I love this quote, so much so that I told author Anne LeClaire I planned to copy it from her website and share it with you. I'm also adopting it as my mantra this fall. ie., Right now, I'm working through a list of commitments I made so I can get to my own quiet place. I have two manuscripts left to read for fellow writers, one book club commitment, and one ARC to read and blurb, then I'm done. After that, I won't be available for anything until after I've shipped the novel I'm working on to my agent.
In keeping with that commitment, here are the answers to a few questions posed to me via email yesterday from the Ladies of the Night Book Club in Idaho Falls:
Do you find it hard to relate to the main characters in your novels? Not really, because on some level, and for some strange reason, the main character in each novel I've written has been bouncing around my head for years, so by the time I write their story I know them well. ie., the main character of the novel I'm writing now is an 85 year old man and the story is told from his point of view. I first thought of him six years ago when I was in Boston. Since then I've spent lots of time with him and in turn he's evolved into a full fledged character (warts and all) with a full fledged story to tell.
What was the last book you read?
The Flying Troutman’s by Miriam Toews.
What book are you currently reading?
Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
What are the next four books you plan to read?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
7 comments:
Very nice thought, getting quiet with yourself. It applies in a lot of ways doesn't it?
Great quote.
Sure like the idea of getting a new Holly Kennedy book as soon as possilbe. Go get quiet already!!
I don't envy you.
I've had the worst time finishing my thesis even though I have no family or outside commitments to juggle at the same time. I think it's necessary for artsy people to lock themselves away from the world when they're trying to create. good for you.
Holly let me know if you like Gargoyle okay? I know some people who hated it and others who really liked it.
Victoria -- very true, wouldn't you say?
Nadine -- I'm writing as fast as I can, trust me. It's the rewrites that're killing me.
Ramona -- no, it isn't easy but my family matters most so I wouldn't have it any other way :)
Dianna -- Will do!
Catch you offline re: this when I'm finished reading
I'd think it'd be hard for a woman to write like a man though.
Not that it hasn't been done or that men can't write as women. I just wouldn't want to tackle that one.
I just read an interesting essay about characterization. The argument was that characters don't always have to be "round", that sometimes as a reflection of the author, as an avatar, that the character fulfills a function and expresses theme or some other fictional element without being real...or fully realized as an independent character.
Of course, I suppose it depends on how we are defining round and flat characters, and whether or not we want to see some sort of character arc.
Interesting post. Thanks
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