On Writing the Novel
On writing a novel...
On writing a novel...
I've finished writing the novel, American Gothic Chicago, and I'm well into another, Under the Picasso. I write everyday. My writing is usually image driven -- I see the scene play out and I try to capture it with language. It's not always images, though; I listened to Michael Silverblatt interviewing Michael Ondaatje about Ondaatje's book, Divisadero. Ondaatje talked about the influence a movie sound director had had in his writing. Ondaatje took pains to incorporate sound as an specific element in his work. After hearing that podcast, I spent days infusing sound into scenes, just thinking about how to arrange it. It's subtle, but it makes a difference in the writing.