I liked reading that a lot, especially the 4 chapters posted here. If you want the whole thing, it is here: rittlit/the-successful-writers-personality/#kids That kind of seven-year-overnight sensation isn’t unheard of; selling a novel in a day isn’t unheard of; selling a novel after four years, or after 30 or 50 or 70 rejections, isn’t unheard of. So before I close, I want to talk a little bit about bitterness. You must never give in to it. While you are struggling to get published, it’s tempting to say, “Why is so-and-so’s book so successful when it’s utter tripe? Why can so much trash be published while my brilliant literary novel gets turned down?” You can say those things, but especially the comment about trashy books is like shooting fish in a barrel. It’s not news. Get over it. But as to the comment about the successful book that’s “utter tripe”? Fine. You’re a brilliantly penetrating literary critic. Now look at the book again. Why are members of the public actually purchasing copies? Read the book, and figure out why. Open yourself to the book, find something in it that you can’t deny. What do you see? I think you’ll see love. Love for the characters. Passion for telling a story. Love for language, for place, for a time, for an obsession. (I thought I had figured that out myself, but Dickens beat me to it.) If you don’t love your characters – and, more to the point, allow yourself to express that love through the way you write them – you might as well abandon the ship they’re on, because no one else is going to want to get on it with them. In closing, I have three pieces of advice for you. The first comes from my eight-year-old daughter, Grace. She wanted me to tell you, “Don’t just write about what really happened – make up your own stories.” The second comes from Grace’s older sister, Polly: “Write about something that you love. If you really like cats, then you can write a story about cats.” And the third comes from Grace’s twin sister, Julia: “Write your own memories and make a good story about the memories. Use a different name for the character – use a name that actually fits the story. Use a name like ‘Sally’.”
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 12:30:48 +0000
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