“I loved short stories, and they were all I wanted to write. I love the compression of them and the exactitude needed to get a whole world into such a small space.” WorldWritingWholeStoriesWantedSpaceNeededWhole WorldShort StorySmall SpacesCompressionExactitude Author:Debra Dean
“I kept writing short stories and sending out my manuscript, and it kept coming back like a bad penny. It was rejected all over town, quite often in very complimentary terms, but rejected nonetheless. Agents would return it saying that they loved it but didn't think they could sell it, or they would ask if I could change the collection into linked stories.” IfsThinkingWritingStoriesAsksTermReturnTownsSellsAgentsIf I CouldCollectionsShort StoryRejectedLinkedComing BackPenniesManuscriptsWriting ShortWriting Short Stories Author:Debra Dean
“Once I had started, I discovered the secret pleasure of writing a novel. It's such an immersive, deep commitment. With short stories, you're continually having to start again from scratch, but with a novel you only need one good idea every few years.” NeedsWritingYearsIdeasStoriesPleasureSecretNovelCommitmentShort StoryGood IdeasScratches Author:Debra Dean
“The trajectory of my writing has moved further and further away from autobiography. My first stories in Confessions of a Falling Woman worked familiar territory - places I had lived, people I knew, my life as an actor in New York - and many were prompted by or grounded in personal experience.” PeopleWritingFirstsStoriesFallActorsNew YorkMovedFamiliarTerritoryConfessionAutobiographyGroundedPersonal ExperiencesTrajectory Author:Debra Dean
“With the historical fictions, I was already doing so much research, and so much of the stories was anchored by historical truth that the move to nonfiction didn't feel all that dramatic - just another half-step to the right.” FeelsStoriesMovingHalfFictionStepsResearchHistoricalDramaticHistorical FictionNonfictionHistorical Truth Author:Debra Dean
