The Write Advice 159: DORIS LESSING

 

In the writing process, the more a story cooks, the better.  The brain works for you even when you are at rest.  I find dreams particularly useful.  I myself think a great deal before I go to sleep, and the details unfold in the dream.

 

'Mrs Lessing Addresses Some of Life's Puzzles' 

[Article by HERBERT MITGANG published in The New York Times, 22 April 1984)

 

 

Use the link below to visit the website of British/Zimbabwean writer DORIS LESSING (1919–2013):

 

http://dorislessing.org/

  

 

You might also enjoy:

 

The Write Advice 043: DORIS LESSING

 

The Write Advice 064: JOY WILLIAMS

  

The Write Advice 097: URSULA K LE GUIN

The Write Advice 043: DORIS LESSING

I'm sure I've said this before but I'll say it again –– there's a kind of problem between critics and writers.  A writer falls in love with an idea and gets carried away.  A critic looks at the finished product and ignores the rush of a river that went into the writing, which has nothing to do with the kind of temperate thoughts you have about it.  If you can imagine the sheer bloody pleasure of having an idea and taking it!  It's one of the great pleasures in my life.  My god, an idea!

'Q&A: Doris Lessing' [The Boston Globe, 5 August 2007]

 
 

Use the link below to read the full interview with British/Zimbabwean novelist DORIS LESSING:

 

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/05/qa_doris_lessing/?page=full

 


 

You might also enjoy:

 
The Write Advice 007: GLENDA ADAMS

 
The Write Advice 004: KURT VONNEGUT

 
The Write Advice 002: WILLA CATHER