Interview with
Garth Stein
Born in Los Angeles and raised in
Seattle, Garth's ancestry is diverse: his mother, a native of Alaska, is of
Tlingit Indian and Irish descent; his father, a Brooklyn native, is the child
of Jewish emigrants from Austria. After spending his childhood in Seattle and
then living in New York City for 18 years, Garth returned to Seattle, where he
currently lives with his wife, three sons, and their dog, Comet.
What are you reading right now?
Mostly
I read for endorsements these days. I'm about to start Bill Dietrich's new
book, THE BARBED CROWN, which will be out in May 2013, and I'm looking forward
to it as I love his writing. The last book I read for pleasure was Jon Ronson's
THE PSYCHOPATH TEST, which I really liked, with a few reservations.
What first sparked your interest in writing?
I
suppose it was my mother. She used to write children's stories, so when I was
growing up, I would always see her at her typewriter. I've always written
stories, so this is sort of a chicken-and-egg question, but I did do a
decade-long detour into documentary filmmaking when I was younger. The medium
may change, but storytelling is storytelling.
What do you love the most about writing? The least?<
What do you love the most about writing? The least?<
There's
something to love about writing? I thought it was some kind of terrible punishment
inflicted upon those of us who are otherwise unemployable. Seriously, writing
can be very difficult--long hours alone; pages, chapters, entire books thrown
away because they just aren't good enough. But I supposed when you get that
feeling--you know, of being in the zone and everything is right - that makes it
all worth it.
Tell us a little about your writing process.
I
write in the afternoons and evenings mostly. Part of my method is fatigue, I
think. Fighting through the fatigue. Because when the body begins to shut down,
so does the conscious mind, and that's when un-, sub- or supernatural forces
take over and, in all probability, creation begins (that's a Tom Stoppard
reference, if you didn't catch it). I do a lot of plot work before I delve into
a novel, but I'm always willing to change my story outline to suit the story. I
think good stories and characters are discovered, not invented, so the work is
really a collaboration between some psychic source or place of creation, and a
writer. Therefore, as writers, we have an obligation to be true to our stories
and characters and not contrive for them to act contrary to their natures.
What are your passions?
Gee,
I don't know. Is this one of those FIFTY SHADES OF GREY questions? I think
handcuffs are clunky and can damage furniture; I'm more a fan of soft
restraints.....Oh, wait. You mean, like, literary passions? I love a well-constructed,
transformative story. These don't come along very often, but when they do, they
can change the way one sees things. And that can be very profound, indeed.
What inspires you?
See
above. (The part about the transformative nature of literature, not the part
about the handcuffs.)
Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
Yes,
actually. Take acting classes. Actors are really good with motivation and
intention. You should be, too. If you are true to your characters, they will
not betray you. And most of all, know your characters so well that when one
comes knocking on your door decades down the line, you can show him your novel
and he will read it and say, "You've taught me something about myself - why
I am who I am, and why I've done what I've done." Because that's why we
write fiction, isn't it? Not just to tell a story, but to make sense of a story....