Making an Author Study
Wednesday July 2, 2008
This spring, an old Paris Review interview led me to make a study of Katherine Anne Porter. I started with some of her most acclaimed works and then read the biography by Joan Givner. While we're often advised to immerse ourselves in the work of one writer, I found that reading the biography afterwards made that experience even more valuable. Through the biography, I got to see how these stories and short novels came into being: what life experiences went into them, what her process was like, and what her stumbling blocks were. For instance, I had an epiphany when I saw that she often put stories aside for years. I'm always afraid that if I don't muddle through right then, I'll never go back to it. But clearly for Katherine Anne Porter, this was integral to her success. She kept the drafts, returning to them when she had the insight or skill to finish them properly. I imagine that this kept her from ruining or overworking her stories, and from wasting time that could be spent writing new work (though I've a feeling she actually spent that time drinking!).
I've done this twice before, with Raymond Chandler and Eudora Welty, and both times I took something away. How-tos are fine, but there's something to be said for seeing what worked for others, and understanding exactly why.
Totally agree with you. Both Hemingway and Greene wrote autobiographical stuff that I advise all prospective writers to read;
Hemingway wrote ‘A Moveable Feast’ (you must read this whilst in Paris) and Greene wrote ‘In Search of a Character’. Both will teach prospective writers a lot.
ilove books
I’ve been working on a story of mine for over ten years now, because, at times, I had to put it down, stop writing, stop over-analyzing and simply live again. I have a major tendancy to write 12-14 hours a day when immersed in my stories, and everything else falls away since I am so focused.
You go where the inspiration takes you. The characters are your friends. But that kind of writing isn’t sustainable for more than a few weeks or months, in my case.
The story I’m working on now, again!, is now 850-plus pages and done, but not edited.
For me it makes sense to write this way. You come back fresh after a “writing break” and I seem to be able to get more quality writing then.
To each his own, I suppose.