Authors share their writing processes

John Irving on the writer’s craft

John Irving – the thrill of the blank page

Alice Munro

John Updike

Do you share any writing quirks with these authors? I sometimes write in longhand - do you? I've never begun a story at the very end and worked back up to it. Have you? Share some of your process!

More author interviews

I love listening to other authors explain their process or inspiration.

Borders Media does a great job of interviewing authors. Richard Russo talks about That Old Cape Magic, one of the many books on my TBR list. Russo's one of those authors whose stories just grab you like an electric current and don't let go till the last page.

Neil Gaiman's writing, like his books, is magical. Here he talks about The Graveyard Book, also on my TBR list.

Dick Cavett posted an interview with John Updike and John Cheever as part of his New York Times column. It's the entire episode of his talk show, so you'll want to grab some refreshments.

Online author interviews

In reading through my favorite of all newspapers, The New York Times, I uncovered A Conversation with John Irving, in which he describes writing his latest novel, Last Night in Twisted River. This, like all his novels, began with the last sentence. John, it would appear, relies heavily on the good old pen and paper (no wonder he needed hand surgery).
Elmore Leonard’s another die-hard old-fashioned pen-and-paper writer. He talks about his process in an AARP article in the July/August issue. Titled “I Make It Up As I Go Along,” the beginning of the article is posted on his site. As he notes, the article title pretty much sums it up, but one quote surprised me: “Dialogue, in fact, is the element that keeps the story moving.” I suppose if you’re Elmore Leonard, you can get away with heavy dialogue, but editors tag other writers for it.
Two other great Leonard quotes (not from this article): “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it” and “I leave out the parts that people skip.” Great advice for any author.
The Times’ A Conversation with Toni Morrison reveals the inspiration for A Mercy, her 1700s historical.
I also discovered A Conversation with John Updike on the Times site. Still have The Widows of Eastwick on my (very long) TBR list. This conversation, btw, immediately veers off into a political tangent and never recovers. Sad, since he’s silenced forever.

Self-editing, part 5

Continuing from previous posts...

1. Evaluate the amount of the character’s history included on the first 1-3 pages. Often authors think the reader needs this up front before the action starts. Not so. You, as the author, need this backstory to create the scene, but the reader can learn the information as the situation demands or as needed by the second character. Revealing these details in dialogue or as short internal thoughts is most effective.

2. Show scene breaks by inserting four asterisks centered on a line by themselves. Usually with no white space between. One publisher asks authors to remove all chapter breaks in manuscripts under 80 pages.

3. Vary your characters’ speech patterns. If one character is educated and the other is less so, their speech should reflect it. Make each character unique without being a stereotype. In short, give each character a bit of character of his/her own.
Avoid, however, overuse of brogue and other dialogue affects that will slow your reader down, frustrate your reader, perhaps to the point of setting the story down. A little goes a long way, as the saying goes.

4. Alternately, make your characters’ voices consistent. Check each character’s speech patterns individually. Make sure each maintains the same voice throughout.

5. No idle chatter. Speaking of voice, don’t include idle chatter in dialogue. Yes, it will mirror real life but it will also bore your reader. They’ll start skipping ahead, and may skip something crucial.
Cut any dialogue that does not advance the story line. However, if it seems idle at the time but somehow provides a clue to an important event later, include it.

6. Read your story aloud. Editors recommend you read your work aloud at some point in your self-editing process. If not with a critique group, then at least to the dog. Your ear will catch what your eye often overlooks.

John Updike said: "(Writers) find the quick of human experience and use words that make it sing." Make yours a song with full orchestral backup with diligent self-editing.

Holly Lisle posted some great advice on how to revise in one pass-through (something I've yet to accomplish but now will attempt!) It includes advice similar to mine on planning ahead for publication.

In the final installment in this series, I'll provide a list of reference books I've found useful in self-editing.