topics from revisions to Muse to joy and rejection. Many encouraging pieces
of wisdom to be had, so here are some highlights:
On characters: I generally do not think out plots or characters ahead of time.
I let things roll along. I do it because I am a reader before I am a writer. I want
my own writing to surprise me, the way someone else’s book does.
On writing a novel: The first chapters are a slog, circling and re-circling again,
trying to find the right voice, the strength of the main character, the central
metaphor. Often the middle sags as I rethink, re-vision, try to re-adjust everything.
But by the time I round the next-to-final curve in the road, when I can almost see
the tape at the end of the run, I fling my virtual arms in the air and race to the
finish. If I ever write the perfect book, I’ll stop writing.
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| By Jessica Brilli |
