The first half is autobiographical. Loved it.
The second half is about how he writes and what works for him as both writer and reader.
A few quotations:
"Writing is refined thinking."
"No one can be as intellectually slothful as a really smart person; give smart people half a chance and they will ship their oars and drift ... dozing to Byzantium, you might say."
"... the job of fiction is to find the truth inside the story's web of lies."
"People love to read about work."
"I'll take a moment to call up an image of the place, drawing from my memory and filling my mind's eye, an eye whose vision grows sharper the more it is used ... You'll find it easier to accomplish the more you attempt it."
"In many cases when a reader puts a story aside because it 'got boring,' the boredom arose because the writer grew enchanted with his powers of description and lost sight of his priority, which is to keep the ball rolling."
" ... unspoken contract that exists between writer and reader — your promise to express the truth of how people act and talk through the medium of a made-up story."
I have that book (excellent), and many others of his! Just bought 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams'. Now to find time to read it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I've ever read any of his books. Except this one! Which I like a lot.
DeleteYay! I'm glad you liked it!
ReplyDeleteI'll send it back to you with Karen, just like we said. Thx again for the loan.
DeleteYes! especially "In many cases when a reader puts a story aside because it 'got boring,' the boredom arose because the writer grew enchanted with his powers of description and lost sight of his priority, which is to keep the ball rolling."
ReplyDeleteAll the more reason for smart writers to heed trusted editors.
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