Jade Chung, Angela Flournoy and Aja Gabel in their new books

Writing a novel is a solitary endeavor, requiring thousands of hours of quiet solitude. Or so I believe. In the years after the pandemic, I began meeting with four other writers—Jade Chung, Angela Flournoy, Aja Gabel, and Xuan Juliana Wang—for regular work sessions at Little Dome, a cozy Italian-American restaurant on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz. We sat in a corner and followed the Pomodoro method, extending the usual 25 minutes to 40, with breaks in between talking, huge meatballs in marinara sauce, roasted potatoes with garlic and lemon, butter lettuce Italian tuna salad. What did we talk about during these breaks? Rarely about our book projects—but everything else, from the serious to the mundane. The point was not to share pages or workshop chapters. We all had a book published and were writing our sophomore manuscripts. The point, simply, was to be together, to witness each other’s lives, week after week, as women and friends.

This fall, our group has published three new novels: Jade Chang’s “How Long to Live”; Angela Flournoy’s “The Jungle”; and Aja Gabel’s “Light Breakers.” We met for lunch, no laptops this time, thinking about the years when we started meeting for “poms”.

Jean Chen Ho: So, how did we start writing together on Little Dom?

Jade Chang: I think we just started working together occasionally. And I feel like there was some doubt. But then people liked it…

Aja Gabel: I was very skeptical. I have never worked with other writers before.

Jade Chang, left, wearing a vintage tuxedo shirt and traditional pants; Angela Flournoy, center, wears a vintage vest, Melody Ehsan earrings and traditional vintage bracelets and rings; Aja Gabel, right, wears Ali’s golden dress.

Xuan Juliana Wang: Pomodoros helped.

AG: Yes, set the timer. I had an office that I paid for, and then I would sometimes go to see you in the little dome, and I began to realize that I could do a lot with you in a short time. Usually if I’m trying to work with someone, I’ll just talk, talk, talk, talk and talk, completely confused. But since everyone was really focused on their novels…

Angela Flournoy: I mean, writing a second book is really hard. So it helps to feel that you are not alone. I also think that for me, I got rid of my doubts because I was inside, pretty much, talking to a kid all day. I need to be outside, talk to adults.

JCH: How far along was everyone in their book projects before the poms and co started?

AF: When I started working with you, in January 2022, I was working on my memoir. I gave myself until June, then I sold the book in August. And then the second year of Poms, 2023, was all novel. I haven’t actually worked since 2019. It was inactive because I was taking care of a child.

JC: I knew what I wanted to write, I knew how I wanted to write it, but I still hadn’t found a voice for this novel. I had a lot of notes, pages and pages.

AG: When I actually started writing with you all, I had a draft but was like, “God, you need to fix this.” It was like the fifth or sixth draft. I did the whole final draft with you, which was kind of a one-page rewrite. I just started at the beginning and rewrote everything. I pulled a few things from previous drafts.

“It’s a lot of fun to sit down with other people who are great at making stories about people.”

XJW: I was in a place where I didn’t write anything. Sometimes it was just the appointed time, forcing myself to write everything down. After the pandemic, and after the kids were born, it was like I forgot who I was and how I was—and then it took me 30 minutes at a time to remember who I was again, a writer.

AF: It’s cool.

AG: I am writing and rewriting this novel when I sell it in 2020. I felt like I wouldn’t finish it. But I think seeing how determined you guys were to finish reminded me that this is the situation you have to be in.

JC: Oh, no. Is our closest equivalent like a run club?

JCH: Aww! no –

F: Absolutely not.

JC: I thought running clubs were about, like, not competing, and everyone finishing? I mean, the last thing I would do is join a run club, so really, I don’t really know.

AG: When we did Poms, I had to come up with a plan because we only had a 40-minute segment, so I was like, “I’m going to do this scene today.” And when I’m alone, I think I’ll be like, “How am I feeling today?” And then it would take eight hours, and I would get the same scene. At a certain point, when you write a novel, you need to finish it. You just can’t feeling your way

“I mean, writing a second book is really hard. So it helped to feel like you’re not alone.”

