The Writer Speaks is a selection of interviews I’ve come across over the years on YouTube with a variety of writers including Charlie Kaufman, Christopher Durang, and Emma Thompson. There are many more of course but these are ones I’ve enjoyed and I think any writer interested in learning a bit about the creative process will enjoy these conversations as well.
For myself when I began a more serious attempt at putting something down on paper I read On Writing by Stephen King and I found there were a couple of lessons from King that worked well for me. Probably the most important one is not to share the work until you’ve finished the first draft.
In fact, once you’ve finished the first draft you put it in a drawer and leave it. Let some time pass. Then when you come back to it a month later you have fresh eyes and can read the story with a more analytical mind.
The reason you don’t share the story during the writing process is because you don’t want the story to be influenced by the opinions and thoughts of others. This works well for me but I know there are other writers who like to have input and getting feedback as they write is part of their process. I’m not saying you don’t need to share the work and get feedback I’m just saying for myself early feedback usually disrupts my writing process rather than helps it.
The key of course is to find out what works for you. There is no wrong or right. You’re not Stephen King or Margaret Atwood and what works for them may not work for you.
Anyway, I wish you well on your writing journey and I hope you find the interviews below as informative and entertaining as I have.
John Irving at Home – TIME
Rachel Cusk Interview: You Can Live the Wrong Life
Writer Ian McEwan: How to Describe a Life
Charlie Kaufman: BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “I am really interested in human beings.”
Jonathan Franzen Interview: Books Made Me Survive
Somerset Maugham Interview (1955)
Christopher Durang & David Lindsay-Abaire – Dramatist Guild
Deborah Levy – “In fiction, you have characters who are your avatars.” Louisiana Channel
Kurt Vonnegut interview on His Life and Career (1983)
“American Fiction” Director Cord Jefferson Talks Black Storytelling and Working with Jeffrey Wright
Emma Thompson – BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series
William Goldman: The Writer Speaks
The Power of Reading: Jamaica Kincaid on How Reading Formed Her
John Irving: Why the World According to Garp is more relevant now than he ever imagined
