I've heard a lot of editors and agents say, "If the book is good, it will get published." I totally disagree with that. Micah Perks More Quotes by Micah Perks More Quotes From Micah Perks Writers like Twain, Whitman, Dickinson, Melville, Louise Erdrich, Toni Morrison, Russell Banks, Carolyn Chute, Alice Walker, so many others that I read coming up as a writer, that helped form my ideas of what it means to be American - and an American writer. I'm always in conversation with them. Micah Perks american-writer mean I'm really interested in the United States, what it means to be American - maybe because my father's an immigrant and my grandparents were immigrants, and also because I grew up so isolated from mainstream life, and it was such a total shock to leave the commune and, in a way, enter America for the first time when I was eleven - so I've always felt a little like an anthropologist - like, what is this strange place I find myself in, what are the rules here? Micah Perks grandparent strange mean In general, I think every novel is a political novel, in that every novel is an argument about how the world works, who has power, who has a voice, what we should care about. But political novels can be boringly polemical if they end up being too black and white, too one dimensional, like war is bad, killing people is wrong. Micah Perks black-and-white war thinking My natural tendency is to fall in love with language and character and setting, and kind of forget about pacing. Narrative tension doesn't come naturally to me, and if it does feel fast-paced that makes me incredibly happy. Micah Perks falling-in-love language character I think someone who writes a ghost story probably needs to believe it in some way. Micah Perks writing believe thinking There are so many people who write really interesting work and try super hard and still don't get published. Micah Perks writing people interesting I know books that are really good and writers that are really good and they have become oppressed and ground down from the rejection and they stop. Either they stop writing or they have these books in their drawers. I know that for a fact. Micah Perks rejection writing book It's really difficult to know what is the best way forward when you're not getting a lot of support - and probably most writers aren't getting enough support. Micah Perks way-forward support enough I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted. Micah Perks ghost-stories love-to-read ideas Nice girls are not supposed to be hungry. They are not supposed to feed themselves or care about their own food. They're definitely not supposed to take food out of a child's mouth. Micah Perks nice girl children It is radical for a woman to choose to survive and to choose to eat anything. Micah Perks radical When I was in college, I had a friend who was an artist and her theory was that all the best art in the world is funny/sad. That was her favorite genre. Funny/sad are probably my two favorite tones. Micah Perks college two art I've always been a teaser, even as a kid. Micah Perks teasers kids Don't you think almost anything can be funny? Almost anything. Micah Perks thinking You can hurt people's feelings if you laugh. Micah Perks hurt laughing people When the kids were growing up, I think they thought the worst thing about me being a mom is that I would laugh at them. They would say something that they thought was serious and intense and I would laugh. I thought it was funny, but they don't want to be laughed at. Micah Perks growing-up mom kids No one really wants to be laughed at. Micah Perks laughed want I don't make fun of my characters. I just like to laugh and I think people are funny and the world is funny. Micah Perks fun character thinking The "we" voice is rare, and the communal impulse of the "we" is interesting to me. Micah Perks impulse voice interesting I laugh when I'm writing. I feel like all my work is funny to me. Micah Perks writing feels laughing
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