"A girl was never ruined by books," my mother used to say. I've spent most of my life trying to prove that wrong.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Notes from the Writing Life: Sally Koslow on Fiction and Non-fiction

The New York Times has an intersting essay by Sally Koslow, former editor of McCall's and author of three novels and a new book of nonfiction about the difficulty some parents and young people have cutting the umbilical cord, Slouching toward Adulthood.  Writers will find the whole thing worth reading, as will any reader who wonders "how it's done."  Here are some particularly interesting bits:

"Researching a work of nonfiction...results in inevitable discord that must be sorted, coded and mobilized at the end of an investigation...(The nonfictionn writer must sift) through file..a veritable LEGOLAND of research blocks that not only must I snap together, but mold into a flowing narrative saturated with a consistent voice.

"A novel, on the other hand, must be true primarily on a gut level. Facts can become an impediment. In my case, the editor of my first book shared that she liked everything about its story line except that the protagonist, the editor of a women’s magazine, was a Jewish girl from North Dakota. “No reader will buy this!” As I assured her that this detail was ripped from my résumé, I learned that even in fiction — especially in fiction — you have to persuade readers that the truth is real.

"In fiction, creativity is the glue that holds the work together, and an author sells herself on the idea that a sense of childish make-believe will pull her through. In nonfiction, curiosity becomes the cement."

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