Novelist John Irving on Writing

Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea

Interview with Elmore Leonard

How to Write a Great Novel: Junot Diaz

Source: Wall Street Journal

Junot Diaz

"I think 90% of my ideas evaporate because I have a terrible memory and because I seem to be committed to not scribble anything down," he says. "As soon as I write it down, my mind rejects it."

Juggling everything in his head has drawbacks, one of which is writing very slowly, he says. He threw out two earlier versions of his novel, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"—the equivalent of about 600 pages—before the final version began to take shape. He also researches obsessively. When writing "Oscar Wao," he read J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy half a dozen times to get inside the head of his protagonist, an overweight Dominican teenager who's obsessed with fantasy and science fiction.

He often listens to orchestral movie soundtracks as he writes, because he's easily distracted by lyrics. When he needs to seal himself off from the world, he retreats into the bathroom and sits on the edge of the tub. "It drove my ex crazy," he says. "She would always know I was going to write because I would grab a notebook and run into the bathroom."

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Read what other authors says about how to write a great novel:

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Big Think Interview with John Irving

Lauren Willig - 3/2/09 Lady Jane's Salon, NYC

Author Lauren Willig reading an excerpt from her NY Times Best Seller book THE TEMPTATION OF THE NIGHT JASMINE at Lady Jane's Salon, Madame X, NYC. March 2, 2009.

Lauren told me about this video: "A valiant crowd battled their way through an unseasonable March snowstorm to attend the second ever meeting of Lady Jane's Salon, New York's first romance reading series. The other writer's plane had been delayed... and delayed... and delayed again, so I wound up having a good deal more time to fill than anticipated. I usually read from the beginning of the book, to set up the story, but this time, with extra time on my hands, and people in need of a laugh on a grim and blustery night, I picked my favorite passage from the middle of the book, in which my modern heroine's best friend attempts to classify the male sex by comparing them to various ice cream flavors. It went over very well. Of course, that might also have been the champagne everyone was drinking... including me!"

Tip of the Day: Getting Started

Getting started....
By Brenna Lyons
http://www.brennalyons.com
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So, you’re writing a novel. What do you have to worry about? And what shouldn’t you?

Don’t worry about the length of the finished product, the market you’re aiming for (unless you’re writing process depends on it), genre, editing, chapter length, chapter headers (if you choose to use them), having a full grasp of your characters and/or plot (even if you are a plotter, by nature), pen names, copyright, or the perfect hook or the perfect first line.

All of these things are changeable, and none of them have anything to do with getting the book written. Many of them are best handled during the self-editing process. You could have half the book written, if you waste time worrying about these things during the writing process.

What do you have to consider?

*Creating a word flow that works for you.

*Setting comfortable goals for writing.

*Organizing skills- how much structure you want or need in your writing.

*Early networking with other authors and industry professionals.

*Creating a web presence for yourself/your writing.

*Respecting the copyright and trademark of others in your writing.

*Learning the major no-no’s that publishers avoid, for legal or perception/audience reasons: no kiddie porn, no incest, etc.

*Honing your craft; figure out what your weaknesses are and address them.

*Learning the industry terms and how to apply them.

*Presenting yourself professionally

Brilliant Idea

Please check out Debbie Ridpath Ohi's wonderful site:

http://www.inkygirl.com/
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The Great American Novel

Cartoons by Andertoons

Salman Rushdie: The "Job" of Writing

Novelist Richard Price

The Book Files - John Grisham's The Firm

Ernest Hemingway: Rough Diamond (clip)

This fascinating program re-creates a day in the life of one of America's most renowned writers, as he is being interviewed by a young reporter. Hemingway's roving reminiscences of his colorful life alternate with his own powerful recitations of passages from his books. This intriguing docudrama reveals Hemingway's personality, his lifestyle, and his abiding philosophy that "a man can be destroyed but not defeated."

The Book Files - Joseph Heller's Catch-22

Joyce Carol Oates: About Writing Characters

Interview with Author Michael Connelly

Stephen King Interview on The Early Show (2001)

Interviews with the Great Novelist Philip Roth

John Steinbeck on Why He Wrote "The Grapes of Wrath"

Posthumous Crichton Novels on the Way

Posthumous Crichton Novels on the Way
By MOTOKO RICH
New York Times

Michael Crichton, the best-selling author of technological thrillers like “The Andromeda Strain” and “Jurassic Park” who died of cancer in November, left behind at least one finished novel and about one-third of a second. Both will be released over the next year and a half, his publisher said.

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