“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Myla Goldberg

I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February.

Today’s writer is Myla Goldberg:

Myla Goldberg is the author of the novels Bee Season (that’s spelling bees, not stinging bees) and Wickett’s Remedy (about the 1918 flu epidemic). Her short stories have appeared in the anthology, Virgin Fiction, as well as in the literary journals Eclectic Literary Forum and American Writing. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

How She Writes: “I don’t have any odd rituals — no candles to light, no offerings to the Muse. I simply write Monday through Friday for between 6 and 8 hours like any other working stiff.”

Fights Writer’s Block: “Mostly through denial. I make myself sit down at the keyboard no matter what, no matter how terrible I feel the writing is going or how little I may be in the mood. If things are really, really bad, I give myself a day off to eavesdrop in cafes or go to a matinee or a museum or something. A day spent in the city tends to have incredible rejuvenating powers — either that or the guilt of a day spent not writing sends me back to my desk feeling ready and willing again.”

Come back tomorrow at 9AM PST for more writing wisdom.