Writing to Convey the Pain and Sweetness of Life

When my friend and fellow writer, Julee Newberger, asked novelist Alice McDermott what she’d hoped to achieve with her latest novel, After This, and also what she hoped to achieve with her next novel, that’s what Alice answered: "To convey, however briefly, the pain and sweetness of life... that answers both those questions."

Author Alice McDermott has been nominated for two Pulitzer Prizes and won a National Book Award in 1998 for her novel Charming Billy. Not to mention she’s a New York Times Bestselling novelist. And yet, she remains a down-to-earth soccer mom willing to share her knowledge with other writers.

I can attest to that as I’ve met her on four different occasions at events focused on helping emerging authors and the literary community. She has always been receptive to questions and open with sincere advice.

Alice recently chatted with Julee about After This, and about the craft of writing, for an interview published at failbetter.com.

“I let my characters lead the way,” she said of her process. “If their emotions and experiences are authentic, even if authentically sentimental or melodramatic, I’m not going to tell them otherwise.”

Allow me to lead the way to the full interview. You can read Julee Newberger’s interview with Alice McDermott at the link below.

http://failbetter.com/22/McDermottInterview.php