Garth’s Comments (group member since Jun 03, 2010)

Garth’s comments from the Q&A with Garth Stein group.

You guys have been great. The zebra has taken on a life of its own, clearly!

But remember what Enzo teaches us: The zebra is us! Sometimes, we are our own worst enemy. So face the zebra, overcome your fears, and let yourself succeed! By being true to yourself, you will gain much. As Don Kitch says: "There is no shame in losing the race. There is only shame in not racing because you are afraid to lose!"

So get out on the track and start racing! That's where you belong!

Just Me wrote: "Thank you so much for this discussion!!! I loved The Art of Racing in the Rain (during vacation last year, my mom came to me after she had finished it and said, "You have to read this.")

I was ju..."

POV is all a matter of touch and feel. Each book or story will have a different way of telling. It's like a sculptor looking at a block of marble: the artist "sees" what the marble wants to be. If you have a lot of characters coming and going, you need third person to avoid the confusion. A nice fit for you might be a third person limited pov. That's what my second book, How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets was written in. It gives some of the intimacy of first person, but allows some of the latitude of third omniscient.

But, honestly, Just Me, this is all bicycle riding stuff. Until you get on and pedal, you don't really know what all the advice is about. So try a few different pov's and see what suits you and what suits your story! Good luck!

Thanks for coming everyone. I hope we were active enough! I'll do my best to come back after my next book is published--be sure to look for it! (If you sign up for my newsletter on my website, you can keep up to date!)

I'll check in later tonight to see if there are any more questions or comments. Otherwise.....have a happy summer!

Alethea wrote: "My friend Bill Elverman recommended this book to me when I was feeling sickly. I loved it! I gotta ask though--where did the psycho zebra come from? LOL! You probably get asked this a lot."

Check the zebra thread!

Nicole wrote: "Hello, Garth! I just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain (and added How Evan Broke His Head to my "To Read" list), and I have what I hope is not an insulting question. In a nutshell, what did I..."

I think you missed something.... Or you didn't miss it, but you don't trust yourself. The first chapter is in the evening. Denny plans for the one-way trip in the morning. In the morning, he makes Enzo pancakes as his last meal, but before they go to the vet, Enzo expires. It's a pretty simple structure. Don't over-complicate things!

Terry Lynn wrote: "Garth, I'm in complete awe of the time commitment to do this. You are a rock star.
I've already emailed you last year gushing of how much I loved Racing.
I'm now waiting for my own debut about ..."

I'm hard at work on my new book, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait to find out more. When I'm in the middle, I find it very difficult to talk about!

LindaB wrote: "Garth,
Something comes to mind that I kept on wondering while and after reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain"...
If Enzo's next incarnation (and dogs in general) was to become a human...where do ..."

I had to do an interview "as Enzo." (Don't ask!)

Interviewer: "Cats: Take them or leave them?"

Enzo: "Take them and leave them where? I'd be happy to."

P wrote: "I actually loved the whole zebra thing. I often ask my dogs what they're thinking--now I know what goes through the younger one's mind when she's alone! I also have a black lab/golden mix and my da..."

I do a talk about The Hero's Journey using Enzo and Buck from The Call of the Wild as examples. One day I'll podcast it and put it on my website.

Shelli wrote: "Hi Garth....I loved TAORITR! I am curious too if you have a dog. The Zebra scene was great. We actually took our kids on a drive-thru safari in Texas and I told the kids "don't worry...Zebra's are ..."

Never trust a zebra....

Cayr wrote: "Garth,

Do you have a dog?



Of course. Check my icon. That's my dog, Comet.

Tovansteve wrote: "I loved Enzo. He spoke with such a real and convincing voice- I imagined hearing him talk! When you write, do you start with the characters and then let them tell the story? Or, do you start wit..."

Good question. That's sort of the art of writing. I can only speak to my experiences..... for me, it's about the character in transition. So it's not just the voice of the character, but the voice of the character trying to figure something out. Then, the character and the plot become one, because the plot is the investigation (internal or external) that the character undertakes, if that makes sense.

I mean, it's sort of a chicken or egg question. Which one came first? Neither could exist without the other, therefore, neither came first. They just came.

Thus, with a story, character or plot first? The plot wouldn't exist without the character and the character wouldn't exist without the plot...

That probably doesn't help much. Maybe this will help: whichever inspiration comes to you first, plot or character, listen very carefully to what it (or he or she) says. It's the sensitivity with which a writer handles that moment of creation that allows the book to grow.

Linda wrote: "Garth wrote: "Jay wrote: "Your book "The Art of Racing in the Rain" is an amazing novel. I loved it!

Do you believe that reading is an important part of being a good writer?"

Yes. (That was..."

Well, reading is an important part of learning the craft of writing and of seeing examples of good writing and getting ideas of things to steal. It's hard for me to read novels when I'm writing a novel. I find the voice bleeding into my narrative.

Jay wrote: "If you could change anything about your book (The Art of Racing in the Rain," what would it be?"

Enzo would be a squirrel. They're so cute!

Jen wrote: "I heard an interview that you gave, Garth, I think with Nancy Pearl where you talked about the zebra scene having started with a simple character sketch of Enzo. At what point did you know that it..."

Ah, yes! Once I finished the scene, I realized I had really hit on something I could use throughout the book. I had no idea there was going to be a zebra in the story until I had written that chapter!

You can find that interview on the Seattle Channel. (I think you can link to it from my website, too. Yes. Go here and scroll down to the video interviews.... http://www.garthstein.com/media/cover...

Linda wrote: "in addition to motivation for the scene, why a zebra and not a more "traditional" stuffed animal like a bear?"

Oh, come on! Would a bear ever do that to a Barbie doll?

Joanna wrote: "Oh, i forgot to mention that I am actually thinking of adopting another dog, which will be named Enzo of course :D"

;-)

Linda wrote: "This doesn't change my feelings about zebras one bit! ;) It makes me wonder if this was a necessary part of the transition of Enzo's psyche into something more human than he all ready was at this p..."

Don't we all make mistakes, screw things up sometimes, and then blame some outside source? "You made me do it." "If you hadn't said this, I would have said that." Etc. We often blame others for our own misdeeds and misfortune. Enzo wants us to expose our own inner demons!

Mike wrote: "I really loved this book and, of course, Enzo. :)

I race a 1967 Porsche 911 with vintage race groups and NASA. Aside from all the standard things I liked about this book, I was very impressed wi..."

I raced with SCCA for four years. Spec Miata. You know, those annoying little cars that can kick your butt through the turns but can't pull on the straights? (Porsche drivers hate SMers! Tee-hee-hee!)

Patrick wrote: "The zebra scene takes Enzo the philosopher dog and lets him have a imaginary flight into Enzo "El Cane de la Mancha" battling his own windmills...
Don't we all need that at some point.
Imagination..."

Alonzo is a great one!

Gio wrote: "Hey Garth,
So my question isn't so much about, but about editing. I figure many established writers edit their manuscript before letting the pros take it from them. Do you use a method(s) or a proc..."

Yes. She's called my wife. She's a fantastic editor. Every writer needs a trusted friend/spouse/partner/consultant he can depend on for solid, genuine, straight-forward advice.

My friend, Alan Rinzler, is a fantastic freelance editor in San Francisco, and he helps me, too. You can google him.