Ask the Author: Monica Starkman
Answered Questions (4)
Monica Starkman
How did a girl like me without role models become a physician and then a professor in a prestigious medical school at a time when only 8% of medical school students were women? And have three children when most mothers were expected to stay at home and not be professionals?
I am currently writing a memoir to explore all that. And in contrast to when I started my novel, The End of Miracles, I already know the plot!
I am currently writing a memoir to explore all that. And in contrast to when I started my novel, The End of Miracles, I already know the plot!
Monica Starkman
My view is that in The End of Miracles, the baby was not irresponsibly 'unattended'. Mother stepped away briefly to check something out. Inattention, maybe - but having occasionally done that myself, I sympathize rather than blame her. But your view that inattention is never good enough with a child is certainly valid.
Monica Starkman
Bringing pleasure to other readers, in this way giving back for all of the pleasure I have derived from books.
Also, as a psychiatrist, it fascinates me to hear the particular connections different readers make to the book; within their overall excitement about it, each has a uniquely different take on some character, some event, some experience or feeling described in the book that particularly resonates with them. I am realizing that every book as it is being read is the co-creation of the writer and the reader.
Also, as a psychiatrist, it fascinates me to hear the particular connections different readers make to the book; within their overall excitement about it, each has a uniquely different take on some character, some event, some experience or feeling described in the book that particularly resonates with them. I am realizing that every book as it is being read is the co-creation of the writer and the reader.
Monica Starkman
I am a psychiatrist at the University of Michigan, and I was asked by obstetricians to consult with two patients with false pregnancy. I was quickly struck by the idea that this would be a wonderful nucleus for a novel that was both deeply psychological and suspenseful .
Monica Starkman
Start. Read good books and start observing how the writers solved problems you are having. Get a thesaurus and use it - finding the right word to express exactly what you mean helps unlock the next flow of ideas.
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