Zainab Abdul Aziz
asked
Richard Russo:
Hello Mr Russo. As an aspiring writer, I always find writing is harder than what people always think. However, brilliant writer like you make it seem easier. I always wonder what and how you keep the idea flow. Would you share with us your writing routine and any advise or tips to aspiring writers like me? -zaa
Richard Russo
Hi, Zaina (if I'm intuiting your first name correctly). Flow, as you call it, derives (I suspect) from concentrating on small things and ignoring big ones. Novels (and even most short stories) are just too big to hold in your head at once. And even the biggest novels are a series of small, true moments. Concentrate on those and the whole will take care of itself. In other words: small bites, chew thoroughly before swallowing, repeat. To that end, write every day, but only a couple hours. Seven days times two hours is fourteen hours a week. That's much better than binge-writing for fourteen hours on the weekend. All that does is make you dread weekends.
More Answered Questions
Shelley Russell
asked
Richard Russo:
Hi there! Thanks for taking questions...such a fan of your work. Straight Man and Empire Falls...didn't want them to end. So many characters you've created have "stuck with me". Is there any character that you have identified more closely with? Which character felt most personal to you? Thanks and looking forward to your newest!
Caron Kamps Widden
asked
Richard Russo:
Loved Nobody's Fool (since I married into an upstate NY family and Sully was so familiar to me) and look forward to your sequel. Was there a particular moment when it occurred to you that there was a second novel to be written? Or was it something that came to you over time?
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
Jun 26, 2016 09:36PM