'it Helped To Feel Like You're Not Alone.' The Five Friends Who Wrote Their Books Together At Little Dom's - Beritaja

Writing a caller is simply a lonely endeavor, 1 that requires thousands of hours successful quiet solitude. Or truthful I utilized to believe. In the years aft the pandemic, I started gathering pinch 4 different writers — Jade Chang, Angela Flournoy, Aja Gabel and Xuan Juliana Wang — for regular activity sessions astatine Little Dom’s, the cozy Italian American edifice connected Hillhurst Avenue successful Los Feliz. We sat cloistered successful a area booth and adhered to the Pomodoro method, expanding the accustomed 25 minutes of activity to 40, pinch breaks successful betwixt to talk, complete elephantine meatballs successful marinara sauce, fried potatoes pinch ail and lemon, food lettuce Italian tuna salad. What did we talk about successful those breaks? Seldomly about our book projects — but everything else, from the superior to the frivolous. The constituent wasn’t to stock pages aliases shop chapters. All of america had published 1 book and were penning our sophomore manuscripts. The point, simply, was being together, base witnesser to each other’s lives, week by week, arsenic women and arsenic friends.

This fall, 3 from our group person caller novels out: Jade Chang’s “What a Time to Be Alive”; Angela Flournoy’s “The Wilderness”; and Aja Gabel’s “Lightbreakers.” We met up for lunch, nary laptops this time, to bespeak connected the years since we began gathering for “poms.”

Jean Chen Ho: So, really did we commencement penning together astatine Little Dom’s?

Jade Chang: I deliberation that we started pinch only moving together occasionally. And I consciousness for illustration location was a small skepticism. But past group liked it …

Aja Gabel: I was very skeptical. I ne'er worked pinch different writers before.

Jade Chang, left, wears a vintage tuxedo garment and civilization pants; Angela Flournoy, center, wears a vintage vest, Melody Ehsani earrings and vintage civilization bracelets and rings; Aja Gabel, right, wears an Ali Golden dress.

Xuan Juliana Wang: The pomodoros helped.

AG: Yeah, mounting the timer. I had an agency that I paid for, and past I would sometimes spell to meet up pinch you guys astatine Little Dom’s, and I started to recognize I would get much done successful a shorter magnitude of time, pinch you guys. Usually if I effort to activity pinch someone, I would conscionable talk and talk and talk and talk and talk, beryllium wholly distracted. But because everybody was really focused connected their novels …

Angela Flournoy: I mean, it’s very difficult to constitute a 2nd book. So it helped to consciousness for illustration you’re not alone. I besides deliberation that for me, I put speech my skepticism because I had been inside, a lot, talking to a kid each day. I needed to beryllium outside, talking to adults.

JCH: How acold on was everyone connected their book projects earlier the poms and co-working started?

AF: When I started moving pinch you guys, successful January of 2022, I was moving connected my memoir. I gave myself until June, past I sold the book by August. And past the 2nd twelvemonth of poms, 2023, was each novel. I hadn’t really worked connected it since 2019. It was dormant because I was taking attraction of a child.

JC: I knew what I wanted to write, I knew really I wanted to constitute it, but I hadn’t really recovered the sound yet for this novel. I had a batch of notes, pages and pages.

AG: When I really started penning pinch you all, I had a draught but was like, “God, you request to hole this.” This was for illustration the 5th aliases sixth draft. I did the full last draught pinch you guys, which was benignant of a page-one rewrite. I conscionable started astatine the opening and rewrote everything again. I pulled immoderate worldly from erstwhile drafts.

“The sheer pleasance of making up stories about group while sitting location pinch different group who are truthful bully astatine making up stories is conscionable truthful fun.”

XJW: I was astatine a spot wherever I couldn’t constitute anything. Sometimes it was conscionable having that group time, forcing yourself to constitute thing down. After the pandemic, and aft having kids, it was for illustration I forgot who I was and really to beryllium — and past it took the poms, 30 minutes astatine a time, to retrieve who I was again, a writer.

AF: That’s beautiful.

AG: I had been penning and rewriting this caller since I sold it successful 2020. I felt for illustration I mightiness not decorativeness it. But I deliberation seeing really wished you guys were to decorativeness reminded maine that that’s the mode you person to beryllium in.

JC: Oh, no. Is our closest balanced for illustration being a tally club?

JCH: Ew! No —

AF: Absolutely not.

JC: I thought tally clubs are about, like, not being competitive, and everyone finishing? I mean, the past point I would ever do is subordinate a tally club, truthful truly, I don’t really know.

AG: When we did poms, I would person to travel pinch a scheme because we only had the 40-minute chunk, truthful I was like, “I’m gonna do this segment today.” And erstwhile I’m alone, I deliberation I would conscionable beryllium like, “What’s my emotion today?” And past it would return 8 hours, and I would get the aforesaid scene. At a definite point, erstwhile you’re penning a novel, you conscionable request to decorativeness it. You can’t conscionable feel your measurement through.

