“I have long admired Caroline Leavitt's probing insight into people, her wit and compassion, her ability to find humor in dark situations, and conversely, her tenderness towards characters.” PeopleLongCharacterDarkAbilityCompassionSituationInsightWitTendernessProbing Author:Dan Chaon
“I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. You have some basic ideas - a character, or an image, or a situation that sounds compelling - and then you just feel your way around until you find the edges of your story. It's like going into a dark room... you stumble around until you find the walls and then inch your way to the light switch.” ThinkingWayFeelsWritingIdeasCharacterStoriesLightSoundDarkRoomsSituationWallInstinctEdgesInchesCompellingDark Room Author:Dan Chaon
“I start with an image, then I go from the image toward exploring the situation. Then I write a scene, and from the scene I find the character, from the character I find the larger plot. It's like deductive reasoning - I start with the smaller stuff and work backward.” WritingCharacterStuffSituationSceneReasoningPlotExploring Author:Dan Chaon
“Identity issues are hardwired into the way I think about character - it's almost as if I can't get away from them even if I want to.” IfsThinkingWayWantI CanCharacterIssuesIdentityGet Away Author:Dan Chaon
“I knew I wanted to play around with genre-esque imagery, and the identity theft stuff came in the middle, when I was figuring out how the characters were connected to those images.” PlayCharacterWantedStuffMiddleIdentityConnectedGenreImageryTheftIdentity Theft Author:Dan Chaon
“I don't think anybody deals well with tragedy or grief, but maybe my characters are particularly bad at it. Which is why I love them.” ThinkingCharacterGriefTragedy Author:Dan Chaon
“There is a stage you reach, Deagle thinks, a time somewhere in early middle age, when your past ceases to be about yourself. Your connection to your former life is like a dream or delirium, and that person who you once were is merely a fond acquaintance, or a beloved character from a storybook. This is how memory becomes nostalgia. They are two very different things - the same way that a person is different from a photograph of a person.” ThinkingWayLovePersonsTwoDifferentCharacterDreamAgePastLife IsMemoriesMiddleStageConnectionsPhotographNostalgiaCeaseFormerBelovedDifferent ThingsAbout YourselfAcquaintanceMiddle AgesYour PastLife Is LikeDeliriumFormer Life Author:Dan Chaon
