Photo by Carolyn Kraft
Did you make it out to last weekend’s LA Times Festival of Books? Tell me about your experience. Go on. Which booths did you visit, which food trucks? What panels did you see, and how many books did you buy? Me: Upteen booths, zero food trucks, seven panels ranging from YA novels to Goodreads to literary agents to B.J. Novak talking about his debut story collection.
And only ONE book purchased.
Say wha? Yes, that’s correct, one book, but you pack the wallop of five books don’t you, Tenth of December, by George Saunders.
Anywho, what has become something of a spring tradition here on the blog, I’ve transcribed some of the comments that struck me from this year’s festival author panels, and a few conversational nuggets I picked up while traversing the USC campus. Enjoy:
“Ghost stories often wrestle with very poignant moral questions.”
“I’ve been trying to have a ghost experience for 25 years.”
“What is going on with me at the time I’m writing ends up in the book–as long as it rings true emotionally.”
“Walking plays a key part in my writing process.”
“I read all of my writing to my dog.”
“If you’ve written something that you think is as good as the writers you aspire to be, then it’s probably over for you.”
“As long as we have feelings we have potential for stories.”
“Every book is like starting over every time.”
“If you write every day and read every day, you open yourself up to stories unconsciously and consciously.”
“We can really only read the best stories as a child and adult simultaneously.”
“I don’t want to write stories for children that read like they were written for children.”
“I write books to deal with the problems that I have.”
“I don’t like being labeled ‘YA’. I don’t even know what a ‘Young Adult’ writer is.”
“You told the biggest possible story in the smallest possible way.”
“I write about teenagers; if they choose to read the books that’s great.”
“Getting the reader to love the character is the trick.”
“I didn’t wait until I was an adult to write for teens because I needed the emotional distance; I waited because I needed the skills.”
“Writing is self-seduction and I think it’s important to indulge that.”
“A combination of coffee and shame motivates me.”
“Steven Spielberg said it’s important to make your office the best place in your house so that you’ll always enjoy being there.”
“I’ll just give you my gun and when you find the food trucks fire off a few rounds.”
“Readers are the most sociable folk when they aren’t being antisocial.”
“Genre is the gateway drug to wider literature.”
“Raw denim jeans.”
“There’s a lot more to life than being a writer; being a dedicated reader is a great thing too.”
“A little bit of research goes a long way: an ounce of research can produce half a pound of fiction.”
“I met a writer who wanted to do a book about 1-900 numbers.”
“We want to hold you to your own best standards.”
Who said this stuff: John Boyne; Ransom Riggs; Francesca Lia Block; Jonathan Auxier; E. Lockhart; Rainbow Rowell; John Corey Whaley; Andrew Smith; B.J. Novak; a hungry, frustrated cop; Patrick Brown; David Kipen; Michelle Meyering; Betsy Amster; T. Jefferson Parker
In a post last week I asked what you wanted from this blog, and a few of you were kind enough to answer. To St. Tracy, my first responder, I must say I’m still interviewing potential candidates to serve as both maid and cook for your household so you’ll have more free time to frequent my website. The next qualifying round is a cat-juggling contest, an underrated skill I know you value highly in your domestic workers.