“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Scott Turow

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 Scott Turow:

How He Writes: “Generally, I like to write in the morning before all the dust of dreams has blown away. Beforehand, I read two papers, cook my breakfast and then settle down in front of the word processor, usually by 8 a.m. I’ll write, and then check e-mail or voicemail when things stall. If the work is going very well, I’ll write for most of the morning and even an hour or two after lunch. But that is not invariable. At the moment, I’m at the inception of a novel — a sequel to Presumed Innocent — and is always true at this stage, I sometimes feel as if I should equip my desk chair with a seat belt. I try to make myself do a little every day, knowing that I will inch my way into the world I am trying to imagine.”

Writer’s Block Remedy: “Re-reading what I’ve already written will almost always do the trick. If nothing else, I can rewrite. More often, I’ll find that what’s there sparks other ideas.”

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

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