“I mean, it’s very difficult to constitute a 2nd book. So it helped to consciousness for illustration you’re not alone.”

AF: I consciousness for illustration location was a infinitesimal Jade started cracking the whip a small spot astatine work. We started having timed breaks. Before that, the magnitude of the breaks successful betwixt moving was purely based connected vibes!

AG: Who was successful complaint of making the poms longer?

AF: Did they utilized to beryllium 30 minutes? 25? That wasn’t capable time.

JCH: Well, I person to opportunity it’s very inspiring arsenic the personification who hasn’t vanished their novel to spot each of you guys get there, and now your books are each coming retired this fall. Can you talk about really it feels to not only person written these books together, but to beryllium successful the aforesaid publication season?

JC: It’s truthful overmuch fun! What a weird astonishment and treat. When I published the first book, I only knew 1 different personification who had ever written a book. I didn’t cognize immoderate different writers. I hadn’t gotten an MFA. I didn’t person friends wherever you get the behind-the-scenes communicative of really the book was written.

AG: Yeah, because we were location erstwhile the worldly was made, you know? When I had the first book out, location were group that I would spot who came retired astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic me, and I was like, they must person done thing amended than me. But each of america were together erstwhile this worldly was each getting cooked. I cognize we each worked hard. Are you and Julie going to travel retired successful the aforesaid season?

JCH: I dream so!

AG: Is our publication affecting you guys?

JC: Yeah, person you been nervous?

JCH: Oh, it’s truthful overmuch nosy erstwhile it’s not happening to you. None of the anxiety.

XJW: Yeah, it’s way much fun!

JC: Really?

XJW: It makes maine consciousness for illustration it is imaginable for maine to decorativeness penning the 2nd book. Watching you 3 do it, it wasn’t for illustration I sewage the spark and I conscionable abruptly rushed the extremity of this book. It takes time.

“This was a organization of friends that, moreover if I hadn’t vanished my 2nd book, I would still beryllium really grateful for.”

JC: No, it’s a slog for everybody.

JCH: We would ever talk very organically about problems that we’re having successful our books that we wanted to solve, but it ever felt for illustration we were conscionable gathering up arsenic friends. And we met up truthful overmuch extracurricular of doing pomodoros too. A batch of times we would spell consecutive to happy hr aft writing, aliases we would eat meal together, aliases we would go to literate events together. There’s truthful overmuch we cognize about each other, for illustration having to return attraction of kids, family stuff, trying to get jobs, dating, moving connected screenplays, going connected transportation meetings aliases each of the different things that travel up. Being a writer is conscionable a mini portion of the full picture, to me, of our very rich | and very nourishing friendship.

XJW: One point you guys taught me, which I wouldn’t person learned extracurricular of this, was erstwhile Jean sewage her page proofs back, you were really having nosy doing your page proofs astatine pomodoros. I ever thought page proofs were axenic torture. And past you guys were making it truthful fun, successful a bully mood. That’s the past portion of editing the book earlier it comes out, you’re not expected to deliberation of it arsenic the worst chore ever. When we were moving together, I was ever successful a bully mood. I’m going to get done this chore. And then, you know, person a drink.

JC: Oh, yes, having treats successful immoderate measurement is good.

JCH: How did we commencement making Little Dom’s our main penning office? Because we started astatine Alcove, and we tried different places.

AF: On the weekends Julie brought her kids there, I brought excavation there. So it wasn’t for illustration we were conscionable location during weekdays, working. And conscionable talking to the group who activity there, Danny, Laura, Noah, Emily. And besides ever being, like, if you request maine to move, show maine to get the f— retired of here. Not being entitled to the space. Because, I mean, we should admit that it’s not what you’re expected to beryllium doing, opening your laptop astatine a restaurant!

AG: I deliberation they were charmed by the truth that we were each friends, too.

JCH: OK, past question. What has been your favourite portion of this pomodoro penning acquisition and being successful this group?

JC: The sheer pleasance of making up stories about group while sitting location pinch different group who are truthful bully astatine making up stories is conscionable truthful fun.

AG: This was the first friend group that I had successful L.A. That’s really important. Some group don’t person that, a group of friends that they could bent retired pinch regularly. Like, I person a batch of friends, present and there. But this was a organization of friends that, moreover if I hadn’t vanished my 2nd book, I would still beryllium really grateful for.

AF: I deliberation the point that made maine recognize really overmuch nosy pomodoros felt for illustration is erstwhile I had to really hide to decorativeness the book. I was like, oh, this is hell! I wrote truthful galore thousands of words, but I’m conscionable unsocial astatine home, making my backmost hurt, hunched complete my desk. But I conscionable needed to spell a small feral.

XJW: I consciousness for illustration I couldn’t person imagined different measurement to reemerge into the world, aft the pandemic. Everything was there, relationship and mom proposal and making Friday nighttime plans, and we could riff disconnected of each different and talk about everything. All my favourite things. Even if thing other was going well, I had this space.