I do have the feeling that other writers can't help you with writing. I've gone to writers' conferences and writers' sessions and writers' clinics, and the more I see of them, the more I'm sure it's the wrong direction. It isn't the place where you learn to write. I've always felt strongly that a writer shouldn't be engaged with other writers, or with people who make books, or even with people who read them. I think the farther away you get from the literary traffic, the closer you are to sources. I mean, a writer doesn't really live, he observes.
The Art of Fiction #11 [The Paris Review #11, Winter 1955]
Use the link below to read an excerpt from the 1955 NELSON ALGREN interview:
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/4987/the-art-of-fiction-no-11-nelson-algren
You might also enjoy:
The Write Advice 012: SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR
The Write Advice 004: KURT VONNEGUT
The Write Advice 017: IRWIN SHAW
No comments:
Post a Comment