The only thing worth thinking about, when I write a story, is whether I like it, whether I want to write it, whether it excites me. Theodora Goss More Quotes by Theodora Goss More Quotes From Theodora Goss I put that part of myself into both Brendan and Evelyn [from The Thorn and the Blossom] - as well as some of my own anxieties about the academic life! Theodora Goss academic-life wells anxiety So much work went into this book [ "The Thorn & The Blossom"] - you can probably tell from looking at the art and overall design. Theodora Goss design book art Art inspires me. Looking at art in a museum, listening to music, reading the works of other writers. Theodora Goss reading museums art Understanding what is going on in the world today inspires me in a negative sense because there's so much about it that I don't like - political stupidity, environmental degradation, etc. And that makes me want to change it, to make a difference in the world. Theodora Goss stupidity differences political Writers: believe! And go do the work . . . Theodora Goss believe Writing is an art like other arts. Dancers don't dance every once in a while. Musicians don't stop practicing. They are dedicated to what they do. Theodora Goss dancer writing art My uncommon sense told me to write this book [Turn and blossom], even though I was in the middle of making final revisions to my dissertation! Common sense would have said, finish the dissertation and get a good, solid academic position. But instead, I got to do something that no one else has done, because I don't think anyone has written a book quite like this one. And look at how beautiful it is! Theodora Goss writing beautiful book Sometimes you have to follow your uncommon sense. Theodora Goss uncommon common-sense sometimes I talked on my blog recently about "uncommon sense." Common sense is called "common" because it reflects cultural consensus. It's common sense to get a good job and save for retirement. But I think we all also have an "uncommon sense," an individual voice that tells us what we're meant to do. Theodora Goss retirement jobs thinking If you believe you have a voice and something to say, chances are you do, and the world needs you to do whatever you're drawn to do. So you should do it. Theodora Goss voice believe world It's very difficult to put in the work unless you believe that what you're doing is significant in some way. Theodora Goss significant believe way Jorge Luis Borges wrote a poem when he was in his 80s about one day writing the book that would justify him. This was long after he had become one of the great masters, a writer everyone looks up to and reveres. As artists, I don't think we ever see ourselves as done. We always think we're at the beginning . . . Theodora Goss writing book thinking Now that The Thorn and the Blossom has come out and I'm done with my doctoral degree (yes, I'm finally Dr. Goss), I'm turning to longer projects. Theodora Goss degrees drs done I co-edited an anthology called Interfictions with Delia Sherman and wrote a short scholarly book on three women poets called Voices from Fairyland: The Fantastical Poems of Mary Coleridge, Charlotte Mew, and Sylvia Townsend Warner. So I've been busy, but I haven't had time to write a novel. Theodora Goss voice writing book The editor, Stephen Segal, actually called me with the idea of creating an accordion book [ "The Thorn & The Blossom"], and asked if I could write a story for it. I was so intrigued! I immediately knew that it had to be a love story told from the points of view of the two main characters. Right away, I started working on a proposal. And once I had my main characters, Brendan and Evelyn, it was as though they started telling me their stories. Theodora Goss writing character book The book[ The Thorn and The Blossom] is a love story about two people, Brendan and Evelyn, who meet in a small town in Cornwall where Evelyn has gone on vacation and Brendan is working in his father's bookstore. The story is told from both perspectives, Brendan's and Evelyn's. Theodora Goss vacation father book The book itself [The Thorn and The Blossom] is bound accordion-style: it has no spine, so it can open in either direction, and it's in a slipcase. Theodora Goss spine style book The Thorn and The Blossom can be read from either side - you can choose whether to read it from Brendan's or Evelyn's perspective first, and each one will give you a different sense of what happens in the story. Theodora Goss perspective different giving The format of the book was the idea of my wonderful editor, Stephen Segal. Stephen and I had worked together before, on projects for the Interstitial Arts Foundation, and when he got the idea for an accordion-style book, he called and asked if I could write the story for it. I told him that I would love to try! And I knew it had to be a love story, because that's the sort of story you really want to hear from both perspectives. I mean, imagine if Pride and Prejudice were told from Darcy's perspective as well as Elizabeth's. It would be quite a different story! Theodora Goss mean book art It happened the way I come up with any story, which is that I took elements of my own life and put them into the story, but in a very mixed-up way. Theodora Goss elements stories way