The sense of discovery only comes when I'm making discoveries alongside the reader. It feels crucial for me to not know too much about how things will turn out. So I try to develop strong characters with recognizable desires and put them together with other characters and see what happens.

Kevin Canty

Categorized in : Me Know Together Strong

The only thing I can say that is not bullshit is that you do have to learn to write in a way that you would learn to play the violin. Everybody seems to think that you should be able to turn on the faucet one day and out will come the novel. I think for most people it's just practice, practice, practice, that sense of just learning your instrument until - when you have an idea on the violin, you don't have to translate it into violin-speak anymore - the language is your own. It's not something you can think your way into, or outsmart. you've just got to do it.

practice writing thinking

If it's present in the life of the character, I'll write about it. Kitchen, bedroom, church, I'll follow a character wherever they go.

kitchen church character life

I would rather eat broken glass and drink iodine than do the dish... by Kevin Canty

I would rather eat broken glass and drink iodine than do the dishes.

glass eat drink broken

The moment I'm interested in, the moment I'm working toward in these stories, is when the familiar world seems strange.

working moment strange world