How many folks here have written a novel?

Coke, alcohol and Class A drugs.

 

You either hear your characters or you don't. I think it can be learned.

One of these days it will be revealed that Tom Stoppard worked on IB.

 

Sounds like a great three-day weekend. Who needs sleep?

 

I would prefer MLB drugs, were I so inclined.

 

What kind of novel would people write?

 

I got 300-some pages into writing a coming-of-age navel-gazing monstrosity between ages of 21 and 26 entitled “Napkins Shaped Ohio.” I have no idea what the fuck “Napkins Shaped Ohio” even meant. It went downhill from there. I won’t even let my wife read that thing. It’s like Jerry Lewis’ clown movie. It’s never seeing the light of day.

 

We all have one of those. That's the buy-in.

The question is, what do you do next?

 

Elmore Leonard learned the architecture of his dialogue from . . . WC Heinz.

Wrote him a fan letter to thank him.

 

How does a violin play a giraffe?

 

Without a hyphen for starters.

 

Worth noting here how many famous authors got a late start.

Wilder didn't begin the 'Little House' series until she was 65.

Frank McCourt was 66 when 'Angela Ashes' was published.

I shared an editor with this guy, Charles Chadwick, whose debut novel was published when he was 72.

Norman Maclean was 74 when he published 'A River Runs Through It.'

Get to work.

 

Or write something great and kill yourself before you are 32.