People often ask me for the origins of a particular book or story. In fact, the other day I was reading to my wife a short story I had written. When I finished my reading she told me she liked it and then asked, “How did you get the notion for that?” I had to
The two books that most enchanted me as a young reader were, The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame, and Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I adored these books when I first read them, and have esteemed them as much, if not more over the years I have reread them and reread them.
An editor recently told me that when she suggests that a writer cut a manuscript, it often comes back longer. Another editor complained that sometimes there are more would-be writers than readers. Look at the shelf of new books at your local bookstore. Notice how many massive books there are. Consider how few short novels
In the late Nineteenth Century, and early Twentieth Century, because of its proximity to Ellis Island, one of the major landing sites for immigrants, thousands upon thousands of people came to New York City. As it happened, many of these people found tenement housing in Manhattan, around and about what is called the Lower East
Thanks to MackinVia for this excerpt from a longer interview I did with them recently. You can view more of Mackin’s videos here. If you haven’t already read Catch You Later, Traitor, here’s more information.
If you are a good writer, and you know what good writing is, one of the very hard aspects of writing is knowing that what you are currently writing is poor. That may seem like a contradiction. Nevertheless, it is not. To write is hard enough. To write well is that much harder. Since, in
Alexis, from Madison NJ, asks, “How [do you] spend your summers? The reason I am asking this is because I want to know if authors go on vacation.” I certainly know authors who go on vacation. I have taken them myself. I have to admit I am not so sure I like taking vacations. Even
A book that I thought was done came back from my publisher’s copy editor. There were the usual corrections; commas, contractions, word repetitions, inept grammar, and the occasional internal confusion. There was also something very much more serious: I had messed up the plot’s time sequence. Ordinarily that might not matter so much, but in
Over the many years I have given my share (and then some) of speeches, and talks to conferences, and various gatherings. Many writers do this simply because they are asked to do so. It’s part of the pleasure and business of writing, making your work, and yourself known. The truth is, the primary subject of such
I have been working on a new novel, with a nagging sense that it was not going well. Although I went over it any number of times, I could not figure out what was wrong. The perfect moment to ask someone else to read it and give a critique. That I did, and what came