Goodreads asked Susan Donovan Bernhard:

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

Susan Donovan Bernhard Every once in a (great) while, the words flow like they're being channeled. It's amazing sometimes that the story is locked inside at all so when it comes out like it's being summoned whole, it's pretty fun. I used to find it so pretentious when writers talked about their characters as if they were real people. But it happens sometimes. Characters get a mind of their own. I recently abandoned a project because the characters were too stubborn. I'd sit in my chair to write and I pictured them staring at me, arms crossed, leaning up against a fence. If I asked them to move or speak, it was like they just stared back at me, slowly shaking their heads, like, "Nope that's not my story." Even that experience, of the whole thing going sideways, is kind of cool. You can't force it, that's for sure. But that's the writing. The best part of being a writer is most definitely being part of a community of writers. Mine is generous, talented, creative, and funny. So many true and dear friends.

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