Ask the Author: Rachel Louise Snyder
Answered Questions (6)
Rachel Louise Snyder
I don't really get writer's block; I get writer's scheduling problems, which is that there's never enough time to write. But I tell my students, if they are blocked, to write about what is in front of them, or to their left... what's on their desk, on the walls around them, and why? What we choose to surround ourselves with usually has some meaning for us, some story behind it all... you dig yourself deeper into that magical, creative cave.
Rachel Louise Snyder
I get to follow the line of my curiosity wherever it leads me. I get to make things up, people I wish existed, moment I wish I'd lived through, things I wish I'd said. And, for nonfiction, I get to hear the stories of how people survive what the world throws at them; it's profound, this survival instinct. And humbling.
Rachel Louise Snyder
Write, and write, and write. I had an editor tell me many years ago that I was subpar; it hurt like a mother-f----. But I didn't let it stop me. I kept writing.
And memorize this fabulous quote by my brilliant friend, Ira Glass:
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."
And memorize this fabulous quote by my brilliant friend, Ira Glass:
"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."
Rachel Louise Snyder
Shorter project: a piece for the New York Times magazine on family murder and a piece for This American Life on a 1985 homicide. Longer project: a memoir.
Rachel Louise Snyder
There's really no such thing as inspiration. There's maybe an excellent thought or idea that come along (usually for me in times of profound procrastination), but I am one of those writers who thinks you should go to your writing place every day like it's an altar. Same place, same time, same mood... You skip it for almost nothing.
Rachel Louise Snyder
On a mountaintop in Vietnam... a friend told me about a mass burglary on the outskirts of Atlanta back in the 80s. Something like half a dozen houses had been robbed in one afternoon. It seemed like excellent fodder for exploring community, idealism, trauma. As a journalist, I've covered a fair number of natural disasters and I've always been struck by how grace and horror coexist in such moments. That's in part what the book explores.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more