David Joy
A lot of writers I've known very closely write everyday. I don't. And so for a long time there was a part of me that felt like I was doing something wrong. Then one day I stumbled onto an interview with Raymond Carver in the Paris Review where Carver is explaining his process and it was identical to how I work.
Carver said, "When I'm writing, I write every day. It's lovely when that's happening. One day dovetailing into the next. Sometimes I don't even know what day of the week it is. The 'paddle-wheel of days,' John Ashbery has called it. When I'm not writing, like now, when I'm tied up with teaching duties as I have been the last while, it's as if I've never written a word or had any desire to write. I fall into bad habits. I stay up too late and sleep in too long. But it's okay. I've learned to be patient and to bide my time. I had to learn that a long time ago. Patience."
When I read that I suddenly felt justified in my process. I don't write everyday, and on days when I'm not writing I indeed feel as if I've never written a word. But what I've learned is to trust in my process, to have patience that when I have something worth writing, I will write. Time and time again, it happens.
Carver said, "When I'm writing, I write every day. It's lovely when that's happening. One day dovetailing into the next. Sometimes I don't even know what day of the week it is. The 'paddle-wheel of days,' John Ashbery has called it. When I'm not writing, like now, when I'm tied up with teaching duties as I have been the last while, it's as if I've never written a word or had any desire to write. I fall into bad habits. I stay up too late and sleep in too long. But it's okay. I've learned to be patient and to bide my time. I had to learn that a long time ago. Patience."
When I read that I suddenly felt justified in my process. I don't write everyday, and on days when I'm not writing I indeed feel as if I've never written a word. But what I've learned is to trust in my process, to have patience that when I have something worth writing, I will write. Time and time again, it happens.
More Answered Questions
Kirsten
asked
David Joy:
Hey David I just finished your book " Where all the light tends to go", and Im still coming down from the high off the book. I've been craving a book this amazing since I read Dean Koontz's " velocity". At type of story where you're sure you know what's going to happen next. Basically thank you for this amazing story and sharing your talent. Is your 2017 book the same genre?
Gary
asked
David Joy:
David, there is a slight chance that you may remember my mentioning that the end of your novel reminded me of the end of Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me," in which the narrator makes a similar choice. Do you remember this discussion? It was before the book was published, but I had an "advance copy." I am not sure that I remember my own reasoning now, but it may be that Thompson's protagonist had a different mo
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