Junot Díaz: Writing as an Act of Persistence

Years ago, after a few online conversations, I had the pleasure of meeting Junot Díaz in person at a sold-out literary event in Washington. (I was later thrilled when he blurbed one of my novels!)

His insights into the writing process have profoundly influenced many writers–and entertained even more readers. He’s author of the Pulitzer-winning The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and of the short story collection, This is How You Lose Her. Here are some of his key pieces of advice:

• Embrace Reading as a Foundation: Díaz emphasizes the importance of reading to fuel writing. He mentions, "My writing routine begins with my reading. I read immense amounts. The reading inspires my ideas, my sentences, my imagination."
• Maintain a Consistent Routine: He advocates for a disciplined writing schedule, sharing, "I write in the morning, very early. I wake up a few minutes before 5 every day, like clockwork."
• Persevere Through Challenges: Díaz believes that persistence defines a writer. He states, "A writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, you keep writing anyway."

For more about Junot Díaz and his work, visit his profile in The New Yorker. 

In Conversation with Sally Whitney published on Book Smuggler’s Den

 

The Book Smuggler’s Den published an interview with Sally Whitney and me talking about our novels, writing processes, and more. 

Setting, history, culture, diverse characters, research, where ideas come from, and the writing process are all covered in the article. We also discuss my first adventure thriller and the locations I went to get the facts precise, as well as why fiction is important. 

Check out the full interview at https://booksmugglersden.com/portfolio/authors-goodman-and-whitney/ 

Another McEwan Coincidence

 

British author Ian McEwan, perhaps best known for his novel Atonement, has experienced coincidence fitting for one of his novels. For example, when he discovered that he had a long-lost half-brother. (See my earlier post.)

Here’s another coincidence: Ian McEwan released his novel-in-utero, Nutshell, within the same 12-month period as two others with the same point of view — including my own, Womb: a novel in utero.

What are the odds? I started the first draft of my novel narrated from within the womb about 10 years before it was published. I even had excerpts from it published in literary journals years before the novel was completed, submitted, and published. And yet, three books with very different takes on the same unique narrator were published in such close proximity. 

Nutshell and Womb: a novel in utero were even compared to one another in essays, reviews, and Library Journal. 

Learn more about Ian McEwan’s books in Library Journal.

https://www.libraryjournal.com/?authorName=McEwan%2C%20Ian

Sandra Brown Writes What She Likes

 

When you have more than 80 novels to your name—many of them bestsellers — you can write whatever you like. That’s what author Sandra Brown suggests every writer do.

"You have to write what you like. It's too hard and time consuming not to enjoy the work. You have to write what you'd like to read.”

And what does she like? In the beginning, she wrote romance novels that followed constrained outlines and formulas. "It’s more fun and more lucrative to write my own stuff for a broader audience." She's written under four pen names — but now, everything is published under Sandra Brown.

She still has a heart for romance, but now she also writes thrillers and mysteries. “A good writer won’t be pigeonholed into one genre. A good writer should stretch out.”

You can stretch out at Sandra’s website.

http://www.sandrabrown.net/

When Your Novel In Progress Does Not

 

When I met author Alice McDermott for the first time, it was at a craft lecture she was presenting at The Writers’ Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The topic of the craft lecture was, “When Your Novel-in-Progress Doesn’t.”

Most authors who have written a novel — or tried to — can relate to that.

Alice McDermott, despite her two Pulitzer Prize nominations, her National Book Award win, and her regular trips onto the New York Times Bestseller list, is no exception.

“I was in middle-book syndrome,” she explained. She was halfway through a novel, she knew where it was headed, but she didn’t want to finish it.

“The best practice is to write through your reluctance to continue — even if you begin writing a different story, keep writing.”

That’s what Alice did. She shelved the project she was no longer interested in and focused on another.

So if you’ve lost interest in what you’re writing, perhaps it’s time to move on to something new. If your novel-in-progress is not progressing, move on.

