Ask the Author: Stephen Gallup
Answered Questions (5)
Stephen Gallup
Lately I 've been making a point of reading books previously shelved in my To-Read list, as opposed to ignoring those titles and reading whatever comes to hand. Consequently, reading has become more enjoyable. A book is marked to-read if a friend recommends it or I see it mentioned in an interesting context, and especially if the subject intersects with my obsessions.
Novels moving into my queue include:
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann
Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
The Periodic Table, by Primo Levi
Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden
And there's one nonfiction title, which may help in linking all the flights of fancy with reality:
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't, by Nate Silver
Hopefully, write-ups of all the above, and several others, will be on my Read shelf before summer's end.
Novels moving into my queue include:
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum McCann
Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel
The Periodic Table, by Primo Levi
Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden
And there's one nonfiction title, which may help in linking all the flights of fancy with reality:
The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't, by Nate Silver
Hopefully, write-ups of all the above, and several others, will be on my Read shelf before summer's end.
Stephen Gallup
Before his birth, something disastrous happened to my firstborn son. As a baby, he lived in distress. Growing older, he experienced enormous difficulty acquiring basic skills. As an adult, he leads a blighted life. His condition remains undiagnosed and unexplained.
A secondary but persistent question is why health care providers showed almost zero professional curiosity in understanding what happened, the mechanism for how it affects him, or how to help.
The current presumption is that his problems originated with a genetic error. However, no such error has been identified. If the answer lies in that direction, the error is going to be very, very subtle, in comparison with known syndromes and disorders. The story of its pursuit could be geeky, depending on how an author handled it.
On the other hand, maybe genetics is not the answer. It's just the latest of many unproven possible explanations that have seemed plausible at one time or another over the years.
When people cannot explain an inescapable problem like this, there has often been an impulse to look for spiritual causes—karma, nemesis, divine retribution, that sort of thing. A story with that kind of resolution could be written at any time.
But I'm holding out for something more anchored in the reality we know.
A secondary but persistent question is why health care providers showed almost zero professional curiosity in understanding what happened, the mechanism for how it affects him, or how to help.
The current presumption is that his problems originated with a genetic error. However, no such error has been identified. If the answer lies in that direction, the error is going to be very, very subtle, in comparison with known syndromes and disorders. The story of its pursuit could be geeky, depending on how an author handled it.
On the other hand, maybe genetics is not the answer. It's just the latest of many unproven possible explanations that have seemed plausible at one time or another over the years.
When people cannot explain an inescapable problem like this, there has often been an impulse to look for spiritual causes—karma, nemesis, divine retribution, that sort of thing. A story with that kind of resolution could be written at any time.
But I'm holding out for something more anchored in the reality we know.
Stephen Gallup
When I asked myself this question, the answer that immediately sprang to mind was Macon and Muriel in Anne Tyler's wonderful novel
The Accidental Tourist
. Thinking that answer was too easy, I pondered a while. Of course there is also Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, who are delightful and memorable. They would probably be my second choice. But sad, bereaved Macon and his rescue by the unconventional Muriel may speak more to contemporary circumstances.
My reading tends to focus less on relationships than on life challenges. No doubt other readers will have more couples to choose from. But I do highly recommend The Accidental Tourist and pretty much anything else by Anne Tyler, although many of her stories have common elements (as I mention in my write-up on Noah's Compass).
My reading tends to focus less on relationships than on life challenges. No doubt other readers will have more couples to choose from. But I do highly recommend The Accidental Tourist and pretty much anything else by Anne Tyler, although many of her stories have common elements (as I mention in my write-up on Noah's Compass).
Stephen Gallup
David, it's unlikely that I am any busier than the next person. For one thing, a lot of what I probably ought to be doing doesn't get done! Also, much of what I do in terms of writing occurs only when the stars align/inspiration strikes, which is part of the reason I spent more than a decade putting WATB together, and then more years burnishing it (putting in commas and then taking them out again -- that sort of thing). To learn a really productive writer's secrets, maybe we should both contact Joyce Carol Oates. The only personal trait that frees up time is avoiding television. Once in a blue moon I watch something on DVD but several years have passed since I gave any time to the networks. Of course, it’s possible to waste just as much time "staring at a computer screen" (my daughter’s perception of what I do), so turning off the tube in itself may not be enough…
Stephen Gallup
For each of us, I think enormous gratification is possible when we endeavor to shape and put a personal stamp on what we’re given, in terms of our experiences, insights, visions, etc. In my case, writing is the outlet through which creativity flows most easily, which means I’m happier with the process and the results of writing, as opposed to, say, music or painting. But surely any form of honest and creative expression can achieve the same result. That release is “the best thing,” and for me it provides all the motivation I need to write. Then the other half of the process is the potential connection with a reading audience. I’m touched any time someone takes the time to say he or she appreciates and cares about my work.
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