Ask the Author: Pythia Peay
Answered Questions (6)
Pythia Peay
You're welcome, Jack! I look forward to subscribing to your blog.
Pythia Peay
I get inspired to write by finding and telling a really good story: because whether a writer is a journalist, a fiction, science fiction or fantasy novelist, an online blogger, or an historian, writing that holds a reader's attention turns on a tale.
Pythia Peay
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Edit, edit, edit. Do whatever it takes to feed the fires of your creative imagination. Do this every day, for as long as you can, with discipline and commitment and faith in what you're working on, and keep on doing this even if you don't achieve fame or success. Then you will become a writer.
Pythia Peay
This makes me think of that famous line, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." So there are many things to love about writing: I'm an introvert by nature, so it satisfies the part of me that loves to be solitary and alone. I love how writing is a kind of magic carpet ride to unseen worlds. I love the feeling that comes from crafting a sentence or a passage as beautiful as a painting, or a piece of sculpture. I love knowing that really good writing can enter the reader's soul, and change their way of seeing the world. But mostly I love writing because when the words and the story are really flowing, it feels like I'm transcribing something that's already been written, something kind of sacred, and doing this changes who I am.
Pythia Peay
First of all, I try not to see it as a "block." Instead, I tend to think of writing as an adventure or a journey to a place I've never been before. So in this sense, arriving at an impasse in my narrative can mean I've come to a difficult spot—like a steep cliff, or a swirling rapid on a river, or a thunderstorm—and that requires me to sit awhile and consider thoughtfully the most strategic route that will get me through to the other side. Second, it can also mean I've reached a place in my story that requires more work, like additional research, or rewriting—and resisting that can lead to a creative standstill. Third, it might mean I'm simply tired, and need to take a break, whether an hour's walk, or even a few days off doing other things. Nine times out of ten when I come back from these breaks, the "block" has dissolved, and I can move forward again.
Pythia Peay
Because in telling my father's story as a way to understand why he was the way he was, I came to see that he'd been shaped as much by the history of his times—the Depression, the Pennsylvania Railroad, Brazil in World War II, the rising wave of commercial aviation he rode as a pilot, and so on, and by larger American themes. I spent considerable time with this historical research, as well as tracking down family members for their memories. In addition, I also interviewed psychologists to try and understand my father's eccentricity, depression, and alcoholism, and also the deeper influences on him of the American psyche. I had so much material left over from these interviews that my publisher decided to create a companion volume of interviews so they could be read in their entirety, which became AMERICA ON THE COUCH.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more