My sister and I are big Dana Stabenow fans, and sis sent me a link a good while ago to a cybercast of Dana’s speech at the 2004 National Book Festival. The life of a writer being what it is, I just got around to watching it today while I was between projects. All I can say is that Dana is one cool chick as well as a fabulous writer. If you’ve not read her mysteries set in her home state of Alaska, get thee to the nearest bookstore or library and pick up a copy of A Cold Day for Murder, the first in the awesome Kate Shugak series. Dana’s writing is, in a word, evocative. I’ve never been to Alaska, but I feel like I have based on reading the Kate Shugak and Liam Campbell series. And for a study in marvelous characterization, you need look no further. Kate, Chopper Jim, Mutt, Bobby and the myriad of other odd and interesting characters make Kate’s real and three-dimensional.
As I listened to Dana’s presentation, I was 25-30 minutes in when she said something that made me go, “Yes!” She hit on a point I often make — that while we’re writers and craft and muse are important, the business side of writing is just as important. It’s just that, a business. Unless you’re writing purely for creative reasons and it doesn’t matter to you if you sell or not, you can’t escape the business side. You can still be creative and write wonderful stories, but you also have to treat your writing as a career. Dana says she writes at least 5 pages a day, and she sits in her chair in front of her computer until she’s written them — whether that takes only a small portion of her day or the whole thing! Can I get an Amen! Every writer is different, and that’s okay. But it’s always nice to hear a successful author advocate for the method I use, setting writing goals and sticking to them. Thanks, Dana.
To watch the cybercast of Dana’s speech as well as those of other authors such as Sandra Brown, Clive Cussler, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Joyce Carol Oates, Catherine Asaro and others, click here.
Leave a Reply