“A story works when there's momentum, life behind the words. Some stories have this and others don't, and it's difficult to say why this is. If all stories "worked," though, writing wouldn't be much of a challenge; it wouldn't be art.” IfsWritingArtStoriesDifficultChallengesBehindsMomentum Author:Mary J. Miller
“Making all of those words work together is difficult. It took a lot of cleaning up, a lot of rewriting scenes in order to make them more vivid. I used everything - every oddity I've ever seen on the side of the road, every interesting memory I could make relevant.” TogetherUsedOrderDifficultSidesMemoriesInterestingSceneWorking TogetherRelevantCleaningVery InterestingVividRewritingCleaning UpOddities Author:Mary J. Miller
“It's difficult for me to imagine any scene differently because I've read the book so many times. The book, as a whole, seems like a document that wouldn't withstand any changes at this point. Or perhaps I simply can't imagine having to revise it again.” BookWholeSeemsDifficultImagineSceneDocuments Author:Mary J. Miller
“There were definitely scenes I struggled with more than others: the car accident and the thunderstorm are two that come to mind. It's difficult to write about a thunderstorm. There are only so many ways to describe it and our vocabulary is so limited. And the car accident scene required a tense, manic quality that had to be conveyed in the language, as well as the character's dialogue and actions. I was editing these scenes long after I thought I was finished with them.” WayWritingMindWellsLongTwoCharacterActionLanguageDifficultQualityCarSceneFinishedAccidentsDialogueEditingVocabularyTenseManicCar AccidentThunderstorm Author:Mary J. Miller
“It's something that's difficult to explain but I think all writers work this way to some extent, whether we're aware of it or not. For me, writing has little to do with thinking. I don't want to control the narrative. I listen to the rhythm of the words and dialogue and try to give the characters the space in which to say and do what they want without intervening too much.” ThinkingWayWantGivingWritingTryingLittlesCharacterDifficultSpaceToo MuchDialogueRhythmNarrativeIntervening Author:Mary J. Miller