12 notes
Amy Hempel
I used to write only at night. All night, with a Walkman on. Did that for the first book. Much of the second book. Now there’s too much I have to get done in the day. You try not to be precious about it. An average day includes around two hours of writing writing, about six miles of dog walking (which also counts as writing), a lot of time on E-mail, a movie, some forensics shows, and CNN to see what I missed.
Gordon Lish thinks writers don’t succeed because of talent, but because of will: you become a great writer by wanting to be one. Drive, will, character, “all of which Amy has,” Lish says. Hempel remembers how hard it was at the beginning, how she wondered if she should even be writing. (1)
Samuel Beckett: I can’t go on, I’ll go on. I can’t look at it, I’ll stare at it. Hempel: “That’s a very compelling duality. I think that’s something a lot of writers have in common, repulsion and attraction.” (2)
Sources:
1) http://theinnerwriter.com/27/amy-hempel-on-being-a-writer/
2) http://www.powells.com/blog/interviews/forty-eight-ways-of-looking-at-amy-hempel-by-dave/
-
jlroeljam reblogged this from writersroutines and added:
write/do homework like...… except dog walking is gym. And throw cooking
-
everbigger reblogged this from writersroutines
-
coffeespooons liked this
-
literaryartifacts liked this
-
beautifulcafe liked this
-
postcardstorybook liked this
-
mythologyofblue liked this
-
fevereddream liked this
-
organic-hummus-dip liked this
-
aphidempire liked this
-
writersroutines posted this
