“Most great books have been about striving in some sense. In a sense, money is the great topic of the novel. You couldn't necessarily say that about poetry.” Has BeensBookNovelStriveTopicsGreat Book Author:Chad Harbach
“I think the MFA programs have had a real effect on the state of American fiction, but I don't think it's a question of "this is written by someone with an MFA, and this isn't." I challenge anyone to identify a book in that way. It's totally impossible.” ThinkingWayBookRealStatesChallengesFictionImpossibleWrittenEffectsProgram Author:Chad Harbach
“If you're part of any kind of writerly community, some of those people will have gone through MFA programs, and their thinking leaks into yours. So whatever changes MFAs have made to the culture, it's to the culture as a whole. It can't be pinned down to individual books in a way that some people would like to do.” PeopleIfsThinkingWayKindMadeBookWholeCultureIndividualCommunityGoneProgramLeaks Author:Chad Harbach
“It is no fun at all to have been writing a book for seven or so years, especially when you've never published anything before.” WritingYearsHas BeensBookFunSevenWriting A Book Author:Chad Harbach
“A lot of my close friends had tolerantly washed their hands of the whole idea of me writing a book. They had said to themselves, "I don't know what he's doing."” KnowsWritingSaidBookIdeasWholeHandsWriting A BookClose Friends Author:Chad Harbach
“I sold a book six years after I left an MFA program. In between, there was a lot of endurance of poverty and a lot of fighting off doubt. It's all a part of the process of being or becoming a writer.” YearsBookFightingLeftProcessPovertyDoubtBecomingSixProgramEndurance Author:Chad Harbach
“The idea of the writer who writes nineteen novels, with various ups and downs and levels of experimentation, isn't around so much now. There's a focus, I think, on fewer books, with more pressure on each book to succeed. With that there comes, I think, a certain pressure towards shapeliness in fiction. Towards neatness. And I think writers feel that, and it can effect how they write.” ThinkingFeelsWritingBookIdeasCertainLevelsFictionNovelFocusEffectsSucceedPressureVariousFewerUps & DownsExperimentationNineteenNeatness Author:Chad Harbach
“Most writers, most books, you have no idea whether it was a dollar or a million dollars.” BookIdeasMillionsDollarsNo IdeaMillion Dollars Author:Chad Harbach
“I tended to write the book in these bursts of two or three months at a time. So I would know, or at least feel securely, that for the next few months I was at least going to have a few hours a day.” KnowsFeelsWritingTwoBookThreeNextHoursMonthsThree Months Author:Chad Harbach
“I feel like every time I start up, it's like a truck you have to get into 15th gear, so you very solely crank into that mental space where you feel really immersed in the world of the book and then you can just kind of go.” WorldFeelsKindBookSpaceTruckGearsCrank Author:Chad Harbach
“My favorite sports novel is End Zone by Delillo. It's such a great looking book too, the black cover with the football player on it. It's just a fantastic little book.” LittlesBookEndsSportsBlackNovelPlayerFootballMy FavoriteFantasticZoneFootball PlayerFavorite Sports Author:Chad Harbach
