What I'm Reading

With all the movies and travel and job angst, sometimes it’s easy to forget that I’m a reader first. So what have I been reading lately?

Mostly magazines at this point. But I’m happy to report that I’m almost caught up on the New Yorkers. A new issue of N+1 has arrived. And so has the new issue of Poets and Writers.

There are times when I wonder whether I should renew Poets and Writers for another year. Then I get a new issue and find something really useful or even inspirational. In the current issue, for example, there’s a great article by Walter Mosley, “Writing Every Day: The First-Time Novelist's New Year Plan,” which is an excerpt from his upcoming book on writing. And yes, he talks about writing every day (nothing new here, and yet a good reminder given how scattered I’ve been about writing lately), why it’s important not to miss more than one day, and how much work is done subconsciously.

I’ve assembled a file of P&W articles—interviews with the authors I like, practical advice about MFA programs, magazines, and getting published in general, essays on craft—all of which I use a lot when I teach. Walter Mosley’s is definitely joining the file (in fact, I used it yesterday in my Grub Street class). In addition to the “pep talk” about writing every day, it also talks about character development ( “The story you tell, the characters you present, will all have dark sides to them. If you want to write believable fiction, you will have to cross over the line of your self-restraint”) and about using autobiographical material (“[W]ait until the book is finished before making a judgment on its content. By the time you have rewritten the text twenty times the characters may have developed lives of their own, completely separate from the people you based them on in the beginning”).

I’m slowly making my way through the issue 5 of N+1. (Full disclosure: I’ve been a big fan of N+1 from the beginning. One of its founding editors is my dear friend/compatriot/fellow Syracuse classmate, Keith Gessen.) I’m reading slowly because the articles are complex and challenging and not that easy to get through, say, at 7 in the morning when you’re barely awake. They require your undivided attention. Which is a good thing. For me, the highlights so far are the essay on pornography and a wonderful short story by Rebecca Curtis. I would’ve included links, but I couldn’t find the usual annotated table of contents. (Hint: Dear editors? Keith? Are you reading this? Will you update the website?)

And just in case you’re thinking that I’ve sworn off books in favor of magazines, I was reading a book this morning – The Voice Actor's Guide to Home Recording. No, I’m not contemplating a new career. But Movie Dictator is a voiceover artist, and we’re currently trying to figure out how to assemble a recording studio for him. So if you know any sound engineers, send them our way!