Ask the Author: Sean Beaudoin
Answered Questions (7)
Sean Beaudoin
Hey, Wordy -- I don't think there's any one particular answer. Everything's a story. To me the hardest part is sticking to one idea and forcing yourself not to try to cram too many things onto the top of it. Read Stewart O'Nan's book "Last Night at The Lobster". The entire thing takes place inside a Red Lobster and it's fascinating, although on the surface it sounds like the most boring book ever. It's basically a master class in the strength of focus. In terms of flow, lots of people outline elaborately. I know a guy who writes the ending first and works backward. Intentionally Broken Flow is probably a new underground Brooklyn movement. Personally, I wing it.
Sean Beaudoin
Well, it's a collection of short stories called "Welcome Thieves" that I've been working on for fifteen years. So I no longer remember where I got any of the ideas, even for the newer stories, because they've all gone through so many drafts. You might legitimately ask "Where did you get the idea that writing short stories was a good idea?", which is fair enough, given that they don't typically make the bestseller list, but I love both reading and writing them. There;s an economy and discipline involved in writing a really tight, satisfying story that can be found in no other type of writing.
Sean Beaudoin
All day long I have arguments in my head that could very well be essays. I hear voices that should be dialog. I compose first paragraphs and last paragraphs and character studies. There's a constant, pounding, unwritten story that occupies my brain like a mostly-genial squatter. Letting it out is possibly less inspiration than survival. Oh, and sometimes I get paid.
Sean Beaudoin
Sitting at a desk with a bunch of ideas and notes and coffee and good music blasting, with zero appointments or phone calls or socks on, and the knowledge that if I accomplish anything at all, it's entirely up to me. No one to ask favors of, no one to blame.
Sean Beaudoin
Read all the time. Practice every day just like you were learning to play the saxophone. Write lots of stuff you never intend to show anyone or try to have published. Not everything needs to be gold. Sometimes you just need to burn off some sulfur. Pay no attention to the success of others. Don't worry about social media. Just write.
Sean Beaudoin
I've never had writer's block. It's kinda like lactose intolerance, something I vaguely suspect is all a ruse. I have Not Enough Time Block.
Sean Beaudoin
"Cornelius Wrathbone" will be out with Candlewick Press spring '16....just finishing the final edits now.
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