UPCOMING CLASSES 📓
Here in Jacksonville, FL: I’m teaching a class on Novel Revision Tactics on Tuesday, November 14 at 6:30 PM at the Beaches Branch Library. It’s free!
Other writing classes will be announced here in the newsletter soon.
Lately, I’ve been interviewing some superstar writers! My conversations with Pam Houston, Ladee Hubbard, Ramona Ausubel are up on The Creative Independent.
Here are some highlights from my interviews with these writers, all three of whom I met this summer at the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference.
ON METAPHOR
Pam Houston: For me, the best metaphors are the ones that grow naturally out of the scene or out of the glimmer without me having to go, okay, what metaphor goes here? Because then it starts to feel a little mechanical or a little forced or a little overdetermined. I like the meaning to float a little.
ON WORKING AT YOUR OWN PACE
Ladee Hubbard: I definitely set deadlines for myself and goals for myself, but I think what I’m trying to say is that I’m also very aware that I have to figure it out before I can do all of that. I feel very happy and satisfied if I can just get it clear in my mind. It’s not that I don’t wish I could write faster sometimes, but it doesn’t really help to write fast, and then I can’t feel it.
ON STICKING WITH A WRITING PROJECT
Ramona Ausubel: I won’t let myself panic and back out of an attempt after a day or two days or a few pages. You’ve got to really mean it and try, because otherwise, it would be too easy to almost try a thousand things and never long enough to see whether they’re working. And that’s just more work. You’ve actually just added so many jobs. It’s much harder to try a thousand things for a second than one thing for two weeks.
ON REVISION
Pam Houston: I don’t want to spend energy on the super self-criticism, which is not to say I won’t revise and revise and revise. I’m a compulsive reviser, but just in terms of getting the first draft down, I’m easier on myself, which I think can only be good.
ON STAYING TRUE TO YOURSELF
Ladee Hubbard: You don’t have to be anyone else. You don’t have to write about things that other people write about. Just figure out what you are doing and respect it, because it’s important. I think it makes you a better writer, actually.
ON COPING WITH THE LOWS OF WRITING
Ramona Ausubel: There’s nothing in writing that’s ever just like sliding gently down the hill into a lagoon of warm water. That is just not what it is. Maybe every once in a while that happens for a second, but mostly you’re trudging and climbing and effort is being expended no matter what you do.
READ THE FULL INTERVIEWS
Pam Houston on developing a practice of noticing
Ladee Hubbard on finding your own perspective
Ramona Ausubel on getting stuck and unstuck
A NOTE ABOUT PAM’S IRISH WOLFHOUNDS
If you’re a Pam Houston superfan like me, you’re probably already aware that, on her Colorado ranch, she keeps many Irish Wolfhounds, one of whom was featured on the cover of her amazing memoir Deep Creek.
I am pleased to report: when I interviewed Pam over Zoom, she was home in Colorado, where several Irish Wolfhounds paced back and forth behind her. On Zoom, they looked more like horses than dogs.
NEXT YEAR’S BOOK CLUB FOR WRITERS PICKS ARE HERE!
Thanks to everyone who joined our book club discussion of Refuse to Be Done on Sunday! In case you missed the meeting, I announced the 2024 book club selections. I’m so excited to share them with you today!
2024 TITLES AND SCHEDULE
Sunday, January 28, 1-2:30 PM EST: Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami
Wednesday, April 24, 8-9:30 PM EST: You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith
Sunday, July 28, 1-2:30 PM EST: 1000 Words: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg
Wednesday, October 30, 8-9:30 PM EST: Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature by Tina Welling
Half of our 2024 meetings will occur at our usual Sunday afternoon meeting time. The other half will occur on Wednesday evenings. Hopefully this will allow more folks in different time zones to participate live!
HOW DO I JOIN THE BOOK CLUB?
Paid subscribers of this newsletter are invited to attend the Book Club for Writers. Subscribe for the month for just $5, or save 27% and subscribe for the whole year. Subscription prices are going up in 2024, so if you want to join, sign up before the new year!