Star asked Roxane Gay:

I hunger for Hunger but was thrilled to hear about Difficult Women. You seem able to skillfully toggle between fiction and nonfiction. Short story and essay. When you sit down to write do you know which it is you will be writing before you get words on the page? How do you approach them differently?

Roxane Gay Hunger is coming soon. Hang tight! When I sit down to write I generally do know if it's going to be fiction or nonfiction but my process is fairly similar--I do a lot of writing and drafting in my head. I'm often thinking through a complex question and the writing is my way of trying to answer that question. The difference in my approach is that in my nonfiction, I want to be persuasive and clear on where I stand but I also want to respect other points of view even as I explain why I disagree with them.

More Answered Questions

Bea

Bea asked Roxane Gay:

Hi, Roxanne. First want to say how much I have enjoyed " Bad Feminist". As a PR woman born & raisedin NYC during those turbulent 60s & 70s, it fills me with pride to read your work. What advise can you give me when confronted with race issues today that is now undisguised under this administration?

A Goodreads user

A Goodreads user asked Roxane Gay:

Just wanted to let you know that your advice to write across race freely, but with credible effort, has emboldened me to make my novel a heck of a lot more diverse. (Previously all white female characters, now with people of Mexican, Indian, African American background). How did you get comfortable writing across race? Or were you ever uncomfortable?

Sarah

Sarah asked Roxane Gay:

Hi! Pretty thrilled I have the opportunity to ask you a question directly...! In Bad Feminist you mention having a blog. I'm currently trying to set my own blog up but seem to have a pretty bad case of writer's block. Do you have any tips for getting an authentic image of yourself out there? Or any tips on actually getting started writing blog posts? We're a big fan of your work in Dublin :)

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