Learn more about Alice McDermott’s words of writing wisdom at the following links.

http://writeful.blogspot.com/2007/07/writing-to-convey-pain-and-sweetness-of.html 

http://writeful.blogspot.com/2005/11/mcdermott-on-flow-of-words.html

Multiple Bed Partners

 

For many, bedtime is the best time of the day.  Not for the sleeping, but for all that happens before sleep comes.  Exciting things can happen at the end of a long day in a comfortable bed.

Sometimes, it all depends on how many bed partners you keep.  I’ve always been one for multiple bed partners. They, after all, can make or break the final hours before sleep arrives, can be the difference between excitement and boredom, infatuation and indifference.  And when one begins to shed its allure, you can always put your hands on another.

I’m talking, of course, about books.

Books are always stacked on my bedside nightstand, although none of them remain permanent residents.  Some readers prefer to focus on one story at a time, but I tend to keep multiple books beside me.  With three or four novels in progress at any given time, I know there will always be something to interest me, regardless of my mood.

At the moment, I’m sharing my bed with Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads, Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House, David Mitchell’s Utopia Avenue, and George Saunders’ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: in which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life.

Who have you been sharing your bed with?

The Doctorow Method of Research

 

Do you ever find yourself questioning just how much research you need before starting out on the adventure of beginning a new novel or story? E.L. Doctorow never worried about how much research to do. He already knew.

"Just enough research," he explained when I met him one year at the National Book Festival. He expressed that many writers research and research and research until they know too much and can't write a decent fiction. Many writers, in an effort to get things right, get caught up and research and never get deep enough into the writing.

Case and point: his research for perhaps one of his best-known novel, Ragtime. 

"My knee fell into a shelf at the library, a book fell out." That book led him to write Ragtime. "That’s my idea of research."

The New York Times makes it easy to do all the research you'd like on Doctorow.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/03/05/specials/doctorow.html

Writers to Ride With

Road trips can be an exhilarating experience for writers.  When alone, the open road provides a time to ponder story ideas, explore plot turns and character developments.  Or, a time to relax with an audio book and enjoy the written word read aloud.

When with another person, a road trip can be a bonding experience, conversation cruising along as the scenery passes by.

The traveling companion can make or break a road trip.  If you had the opportunity to hit the road with any writer, who would it be?  Any author at all: a rising star, a contemporary great, or a past classic.  Who would you want to share the road with?

For me, the choice would be easy: John Steinbeck.  Steinbeck has long been my favorite writer.  He doesn’t just have skill as a writer – his writing has heart, feeling, soul, and usually a strong message.  He knows how to convey things without having to say them.  A reader gets to know his characters by their actions, not just their thoughts.  And Steinbeck is able to teach without sounding like he wants to preach.  That is, his lessons in life often sneak in; he knows not to hit readers over the head with his point.

I could get lost in a long conversation with John Steinbeck, discussing some of my favorite novels – Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden – and talking about the art of writing.  I’d even be willing to take a back seat to Charlie, the poodle, for the opportunity for travels with Steinbeck.

That’s my choice.  What’s yours?  Which writer would you ride with?

Fiction or History?

 

Whether he’s writing fiction or history, E.L. Doctorow believes in telling the truth. His novel, The March, was popular with critics and the masses alike. What was Doctorow's intention as he mixed fiction with history?

            

"My purpose for writing this book was to finish writing this book," the writer said matter-of-factly.

 

Doctorow found the subject of Sherman's march worth exploring. "Sherman's march uprooted an entire civilization. Freed slaves attached themselves to the march, and so did white people whose lives were disrupted, both poor and wealthy alike."

 

Among U.S. Generals, Doctorow says Sherman and Grant are the best writers. "Their memoirs are well worth reading." And more so than some memoirs, they attempt to tell the truth.

 

Learn more about E.L. Doctorow and his writing at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._L._Doctorow 

The Color Of Jadeite on Goodreads Giveaway!

Enter the Goodreads Giveaway today for a chance to receive a free trade paperback copy of THE COLOR OF JADEITE! More than a thousand readers have entered, but there's still time for you to enter, too! 

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/330511-the-color-of-jadeite