An author is responsible for his characters in much the same way that a parent is for his children, or a teacher for his students Sometimes this manifold responsibility weighs heavily on me; I want to retreat entirely, lest I do damage. But we have to accept the stark fact that we not only can, but inevitably will do damage. ~ Madeleine L'Engle

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We cannot afford, either as writers or as human beings, to be detached from the human predicament, because this is what we write about, and it is the predicament we ourselves are in. We are always on stage, actors in the human drama. But we are also an simultaneously members of the audience: it takes both performer and audience to “create” a drama ( Read more... )

"To crank myself up [to write] I stood on a jack and ran myself up. I tightened myself like a bolt. I inserted myself in a vise-clamp and wound the handle till the pressure built. I drank coffee in titrated doses. It was a tricky business, requiring the finely tuned judgment of a skilled anesthesiologist. There was a tiny range within which coffee ( Read more... )

"[The writer] must be sufficiently excited to rouse himself to the task at hand, and not so excited he cannot sit down to it. He must have faith sufficient to impel and renew the work, yet not so much faith he fancies he is writing well when he is not. For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life ( Read more... )

And I'm amused that I'm torn whether to use my "postmodern" icon or my "unhealthy addiction" icon ( Read more... )

In other book news, B got me another Easton Press treat. This time it was the first edition, signed version of For The Time Being by my dear Annie Dillard.

Pardon the gush.

I love my sweetie. Other girls get roses, I get books.

How cool is that?

B got me the best gift ever.

At least, damn near.

The Easton Press edition of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, signed, authenticated, everything ( Read more... )