AF: I feel like there was a moment when Jade started to crack the roof a little bit at work. We started the time intervals. Before that, the length of the break between working out was based entirely on vibes!

AG: Who was responsible for making Poms taller?

AF: Did they use 30 minutes? 25? It wasn’t enough time.

JCH: Well, I have to say it’s very inspiring as someone who hasn’t finished his novel to see all of you guys get there, and now all of your books are coming out this fall. Can you talk about how it feels to not only have written these books together, but to be in the same publishing season?

JC: This is very exciting! What a wonderful surprise and treat. When I published my first book, I knew only one other person who had ever written a book. I don’t know the other writers. I didn’t get an MFA. I didn’t have friends where you get the behind-the-scenes story of how the book was written.

AG: Yeah, because we were there when the stuff was made, you know? When I published the first book, there were people I saw who came out at the same time as me, and I was like, they must have done something better than me. But we were all together when this stuff was cooked. I know we all worked hard. Will you and Julie come out on the same season?

JCH: i hope so!

AG: Does our show affect you?

JC: Hey, are you nervous?

JCH: Oh, it’s more fun when it’s not with you. No worries.

XJW: Yes, it is the way A lot of fun!

JC: Really?

XJW: It makes me feel like it is possible for me to finish writing the second book. Seeing the three of you doing this, it wasn’t like I got the spark and I accidentally finished this book. It takes time.

“It was a community of friends that even if I hadn’t finished my second book, I would still be truly grateful.”

JC: No, this is a slogan for everyone.

JCH: We always talked regularly about the problems we had in our books that we wanted to solve, but it always felt like we were just seen as friends. And we saw a lot more outside of Pomodoros. Often we would go to happy hour right after writing, or we would have dinner together, or we would go to literary meetings together. There’s so much we know about each other, like taking care of the kids, family stuff, trying to get a job, dating, working on a screenplay, going to pitch meetings or whatever else comes up. For me as a writer our very rich and very nourishing friendship is only a small part of the whole picture.

XJW: One thing you guys taught me, that I wouldn’t have learned outside of, when Jane got her page proofs back, is that you really enjoy doing your page proofs in Pomodoros. I always thought that page proof was pure torture. And then you guys were having so much fun in a good mood. This is the last part of editing the book before it is published, you should not think of it as the worst job. When we worked together, I was always in a good mood. I will get through this. And then, you know, drink.

JC: Yes, yes, it’s good to behave in any way.

JCH: How did we start making Little Dome our original writing office? Because we started in Alco, and we tried in other places.

AF: On weekends Julie brought her children there, she brought me there. So it wasn’t like we were just there on weekdays, working. And just talking to the people that work there, Danny, Laura, Noah, Emily. And also being permanent, like, if you need me to move, tell me to get out of here. Not giving the right of place. Because, I mean, we have to admit that’s not what you do, open your laptop in a restaurant!

AG: I think they liked the fact that we were all friends.

JCH: Okay, last question. What was your favorite part of this Pomodoro writing experience and in this group?

JC: It’s fun to sit down with other people who are great at making stories about people.

AG: It was the first group of friends I had in LA that really mattered. Some people don’t have that, a group of friends they can hang out with regularly. Like, I have a lot of friends here and there. But it was a community of friends that even if I hadn’t finished my second book, I would still be truly grateful.

AF: I think the thing I realized was how fun Pomodoros felt when I actually hid to finish the book. I was like, oh, this is hell! I’ve written thousands of words, but I’m home alone, my back hurts, hunched over my desk. But I need to go a little wild.

XJW: I feel like I couldn’t imagine any other way to re-emerge into the post-pandemic world. Everything was there, the friendship and the mom advice and the Friday night plans, and we could get away from each other and talk about anything. All my favorite things. Even if nothing else was good, I had this place.