Q & A with Jason Goodwin discussion

Jason:

First, I have to thank you for the Yashim books! They are truly some of my favourite reads.

Regarding the writing process itself, what 'stage' do you find the hardest: researching, writing, editing, etc?

Thanks!
Sidney

Thanks, Sidney - so glad you've enjoyed the books. I don't know if you write, but if you do you'll know that research is the glorious bit - it's classed as work but really it's just an open-ended reading session, and it keeps you from having to do any actual real hard work, viz:
Writing! For all that, a great writing day is a great day. At dinner you're sunny, you have plenty of time for listening to children, the world is smiling. Bad days are when the plot begins to unravel from some unexpected glitch, the characters just stumble about without direction, and you know, in your heart of hearts, that this is going to end up on the cutting room floor.
Editing? It's fine. I happen to have a magnificent in-house editor who reads everything for free. Kate has absolutely zero tolerance for sloppily written scenes, cliches, and gratuitous sex or violence. I dread her vigorous scrawls in the margin - 'Whaaaat?' or 'Come on!' or 'puleez!' - but I always take her advice. It's kindly meant, I think.
Anyway, by the time you're editing, the book is there - in heft, in pages, in plot and character and all: it has to be better than staring at the mountain before you've climbed it.
nb On research, it's so often the unexpected detail that sticks in your mind - or the reference culled from something almost wholly unrelated to the subject in hand, that makes the grade. There's a supernatural character known as the Library Angel who can sometimes allow the exact book, and the exact passage from that book, fall open in your hand at the very moment you needed it. Many writers testify to it. Weird!

That Library Angel is second only to the writer's muse [g]
Just wondering... do you ever come across an event or person in research that you simply *have* to throw into the story?

Deniz wrote: "That Library Angel is second only to the writer's muse [g]
Just wondering... do you ever come across an event or person in research that you simply *have* to throw into the story?"

Check out the concurrent topic: On the writing process. There's the historic character who had to be brought in - the Valide. I've written a little about her history there.

Thanks for your illuminating reply, Jason!

As an aside, where might the free copies of An Evil Eye be hiding?

Sidney wrote: "Thanks for your illuminating reply, Jason!

As an aside, where might the free copies of An Evil Eye be hiding?"

Good question - Goodreads themselves were giving away a bunch of copies but maybe that's over - sorry! The library now???

No problem -- the library it is or, better yet, Amazon for a copy of my own.