Ask the Author: Leif Whittaker
Answered Questions (3)
Leif Whittaker
When I followed in my father’s footsteps to the summit of Mount Everest, the story was too good not to write about. Still, I needed five years to shape it into a book. I would have done it much faster if I wasn’t paralyzed by the fear that someone might read it. Months of obsessive writing were followed by weeks without a single glance at the story. When I did look at it again, I inevitably hated it, and I convinced myself that a complete overhaul was required. After dozens of these cycles, I realized I needed to let go. Nevertheless, without a deadline from the publisher, I would probably still be tinkering.
Leif Whittaker
When you have an idea, write it down. A professor once told me that good writers walk around with scraps of napkin, receipts, and corners of paper bags in their pockets from having to write down ideas that came to them amid the everyday clutter of life. That image always resonated with me.
Leif Whittaker
I shut down my computer and go for a walk in a nearby park with a small notebook and pen in my pocket. I try not to think about my writing project, but when I move my body through nature, my mind clears and the sentences, phrases, and ideas inevitably arise. Even one good sentence can be enough to unlock the flood of words.
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