What I learn from famous writers

I’m really excited that I get to interview authors for my internship. I learn a lot from them and even though my personal aspiration to be a writer is, well, no longer existent, it’s so interesting to hear their points of view. I almost feel like I’m in the presence of a celebrity! Tonight I interviewed Will Self, a British author. I asked him if he concerns himelf with what the critics say about his work or what his readers expect from his writing and he just said that he writes for himself. When he sits down to write, he only worries about satisfying an audience of one—he writes the book that he wants to read. And everyone else…well, they’ll like it or they’ll love it, but Self said that if he worried about pleasing others with his writing, it would be not only a waste of time, but impossible to write. Maybe it doesn’t seem that striking, but I loved his honesty.

I interviewed Jay McInerney a couple weeks ago and he also said something interesting. When I mentioned that his writing was often uncomfortable for the reader, he said that writing’s goal, more than anything else, is to make the reader uncomfortable. If it doesn’t, then it isn’t doing its job. Wow! I don’t know, it just sounded so profound and honest to me. It really makes you think—both of the writers’ advice. And on both accounts, I've been able to ask interesting questions that have made Self and McInerney pause and think. I told McInerney his narration had the feeling that his characters were in a confessional. It's very intimate, which McInerney hadn't considered. And I asked Self if the recurrence of Prentice's psoriasis was an intentional physical reminder of the stains of imperialism (want to know more? Read "The Butt"). He had also never thought about it...! I know these guys must have a lot of interviews all the time and the questions often overlap, and I'm sure a lot of mine did, but it was kind of cool to catch them with a different, interesting question. I think each time I do an interview I'll get more and more relaxed and at-ease with it. I really like it!