People sometimes ask me what characteristic is most important for a writer to possess. I expect they’re waiting for me to say that you need a felicitous turn of phrase, an outrageous imagination, an overweening ego, or something similar. Now, perhaps all of those things might help, in some shape or form, but if I had to choose the one …
A Writer’s Life in 83 words, by Philip Roth
My father just sent me this, from Philip Roth’s The Ghost Writer: “I turn sentences around. That’s my life. I write a sentence and then I turn it around. Then I look at it and turn it around again. Then I have lunch. Then I come back and write another sentence. Then I have tea and turn the new sentence …
Researching fiction: Facts, Schmacts
I loath doing research. It doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Getting abstruse details right seems an irrelevance in a novel. People don’t read books to learn facts; it is the emotional truths that count. But certain fiction writers – almost all men; make of that what you will – have a fetishistic obsession with useless detail. A character can’t …
A Sense of Place: Where to Write?
I have already written about the need for routine when it comes to writing. Equally important, for me anyway, is where I write. I know people who can dash off stuff in trains, waiting rooms, and especially in coffee shops. This always baffles me. Perhaps I’m just too nosy, or feckless, but I am unable to concentrate on what I’m …
Distractions and Prevarications, Part 4
One of my greatest regrets is that I cannot write while I listen to music. I need my quiet. There is no such thing as background noise for me. The music rushes to the forefront of my consciousness, demanding attention, and I can no longer hear the words I’m forever trying to grasp. Sentences swim in front of me but …
The Creative Process (First of an occasional series)
One of the things I’ve been wanting to write more about is the process by which my books emerge. Now seems like the time to do it, since I am not writing at the moment. I have various ideas in my head about the next book but they need to percolate a little more before I begin again. Anyway, I’m …
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