“But it's hard for me to pinpoint where all my characters and dialogue come from - imagination or real life. My memoir, of course, was all about my past, and many of the short stories cleave very closely to my life, but the more stories I wrote in the collection, the more that seemed to be invented, but who knows... I think I'm writing about a young woman with acne who shoplifts, but I'm really writing about myself.” ThinkingKnowsWritingRealHardCharacterStoriesPastYoungCoursesImaginationReal LifeMemoirDialogueCollectionsShort StoryYoung WomenMy PastAcne Author:Said Sayrafiezadeh
“I was trying to hold up a mirror to this country, to reflect the past years or so, and the varying degrees in which we've been affected by the war(s) that doesn't seem to end. And we've all been affected somehow, even if we have no connection to the military, even if we don't know anyone who's killed or been killed. No one escapes something so large.” IfsKnowsTryingYearsWarEndsCountrySeemsPastMilitaryDegreesConnectionsMirrorsAffected Author:Said Sayrafiezadeh
“I don't work with an outline, except a vague one in my head, a general idea of character, place, arc... I'm like a composer with a symphony in their head: I can hear the music, I just have to figure out how to put it down on paper. But I don't always know where my stories are going when I begin.” KnowsI CanIdeasCharacterStoriesFiguresPaperComposerVagueSymphonyOutlinesArcs Author:Said Sayrafiezadeh
“I sometimes have to write for a while before I figure it out, pretend that I know what I'm doing, sort of like ad-libbing on stage until you remember your line - you hope you sound convincing to the audience. The key is to have enough material, enough threads, so that there's something that can be satisfyingly drawn to a conclusion.” KnowsWritingSometimesEnoughRememberSoundLinesAudienceStageFiguresMaterialsKeysConclusionAdsThreadConvincing Author:Said Sayrafiezadeh
“When the ending finally comes to me, I often have to backtrack and make the beginning point towards that ending. Other times, I know exactly what the ending will be before I begin, like with the story "A Brief Encounter With the Enemy." It was all about the ending - that's what motivated me.” KnowsStoriesEnemyEncountersMotivated Author:Said Sayrafiezadeh
