A couple weeks ago, The Telegraph published an interesting essay by Haruki Murakami about how he became a novelist. Murakami says that he had something of an epiphany in 1978, while watching a baseball game–Yakult Swallows vs Hiroshima Carp. In his words: “In the bottom of the first inning, Hilton slammed Sotokoba’s first pitch into — Read More
First drafts
Now that my book is done, I’ve resumed working on a novel I started while I was waiting on edits. And, I have to say, despite all I’ve learned over the last year, I still have familiar feelings of insecurity as I dig into this new book. I know lots of writers feel this way. I’ve — Read More
Publishing Journey: My book is done and I have a publication date!
I haven’t mentioned my book in a while, though it consumes lots of space in my brain. I finished my last round of edits early this month, and just got the manuscript back from my editor this past Friday. I was hoping any remaining edits would be minor, but I wasn’t holding my breath. I have learned — Read More
Spotlight on: Maggie O’Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell is the kind of writer I aspire to be. Her prose is poetic, but accessible. Her characters are complex (and the relationships between them are simply beautiful). Her stories read quickly, with an air of suspense. They are dramas, with hints of humor. I read my first Maggie O’Farrell book last year–The Hand — Read More
Writer envy
The latest issue of Poets & Writers magazine features an article about Judy Blume. She just released a new, for-adults book called In the Unlikely Event (which is currently sitting in my Amazon cart). A particularly intriguing part of the article: Blume suffered an existential funk in the early 1980s after reading Dad (Knopf, 1981) by — Read More
Spotlight on: Jeffrey Eugenides
Jeffrey Eugenides is one of those writers who leaves my jaw on the floor every time. I consider him so far out of my league that envy isn’t even in the cards; just admiration and awe. Eugenides is a literary writer who is also popular–in other words, a rarity. He wrote The Virgin Suicides in 1993 (which — Read More
Publishing Journey: The Edits. Done. For Now.
Well, about a month after I received edits that sent me into a mild tailspin, I am done. The book is back with my editor. She will have it for a couple weeks, and then I’ll get another round of edits, which are supposed to be very minor. I have learned through this process not to — Read More
Spotlight on: Tom Perrotta
I haven’t met a Tom Perrotta book I didn’t like, and I’ve read a lot of them–Bad Haircut (short stories), The Wishbones, Joe College, Little Children, The Abstinence Teacher, The Leftovers. I still need to read Election. Perrotta is not-so-arguably one of the best contemporary authors today. Two of his books (Little Children and Election) — Read More
Spotlight on: Liane Moriarty
I’ve decided to do a little “Spotlight On” post about authors I really love and admire. I’ll scour the Internet for interviews they’ve done and essays they’ve written to gather up some interesting tidbits about their lives and writing process. Sound fun? I think so. First up: Liane Moriarty. I fell in love with Moriarty — Read More
On the influence of the editor
Since receiving a round of fairly extensive edits on my book, I’ve been thinking a lot about how most of the books I read are probably very different from their first drafts. And that gets me thinking about the creation of art in general. If a writer is heavily influenced by an editor, is the book — Read More