There's something special about writing by hand, writing with a fountain pen, and there's something special about writing into a book, to take a blank book and turn it into an actual book.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The act of writing is a way of tricking yourself into revealing something that you would never consciously put into the world. Sometimes I'm shocked by the deeply personal things I've put into books without realizing it.
It's the same thing in a way, although writing a book is a very solitary thing.
The whole purpose of writing a book is to be understood - if other people write about you, they try to guess why you did things, or they hear things from other people.
I love to write a book out of questions; in fact, I think it's the only way my writing can operate, if there's something I don't understand.
A writer uses a pen instead of a scalpel or blow torch.
Every book is like starting over again. I've written books every way possible - from using tight outlines to writing from the seat of my pants. Both ways work.
Making a book is a craft, like making a clock; it needs more than native wit to be an author.
I mean, the wonderful thing about writing a book is that you're getting a finished product at the end of the day. You're communicating directly with the reader.
Writing can be fun. I think the challenge is to convey interesting things in accessible ways, and that's what I aim to do in books.
To be a novelist, all I need is a pen and a piece of paper.