strange and beautiful portrait of orderliness and stubbornness. I think we see some of that in Ava.
LB: We were also reading subway ads, infuriating texts from my landlord, dating profiles, online personality quizzes, company memos, and articles about scams.
Grab your copy of The Very Nice Box from bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound. Enjoy!
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